Official Chairmanship Hand-over from Austria to Ireland between the Integrate Network Chair 2024, Georg Frank (left), to the Integrate Network Co-chairs 2025, Dermot Dunphy (middle) and Jonathan Spazzi (right).

This year, the Integrate Network is co-chaired by two representatives from Ireland: Dermot Dunphy from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Jonathan Spazzi from Teagasc’s Forest Development Department. Both bring a clear vision to the role, drawing from Ireland’s own forestry challenges and the opportunities offered by increased international collaboration.

Ireland’s forests are relatively young, and integrating biodiversity into forest management is still in development. As Dermot Dunphy explains, Ireland has not yet developed a strong cultural foundation for this among private forest owners. For him, being part of the Integrate Network offers access to both practical experience from other countries and the latest research, helping to shape national strategies and inform policy discussions at home.

Jonathan Spazzi echoes the importance of shared learning and sees great potential in the Integrate Network as a European meeting point that connects practice, research, and policy.

Looking ahead, the 2025 chairs hope to strengthen relationships within the network, broaden participation, and bring more visibility to the work. Key priorities for them are involving more forest owners on the ground and enhancing communication strategies to help accelerate the shift towards more biodiversity-inclusive forest management.

To build on these priorities, the 11th Integrate Network Annual Meeting will take place from 7–10 October 2025 in Dublin, Ireland. Under the topic “Promoting Multifunctional/Integrative Forest Management Practices in Managed Forests through Policy, Science & Practice”, the event will explore Ireland’s evolving forest landscape through the lens of private forest owners.

Learn more here