HRVATSKI SUMARSKI INSTITUT

Their core work

The Croatian Forest Research Institute is Croatia's dedicated forestry research body, focused on sustainable forest management, biodiversity conservation, and ecosystem services. Their work spans the full forestry value chain — from satellite-based forest monitoring and sustainable wood mobilization to urban forestry and nature-based solutions for cities. They bring strong regional expertise on Mediterranean and Southeast European forest ecosystems, contributing applied research on climate adaptation, drought resilience, and large-scale ecosystem restoration.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2017–2020), the institute focused on practical forestry operations — sustainable wood mobilization, regional networking for timber supply chains, and satellite monitoring for forest management. From 2019 onward, their focus shifted decisively toward ecological resilience: urban nature-based solutions, biodiversity safeguarding, climate adaptation, and large-scale ecosystem restoration. This mirrors the broader EU policy shift from resource exploitation toward environmental protection and the European Green Deal agenda.

Moving strongly toward climate adaptation and biodiversity restoration at landscape scale — expect future work on forest-based carbon solutions and EU Restoration Law implementation.

How they like to work

Always a participant, never a coordinator — they contribute specialized forestry expertise to large, multi-country consortia rather than leading projects. With 97 unique partners across 25 countries, they are well-connected across European forestry networks but do not concentrate on repeat partnerships. This makes them an accessible, low-friction partner: experienced in consortium work, comfortable in supporting roles, and broadly networked across the sector.

Broadly networked with 97 partners across 25 countries, indicating strong pan-European reach within the forestry and environmental research community. Their Mediterranean basin projects (INCREdible) and Central European focus provide good geographic coverage of Europe's diverse forest biomes.

What sets them apart

As Croatia's national forestry research institute, they offer direct access to Southeast European and Mediterranean forest ecosystems that are underrepresented in Western European-led consortia. Their combination of practical forestry knowledge (wood supply chains, forest operations) with ecological science (biodiversity monitoring, ecosystem services) makes them a bridge between industry-oriented and conservation-oriented project partners. For consortium builders, they fill the important role of a credible national research body from an EU-13 country with genuine technical depth in forestry.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SUPERB
  By far their largest project (EUR 548K, 56% of total funding), focused on upscaling ecosystem restoration — signals their flagship commitment to large-scale biodiversity recovery.
• CLEARING HOUSE
  Marks their expansion from rural forestry into urban nature-based solutions — a strategic diversification into a high-demand policy area.
• ROSEWOOD
  Built a European network of regions for sustainable wood mobilization, demonstrating their capacity for cross-border coordination and knowledge exchange.