All work packages (WP) aim at optimizing, further developing and communicating the practical management of Romanian wood-pastures and anchoring sustainable management related knowledge in the rural development. Below we enumerate the titles – which should be also understood as broad themes – of each WP:
- WP 1. Wood-pasture condition: Recording and characterization of wood-pastures. Main method to implement WP 1: develop a conceptual model and methodology for bio-cultural assessment and survey wood-pasture systems in each biocultural region of Transylvania and its close surroundings.
- WP 2. Understanding local innovations around wood-pastures. This WP has two sub-components:
- WP 2a. Testing: Wood-pastures in rural development / rural bioeconomy. Main method to implement WP 2a: to develop a conceptual and methodological framework to inventory and profile the local initiatives relevant to wood-pastures. Knowledge gathered from WP 1 will be also used for this.
- WP 2b. Development: Identify new options or develop new ideas for sustainable management of wood-pastures. Main method to implement WP 2b: Synthetize the informations gathered in WP 2a and combine it with the best available scientific knowledge.
- WP 3. Safeguarding & expansion: network & future initiative for the wood-pastures. Main method to implement WP 3: implement a series of workshops with wood-pasture users and stewards, as identified in WP 1 and WP2a. These workshops will build on the information gathered from the previous WP’s and will complement them with exercises targeting the sustainable futures of wood-pastures within a social-ecological context.
- WP 4. Knowledge for action: Practice guide, video channel & database on forest pastures in Romania. Main method to implement WP 4: field visits in representative samples in the major cultural regions of Transylvania and generate drone movies as well as interviews with key wood-pasture users based on a well-established protocol. An online catalogue with several wood-pastures will be also realized and made online available. A good practice management guide will be also developed within this WP.
- WP 5. Cultural & Ecosystem Services: Recommendations for policy and administration at national and European level. Main method to implement WP 5: Based on the knowledge and insights gathered from WP`s 1-4, complemented with the knowledge from scientific literature, we will realize a publication where best management practices for enhancing cultural ecosystem services of wood-pastures.