Ewald Rametsteiner

Innovation has become increasingly essential as the forest sector confronts intensifying climate risks, evolving market demands, and expanding global sustainability commitments. Policies can do more than just set rules - they can create novel pathways that stimulate technological, institutional, social, and financial innovations. Drawing on examples from Europe, Africa and Latin America, this session will explore how policy frameworks and initiatives such as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), and bioeconomy policies and forest-related initiatives such as TERRA can catalyze operational solutions, improve local value chains and incomes, and encourage global cooperation.

Speaker Biography

Ewald Rametsteiner – Deputy Director, Forestry Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Ewald Rametsteiner is Deputy Director of the Forestry Division at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Since joining FAO, he has served in several leadership roles, including Programme Coordinator of the Strategic Programme on Sustainable Agriculture and leader of the Forest Governance Team. Prior to FAO, Rametsteiner worked at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and the European Forest Institute. He has also served as a member of secretariats of intergovernmental bodies and as a policy adviser on sustainability issues for a range of international organizations and governments. He holds a PhD in Forest Policy and Economics from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU).