Ville blomster i en vase.
A living place deep in Varaldskogen ‘Biocultural heritage in the forest’ refers to the close and reciprocal interaction between natural and human factors within a defined forest landscape, where cultural and ecological processes develop in relation to one another

Biocultural Heritage in Forests

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“Biocultural Heritage in Forests” funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers examines how modern forestry affects and manages biocultural heritage in Nordic forests.  

Researchers from Norway (lead), Sweden, Denmark, and Finland analyse legislation, management practices, and how authorities, forestry companies, landowners, and stakeholders value this heritage.  

They develop an AI‑based tool for the systematic processing of literature and other knowledge sources, supplemented by a broad Nordic survey.  

The aim is to identify key challenges and good examples in management, and to provide policy recommendations to strengthen the preservation and sustainable governance of highly vulnerable biocultural heritage in Nordic forests. 

Project manager: Véronique K. Simon Nielsen

  • Status
    In progress
  • Client
    The Nordic Council of Ministers
  • Time
    2026-2027
Fredet furuskog
Protected pine forest The pine forest in the protected area of Statskog’s 2017 conservation plan in Finnskogen, where the goal is to preserve a culturally and historically important example of a mosaic landscape shaped by multiple forest management ages. Photo: Véronique K. Simon Nielsen, private
Orala, Finnskogen, Norge.
Orala, Finnskogen, Norway The farmstead is protected as a Forest Finn cultural heritage site deep in the woods, bearing witness to the long-standing traditional use of the forest landscape