Funding for second period of projects researching the just green transition

At the University of Jyväskylä, funding was awarded to a consortia led by Professor Mikko Mönkkönen that is studying a just transition toward sustainability in the forest sector. 

One of the projects is led by Senior University Lecturer Sirpa Tenhunen; its goal is to investigate which sociocultural factors influence the views and decisions of forest owners and forestry professionals regarding forest management, and to identify leverage points, practices, and locations where small changes can enable large-scale shifts toward more sustainable practices.

This project, coordinated by the University of Jyväskylä, also involves researchers from the University of Eastern Finland, Aalto University and University of Helsinki

“Global changes in the forest sector accentuate the several conflicting views on how to use forests in Finland. Forests are an important source of intangible and material well-being, but their resilience is being challenged by climate change and biodiversity loss. At the same time, the forest sector faces the challenge of creating increasing economic value”, professor Mönkkönen says.  

The project will work with different stakeholders to develop solutions to these sustainability challenges in the Finnish forest sector. The project will use participatory and qualitative research, forest modelling and computational optimisation methods, as well as systems analysis to outline ways to reconcile the objectives of biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation and economic well-being in a fair and sustainable way. 

The consortia exploring the just green transition were launched in October 2023 and now received funding until September 2029. The funding granted in the two programmes totalled 24.3 million euros, on average 2.4 million euros per consortium.

The University of Jyväskylä was awarded a total of approximately 1.2 million euros.