WoodPoP’s 8th Expert Group Meeting convened online

A screenshot of a Microsoft Teams meeting showing the participant video tiles.

WoodPoP Convenes 8th Expert Group Meeting

The European Wood Policy Platform (WoodPoP) held its virtual 8th Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on 24 March 2026, bringing together experts and representatives from across the Pan-European region for an online meeting dedicated to reviewing progress, strengthening collaboration, and preparing the next phase of the platform’s development. The meeting was chaired by WoodPoP Chair Georg Rappold (BMLUK/Austria).

Alexander Buck (IUFRO) discussed the changes within the WoodPoP Secretariat. IUFRO, as WoodPoP’s host organisation, has entered into an agreement with Holzcluster Steiermark, leveraging the organisation’s expertise to support the WoodPoP Secretariat. One hallmark of this agreement is Visnja Koscak taking over as Coordinator of the Secretariat during the duration of Veronika Steinhofer-Juch’s extended leave.

The meeting also included an overview of WoodPoP’s recent policy-oriented output papers, highlighting the platform’s productive work in recent months and its contribution to ongoing European policy discussions on the bioeconomy, sustainable construction and the role of wood-based solutions in the green transition. Four outcome papers have been presented: the Outcome Statement of the 4th High-Level Meeting in Izola, summarising the key policy messages emerging from the ministerial dialogue; the policy brief “Wood for Europe’s Future: FP10 as the Engine of Decarbonisation and Competitiveness,” which outlines recommendations on how the next EU Research Framework Programme can strengthen support for the wood-based sector; WoodPoP’s contribution to the European Commission’s Advanced Materials Act consultation, highlighting the relevance of wood-based materials in the future European materials landscape; and the paper “Wood Promotion as a Driver of Europe’s Green Transition: Insights from WoodPoP,” presenting perspectives from the WoodPoP network on the role of national wood promotion initiatives in advancing climate-friendly construction.

Tomas Krejzar (Ministry of Agriculture/Czechia) and Lada Matoušková Prylová (Czech Forest Institute/Czechia) updated the participants on the preparations for the first edition of the WoodPoP DARA Award. Meanwhile, the original submission deadline of 31 March 2026 has been extended to 22 April 2026 to allow additional time for the preparation of high-quality submissions. David Gil-Moreno (Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Marine/Ireland) presented the next milestones leading up to the inaugural award ceremony.

A central part of the meeting was dedicated to launching the evaluation phase of WoodPoP’s activities, which will provide an opportunity to reflect on the platform’s progress, achievements and added value since its establishment, while also identifying priorities for its future development.

In this context, discussions focused on the preparation of the WoodPoP Policy Lab “The Evolution of WoodPoP”, which will take place on 20–22 April 2026 in Tulln, Austria. Lisa Lehner (BMLUK/Austria) presented the survey questionnaire that will serve as a basis for the evaluation process and for discussions during the Policy Lab. She also led the exchange on the objectives, priorities, expectations and anticipated outcomes of the upcoming Policy Lab.

Further updates about the WoodPoP Fund were then presented. The Secretariat outlined how the Fund strengthens the platform’s international collaboration by supporting science-based dialogue, joint policy development, and the exchange of knowledge on sustainable wood-based solutions. Participants were invited to engage with the Fund as a way to support the platform’s growing impact and to help advance the strategic relevance and visibility of the wood-based sector across the Pan-European region.

The last point before the meeting closed was an update on international developments and collaboration. With the report of a side event that Austria will organise in the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) in New York building on the Vienna Call for Action from the successful Global COLI Summit on Sustainable Forest-based Bioeconony Approaches. These insights helped situate WoodPoP’s ongoing work within broader policy discussions and highlighted emerging opportunities for alignment with international initiatives.

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