Precilience is a new €10 million Horizon Europe project that will develop precision solutions with farmers, foresters, landowners, and other actors to increase climate resilience in the boreal regions of Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
Norway and Sweden.

Climate change affects boreal regions and their communities severely because these areas are warming three times faster than the global average. Farmers, foresters and landowners face significant challenges in responding to these changing conditions, creating an urgent need for tried-and-tested solutions to help them adapt and prepare for a sustainable future. Precilience aims to achieve exactly that: precise solutions that increase the climate resilience of the agriculture and forestry that our societies depend on.

Precilience will work on bridging the gap between science and targeted, practical implementation by local actors through collaboration. Project outputs will be co-developed with stakeholders, resulting in real-world solutions developed by those who will use and benefit from them. The project aims to expand the use of locally implemented solutions to other suitable regions by demonstrating their suitability in a real production environment.

Solutions will be developed and tested in eleven focal and four replicating regions across the boreal region of Europe, working closely with organisations in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

Topics being explored by the project include:

• Co-creating adaptation strategies

• Diversifying agricultural production

• Sustainable water management and recycling

• Soil function enhancement

• Assessing vulnerable forest types

• Innovative forest regeneration in drought-prone sites

• Closer-to-nature forest management

• Using climate-considerate tree material to replant forests

Individuals and organisations are encouraged to get involved; to advise, share experiences and knowledge, and help to shape what will become an important project. It involves a partnership of 16 organisations led by Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) and comprising Aarhus University; Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO); Estonian University of Life Sciences; Luontoa Consulting; Oppla; Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences; Technical University of Munich; Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute; Skogkurs Forestry Extension Institute Norway; Østfold County Council; Indre Østfold Municipality; SEGES Innovation; Soil Protection Estonia; Eesti Erametsaliit and Riigimetsa Majandamise Keskus.

By providing farmers, foresters, landowners and other actors with precise solutions for adapting to climate change, Precilience aims to support nature positive outcomes, the European Green Deal and worldwide action under the Global Biodiversity Framework, accelerating the conservation and restoration of nature.