Navigating climate threats in forestry across five European regions: Stakeholder's adaptive management and policy strategies to resilience.

This study explores the perspectives and adaptive strategies of forest stakeholders across five regions of Europe, North to South-Finland, Lithuania, Romania, Serbia, and Greece-regarding climate change challenges in forestry. 129 stakeholders were surveyed, including forest owners, professionals, environmental NGOs, government representatives, and recreationists, who pointed at soil quality, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and timber production as the main concerns. Regional threats varied, with storms and pests prevailing in Finland, illegal logging in Lithuania, Romania and Serbia, and fires and unsustainable grazing in Greece. Proposed solutions emphasise active forest management, stakeholder engagement and policy reforms. While Finland and Serbia are optimistic about future forest resilience, Lithuania and Romania are neutral. Greece shows mixed reactions, mainly due to concerns about the political will to implement effective forest policy. The study highlights nuanced regional responses to climate-related forest challenges and the need for region-specific approaches to forest management and policy, with broader implications for environmental governance strategies.