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Date and venue of Forum Carpaticum 2018 formally set

The next Forum Carpaticum will be organised 14-18 October 2018 in Eger, Hungary. Save the date!

Follow S4C activities also by social media using #Carpathians
The network 

Forum Carpaticum 2018

The Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) of S4C met at the Carpathian Convention (COP5) in Lillafüred, Hungary 10-12 of October 2017. After numerous discussions, the SSC finalized the date and location of the next Forum Carpaticum in Eger, Hungary 14-18 October, 2018.  Our Hungarian colleagues will be hosting FC2018 and, as always, it should be an interesting event that highlights science in the Carpathian ecological region. Conference details, including call for papers will be announced soon. 

Changes to the S4C SSC and Executive Board
Congratulations to Mrs. Marta Vetier and Dr. Serhiy Kopiy, who have become the newest members of the S4C SSC. Mrs. Vetier, a PhD Candidate at the Department of Sciences and Policy at the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary is currently a freelance advisor and researcher on international environmental governance and policy issues with experience in NGOs dealing with the Carpathians. Dr. Kopiy is an Associate Professor, Department of Forestry, National Forestry University of Ukraine in Lviv, Ukraine and works on forest management issues in the Carpathians and western Ukraine.  We wish the new members a lot of energy to support science and scientific cooperation in the Carpathians and for the Carpathians.
In addition to these changes, S4C SSC member Dr. Joanna Zawiejska, Pedagogical University, Krakow, Poland replaced Prof. Jacek Kozak, Department of Geography, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland on the S4C Executive Board. We would like to thank Jacek for his long-term commitment to governance issues on the Executive Board as well as his tireless work and passion in supporting the mission of the S4C network.

S4C on COP5
The network representatives took part in the COP5 meeting, giving a series of presentations in many thematic sessions. The presentations, including S4C contribution, are now available at the Carpathian Convention website.
Reading Mountains 2017 in Romania

“Reading Mountains” (“Munții prin lectură”), the event organised by Asociatia de Educație și Cultură Outdoor (AECO) Romania, to celebrate the International Mountain Day in Romania, 11th of December 2018, aims to bring to the forefront contemporary mountain literature and culture by supporting and encouraging people to write about local mountains and mountain topics. The objective is to read, to write and to publish on mountain themes, thereby contributing to the discovery of a side of mountains that is more elevated and profound. Although literature and culture on mountain subjects, is extremely well-developed, active and tangible in other countries, this tradition in Romania is, unfortunately, insignificant, invisible, lacking from the thematic landscape.
Aiming to address some of these discrepancies, the Romanian event “Reading Mountains” is the first one taking place in the Carpathian ecological region and is part of the European series originally organized around the Alps under the Alpine Convention coordination.  Designed as an online literature contest focusing on mountain themes, it allows for a wide range of producers and consumers of mountain literature to get engaged and contribute towards expanding this area in Romania. Being online has more flexibility and also lower barriers regarding accessibility. Basically, anyone with access to a computer that has written an original piece - poetry,  short prose or essays -- in the last two years (published or unpublished), or would like to write something original is welcome to submit their work.

The appeal of the Slovak Assembly of Conservationists and other organizations and individuals - "Stop the destruction of mountain forests in the Western Carpathians!"

The appeal and the list of the supporters is available online in English or Slovak.
Remote forest-dependent communities can benefit through
social innovation:
Socio-ecological innovation in the Carpathians were at the centre of discussions during a special session of the 125th IUFRO Anniversary Congress
 
Many rural forest-dependent communities face similar challenges – lack of infrastructure, housing, and transport as well as aging populations. When global issues such as climate change, sustainability, and energy and food security are added to the mix, the need for solutions to the challenges becomes much more pressing.
Dr. Maria Nijnik, Principal Social-Economic Scientist, James Hutton Institute (HUT), Aberdeen, Scotland and coordinator of a session entitled “Ecosystem services and the wellbeing of forest dependent communities: enhancing social innovation and building resilience to global changes in remote rural areas” held at the IUFRO 125th Anniversary Congress in Freiburg in September, sees social innovation that enhances the sustainable use of forest ecosystem services as one way to address those challenges. “Attention to social innovation and its role in attaining a more sustainable use of ecosystem services has been rising,” noted Dr. Nijnik.  Social innovation is expected to respond to social demands that are traditionally not addressed by markets or existing institutions.
The IUFRO session addressed questions of how to integrate local and indigenous knowledge in forestry-related decision-making processes; green energy options for forest-dependent communities; how to assess forest policy options through an improved understanding of the attitudes prevailing in forest-dependent communities, building resilience and capacities for sustainability, and how to integrate forest ecosystem services into climate change adaptation plan. Ecosystem services of forests are especially important to forest-dependent communities in marginalized rural areas where local wellbeing can be lower than elsewhere.
Ms. Mariana Melnykovych a Ukrainian PhD student at the UNFU and HUT was co-chair of the session.  Ms. Melnykovych presented a paper co-authored by Dr. Nijnik and Dr. Ihor Soloviy (UNFU) that sited examples from the Ukrainian Carpathians where local farmers have created an association for local sheep cheese production along with ecotourism and the promotion of local culture. 
During the session a wide range of topics concerning Carpathians were presented:
  • Dr. Astrid Björnsen Gurung presented a paper on the ongoing project by Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL and Ukrainian National Forestry University  “Identifying Green Energy Options for the Ukrainian Carpathians”,
  • Dr. Stanislava Brnkalakova with colleagues presented research on how carbon forestry can enhance social innovation for the well-being of European mountain regions with examples from Slovakia and other Carpathians countries;
  • Dr. Serhiy Kopiy (UNFU) presented research co-authored with Dr. Nijnik on assessing forest policy options through an improved understanding of the attitudes prevailing in forest-dependent communities and building resilience in the Ukraine's Carpathians. 
Other examples of social innovation identified by the session organizers include community-owned renewable energy initiatives, social care farming, agroforestry, arts and crafts cooperatives, as well as fair trade, broadband and microfinance were discussed during the session.
Abstracts from  the 125th IUFRO Anniversary Congress are available online.

Carpathian science (or not) related
 

Join a Wildlife Photographer on the Hunt for the Perfect Shot

In this short film from the Contra Agency, take an intimate journey with wildlife photographer Michel d’Oultremont as he searches for the recently introduced wild bison of Romania.
Credits: Directed by David Hayes; produced by Hannah Salvanes Mclean.

Dont miss it!

source:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com
Recent publications
 
Affek, A.N., Zachwatowicz, M., Sosnowska, A., Gerlée, A. and Kiszka, K., 2017. Impacts of modern mechanised skidding on the natural and cultural heritage of the Polish Carpathian Mountains. Forest Ecology and Management, 405, pp.391-403.

Angelstam, P., Khaulyak, O., Yamelynets, T., Mozgeris, G., Naumov, V., Chmielewski, T.J., Elbakidze, M., Manton, M., Prots, B. and Valasiuk, S., 2017. Green infrastructure development at European Union's eastern border: Effects of road infrastructure and forest habitat loss. Journal of Environmental Management, 193, pp.300-311.

Angelstam, P., Yamelynets, T., Elbakidze, M., Prots, B. and Manton, M., 2017. Gap analysis as a basis for strategic spatial planning of green infrastructure: a case study in the Ukrainian Carpathians. Écoscience, 24(1-2), pp.41-58.

Biró, M., Bölöni, J. and Molnár, Z., 2017. Use of long‐term data to evaluate loss and endangerment status of Natura 2000 habitats and effects of protected areas. Conservation Biology.

Nita, M.D., Munteanu, C., Gutman, G., Abrudan, I.V. and Radeloff, V.C., 2017. Widespread forest cutting in the aftermath of World War II captured by broad-scale historical Corona spy satellite photography. Remote Sensing of Environment.

Ostafin, K., Iwanowski, M., Kozak, J., Cacko, A., Gimmi, U., Kaim, D., Psomas, A., Ginzler, C. and Ostapowicz, K., 2017. Forest cover mask from historical topographic maps based on image processing. Geoscience Data Journal, 4(1), pp.29-39.

 
Płaczkowska, E., 2017. Slope-fluvial system structure in the Western Tatra Mountains (Poland): slope-to-channel transition. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 49(4), pp.569-583.
Events

Mountain Partnership Global Meeting
11-13 December 2018, Rome, ITALY
MORE

SnowHydro Conference 2018
12-15 February 2018, Heidelberg, GERMANY
MORE

LabEx ITEM – 3rd International Winter School
4-7 April 2018, Monte Carosso, SWITZERLAND
MORE

RegioResources 21-2018 – Global Megatrends and Landscape
17-19 April 2018, Smolenice, SLOVAKIA
MORE


ForumAlpinum 2018
4-6 June 2018, Breitenwang, AUSTRIA
MORE

Forum Carpaticum 2018
14-18 October, Eger, HUNGARY


1st World Congress on Agritourism
7-9 November 2018, Bolzano, ITALY
MORE

The Science for the Carpathians (S4C) Newsflash is a quarterly publication sent out to the 400 addresses of the S4C Network. The next Newsflash is planned for February 2018. Please send us any information you want to be distributed to the network (target length 80-90 words). If you have documents to share please send us the web link rather than the document. To send questions or comments, or if you do not wish to receive this mailing, please reply to Dominik Kaim (dominik.kaim@uj.edu.pl).

Sincerely yours,

Dominik Kaim, Jagiellonian University
Yurij Bihun, Director, Shelterwood Systems
Copyright © 2017 S4C Science for the Carpathians, All rights reserved.


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