UK Expert Committee on Forest Science appointment for Prof Maria Nijnik

"I’m happy to represent a link among forest and land use research institutes in the UK and beyond, notably the James Hutton Institute, and promote the complementarity of activities for multiplying the scientific results and their impacts"

Professor Maria Nijnik, a senior scientist at the James Hutton Institute’s Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences department, has been appointed a member of the UK Expert Committee on Forest Science.

The Committee was established by the Board of Forestry Commissioners to provide independent, expert advice and assurance on the quality of science and evidence provided by Forest Research and other providers. Its membership is made up of representatives of the forest scientific and stakeholder community and the Forestry Commission.

Upon her appointment, Professor Nijnik said: “I believe I can advise British scientists, especially on the robustness and innovativeness of economic approaches to analysing woodlands development and the wider forestry scenarios, and the approaches taken to co-construct and share the knowledge with stakeholders.

“I’m also happy to represent a link among forest and land use research institutes in the UK and beyond, notably the James Hutton Institute, and promote the complementarity of activities for multiplying the scientific results and their impacts.

“Also, I highly value the opportunity to act as an ambassador for the UK forest/LULUCF science providers including the James Hutton Institute and Forest Research, and joint work to advance forest economics’ science in the United Kingdom and internationally.”

Professor Nijnik has also served as a Scientific Advisory Board member of the European Forest Institute (EFI), a Scientific Advisory Council member of EURAC, a Science for the Carpathians Steering Committee Member and is an International Union of Forest Research Organization (IUFRO) Office Holder, where she leads a unit on social innovation and entrepreneurship.

Last year, Prof Nijnik was presented with a Scientific Achievement Award by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), on account of outstanding contributions to social science research on forestry, climate change and social innovation in forestry.