Projects to mitigate global environmental problems such as climate change require a governance approach that encompasses multiple sectors, levels, and actors. At the same time, efforts to redirect forestry towards climate change mitigation and smart climate governance (so-called "Climate Smart Forestry") must be implemented at all levels (individual, operational, local, re-gional, and national) and time scales (short, medium, and long-term), all affected stakeholders are involved and tailored to local conditions. Forestry and other climate-related policies are po-litically influenced by many other sectors (environment, nature conservation, agriculture, rural development, energy, ...). This means that improving cross-sectoral coordination is an important step towards an effective integrated approach to land-use management.

In a first step, a qualitative and quantitative approach will be developed (milestone 5.1). In the next step, the target group is defined and a timetable drawn up in order to involve all relevant stakeholders and to ensure timely implementation (activities 5.1 & 5.2). The approach pursues the goal of "smart regulation", which proposes principles to underpin meaningful policy design and to ensure that the applied regulations are meaningful in terms of the solutions sought. Smart regulations pay particular attention to the formulation of certain policy instruments and offer proposals that enable politicians to reach appropriate solutions that are particularly important for the harmonization of forestry and climate policy objectives and their integration into the policies of other related sectors.

The key issues to be addressed under WP 5, which aims to develop forestry sector-specific and cross-sectoral policies to adapt to climate change and, more importantly, mitigate climate change, are the following:

- What governance practices are already implemented in the forestry and climate policies of selected EU countries in terms of climate adaptation and mitigation? Which models of "good governance" in Germany could be useful in structuring climate change adaptation and mitiga-tion and sustainable development strategies in Serbia?

- What is the structure of the political framework for climate change governance and sustaina-ble development in Germany and Serbia?

- Who are the main stakeholders? What is their role and responsibility?

- How do the different actors and sectors cooperate with each other on climate change (both adaptation and mitigation) and sustainable development? What different types of cooperation between actors and sectors already exist? How do the actors perceive this cooperation?

During the first research stay, the PhD student will review and develop this methodological approach with both qualitative and quantitative elements (activity 5.1). Further, the questionnaire for the interviews and interview partners from policy and practice will be identified and finalized (activity 5.2). In the next activity, comprehensive expert surveys and in-depth interviews will be conducted with policy- and decision-makers in forestry, nature conservation and other relevant sectors in Serbia (activity 5.4). In the last research stay, the analyses of the collected data will be finalized in order to prepare the development of a conceptual model. This mixed approach should lead to a deeper understanding of the research questions to be addressed and ensure the validity and evidence of the results.

Because of the complexity of such methodological approach, each task will require a separate guest stay and a close collaboration with the partners in Freiburg.

The focus is on actors from public administrations, public services, public enterprises (for state forests management and management of protected areas), research and educational organizations, and NGO. The opinion and understanding of representatives of these institutions and organizations from forestry and nature conservation on climate smart forestry is therefore of great importance for the future acceptance, implementation and regulation of new policy regulations.

The research will be conducted in the North and West forest regions. Since only 7.1% of Vojvodina in the North is covered with forests, and 65% of forests managed by public enterprise Vojvodinašume are under protection, the special focus here will be on protected areas governance.

The results of expert interviews and surveys will be used (activity 5.5) to develop a conceptual model of governance strategies for implementing climate smart forestry. Its main elements are:

- A policy framework for forestry and nature conservation and related sectors that takes into account the principles of "Climate Smart Forestry",

- Cooperation between the main forest stakeholders as well as between forestry and nature conservation and other relevant sectors in governing climate change.

- Department of Forest Economics and Forest Organization, Faculty of Forestry, University of Belgrade

- Chair of Forest and Environmental Policy, University of Freiburg