Episode 89: Can Managed Forests Help Canada Meet Its 30x30 Conservation Goal?
Title: Episode 89: Can Managed Forests Help Canada Meet Its 30x30 Conservation Goal?
Author(s): Worm, Loa Dalgaard
Description: Conservation is often associated with national parks and protected areas. But what about places that are delivering benefits for biodiversity while being managed for other purposes? In this episode of Forest for the Future, we return to Canada to explore Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures, or OECMs, and their potential contribution to the country’s 30x30 conservation goal.
Host Loa Dalgaard Worm is joined by conservation expert Alison Woodley, Megan Lafferty, Director of Area-based Conservation at Nature Conservancy of Canada and Co-Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas’ OECM Specialist Group, and Vivian Peachey, Director of Climate and Landscape Solutions at FSC Canada. Together, they unpack what OECMs are, how they differ from protected areas, and where FSC-certified forests could play a role.
Drawing on a project involving FSC Canada, Ontario Nature and Environment and Climate Change Canada, the conversation explores the opportunities within conservation area networks in certified forests. It also examines the practical challenges of competing land uses, shared responsibilities and ensuring that conservation lasts beyond a forest management licence. The guests explain why FSC certification alone does not establish OECM recognition, and why Indigenous rights, leadership and free, prior and informed consent are foundational to this work.
The episode also looks at FSC’s Verified Impact tool and its potential to connect measurable conservation outcomes with financial support for forest managers and their conservation partners, including Indigenous communities. Throughout the conversation, the focus is on what happens beyond the numbers: the quality of conservation, the people involved, and the arrangements needed to sustain biodiversity over time.
17 Jun 2026
Episode 88 – Fueling the Future — or the Fire? Biofuels, Energy Security and the Pressure on Forests
Title: Episode 88 – Fueling the Future — or the Fire? Biofuels, Energy Security and the Pressure on Forests
Author(s): Worm, Loa Dalgaard
Description: In this episode of Forest for the Future, we step a little outside the forest itself and into the world of energy policy. With oil prices volatile and supply routes like the Strait of Hormuz under pressure, governments around the world are racing to secure their energy supply. One of the tools many are turning to is biofuels, blended into diesel and petrol and often produced from crops such as palm oil, soy, sugarcane and maize.
That can sound like a climate win. But it can also mean new pressure on forests, peatlands, food systems and the communities who depend on them.
Host Loa Worm is joined by Patrick Schröder, Senior Research Fellow at Chatham House, to explore whether biofuels can really deliver energy security without driving deforestation. From Indonesia’s move from B40 to B50, to Brazil’s ethanol experience, India’s blending programmes and the challenge of indirect land-use change and deforestation, the conversation looks at how today’s political decisions on energy can ripple all the way into the forest.
The episode also explores the role of certification systems such as FSC, RSPO and ISCC. Patrick explains why certification can be a genuine safeguard, but not a political shortcut. Biofuels are neither a silver bullet nor a villain. It all depends on how they are governed.
25 Mar 2026
Episode 87: The New AI Frontier in Forestry: Inside UPM’s Arnibot
Title: Episode 87: The New AI Frontier in Forestry: Inside UPM’s Arnibot
Author(s): Worm, Loa Dalgaard
Description: Artificial intelligence is rapidly entering the world of forestry. But what does that mean in practice?
In this episode of Forest for the Future, we explore UPM’s AI-powered assistant, Arnibot, and what it reveals about the digital transformation of forest management. How can an AI agent support decision-making in complex forest operations? How do you ensure reliability, prevent hallucinations, and maintain alignment with standards and procedures? And what role could certification systems like FSC play in the future development of such tools?
Host Loa Dalgaard Worm is joined by Joonas Palonen, AI Architect from UPM’s AI Center of Excellence, who unpack how Arnibot was developed, who uses it, and how it is continuously evaluated and improved. The conversation also looks ahead to what comes next—from multimodal interfaces and image recognition to potential applications in planning and certification contexts.
This is a forward-looking conversation about technology, trust, and the evolving interface between artificial intelligence and responsible forest management.
Inside a recent episode
Episode 89: Can Managed Forests Help Canada Meet Its 30x30 Conservation Goal?
Published 29 Sept 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] So can you just give us a bit more knowledge about what is that and why is it an important part of this whole conversation, both in Canada and also globally? Sure. I think you're in good company, Loa. I think lots of people are hung up by the acronym. So OECMs are kind of sites other than protected areas, which we're more familiar with. that are achieving long-term conservation, even if they're managed primarily for another purpose. So I often find examples are helpful to think about. There are military bases with expansive lands that cover native prairie grasslands. Because of how they're managed for military use, they're also conserving that native prairie grassland, which is a threatened ecosystem. […]
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