After a three-year run, the NaBioKom research project, funded by the Agency for Renewable Resources with funding from the BMLEH*, has come to an end. The aim of this transdisciplinary project was to investigate and further develop the role of nature parks and biosphere reserves in Germany as platforms for forest dialogue.
Together with our project and practice partners – team ewen, Kellerwald-Edersee Nature Park, Bergstraße-Odenwald Geo-Nature Park and the Rhön Biosphere Reserve (Bavarian Administrative Office) – we presented the results on 11 December 2025 as part of an online closing event. During the event, the field partners presented the examples of good practice developed during the project and demonstrated how regions can benefit from the dialogue processes initiated.
A key finding of the project is that nature parks and biosphere reserves act as cooperative spaces for dialogue. Numerous stakeholders from forestry, nature conservation, local authorities and other sectors were involved in the project-accompanying working group (PAG) and regional dialogue events. They contributed significantly to the success of the dialogue processes, benefited from them and formulated expectations regarding the role of nature parks and biosphere reserves in their regions.
Project results
The results were compiled in a guide entitled ‘Nature Parks and Biosphere Reserves: Spaces for Dialogue on the Future of the Forest’. It contains practical checklists for planning and implementing dialogue processes. In addition, a working paper analysing the current situation outlines, amongst other things, the common and differing positions of forestry and nature conservation associations on selected forest-related topics.
You can access the guide here: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18696874
You can also find all publications on the project website: https://www.ifls.de/nabiokom/ergebnisse
Contact personst at IfLS: Marie Sophie Schmidt (schmidt[at]ifls.de); Ulrich Gehrlein (gehrlein[at]ifls.de)
* The project “Nature Parks and Biosphere Reserves as Regional Communication Platforms for Sustainable Forest Management (NaBioKom)” was funded under the Renewable Raw Materials Programme by the Agency for Renewable Raw Materials with funding from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, following a resolution of the German Bundestag (Duration: 09/2022 - 08/2025; FKZ: 2220NR223X).
