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From 24 to 28 August 2026, Brest (France) hosted the 15th European Conference on Ecological Restoration (SERE2026), organised by the University of Brest (UBO) in collaboration with the French Network for Ecological Restoration (REVER) and the European chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER-Europe).
The conference was an international gathering dedicated to ecological restoration, bringing together more than 600 participants from across Europe and beyond, including researchers, practitioners, technicians and other stakeholders engaged in ecosystem conservation and restoration.
The programme, structured around numerous parallel sessions, covered both scientific research and concrete restoration experiences across a range of habitat types: freshwater ecosystems, wetlands, marine and coastal environments, dunes, grasslands, forests, peatlands and other ecological contexts.
Among the conference's sessions, one was dedicated to the European Union's LIFE programme and was organised by ELMEN. This session was designed to showcase innovative LIFE projects representing concrete examples of habitat restoration achieved through EU-funded initiatives across five habitat categories (freshwater, peatlands, grasslands, forests and coastal dunes) with a single project selected to represent each sector. LIFE GOProForMED project was selected to represent the forest sector, addressing the restoration and conservation of forest habitats.
The session opened with a talk by Joseph van der Stegen of CINEA, who outlined the objectives, role and funding mechanisms of the LIFE programme in supporting European nature policy. This was followed by presentations from five LIFE projects, each representing one of the five different ecosystems. Within this framework, LIFE GOProForMED had the opportunity to present its approach to the conservation and enhancement of Mediterranean forest habitats.
Participation in SERE2026 provided an opportunity to exchange experiences with other European restoration initiatives and to place the project’s work within the broader discussion on ecosystem restoration in Europe, a topic of particular relevance in the context of the EU Nature Restoration Regulation and the development of future National Restoration Plans.
