Urban Forestry: Definition, Trends und Folgerungen für die Waldakteure in der Schweiz

Abstract

Urban Forestry: definitions, trends and consequences for forest stakeholders in Switzerland Since the mid-1990s the term “urban forestry” is used as an umbrella term for different activities in research and practice dealing with trees, forest and green space in cities and agglomerations. Though, urban forestry means more than just city forestry or forestry in urban areas. On the occasion of the 17th International Conference of the European Forum on Urban Forestry (EFUF) in Lausanne from June 3–7, 2014, challenges and trends of the debates around green cities and urban nature have been discussed. This article gives an overview over the debate and pursues three goals: 1) the term urban forestry is defined and conceptualized from different perspectives; 2) current trends and challenges as discussed at the EFUF conference are sketched out; 3) correspondingly, consequences for forest stakeholders in Switzerland are deduced. Forests in urban areas can not be managed with traditional forestry concepts only. An important precondition to successfully deal with the current challenges is intersectoral and interdisciplinary cooperation. Five fields of action are focused on: urban green strategies, management partnerships, crosssectoral monitoring, integrative research, training and education, and interdisciplinary networks to share experiences and transfer knowledge.