The EURAF Board welcomes the two newly elected national delegates from Germany. Dr. Christopher Morhart from the University of Freiburg will hold the position as National Delegate and Julia Günzel from the German Agroforestry Association (DeFAF) will hold the position of Vice-National Delegate. We wish them much success, joy and also perseverance in the upcoming online conferences.
The board also expresses the sincere gratitude to Prof. Norbert Lamersdorf for his many years as National Delegate. Since the foundation of the EURAF, several storms had to be weathered and Norbert was always a good captain, who quickly pursued his goal. We hope that he will continue to support the new German delegates in the future.
Dr. Christopher Morhart
Chair of Forest Growth and Dendroecology, University of Freiburg
Contacts:
Institute of Forest Sciences - Chair of Forest Growth and Dendroecology - University of Freiburg
Tennenbacherstr.
479106 Freiburg
Germany
Mail: Christopher [dot] morhart [at] iww [dot] uni-freiburg [dot] de
Phone: +49 761 203-3775
Website: https://www.iww.uni-freiburg.de/
After studying Forestry in Germany and Finland (2000-2006) comprising a 4 month internship as forest worker in Germany and a 2 month internship as research assistant in Canada, I worked for a small sized enterprise managing two farms and several forests (150ha) (2006-2007). After that practical experience I returned to the University of Freiburg. Based on the comprehensive knowledge about trees and their growth, gained within my studies of forestry, the work at the chair of forest growth helped me to deepen the understanding about trees. With this background the specialization on the woody components in agroforestry systems was the next step. During the last thirteen years I worked in different national and international AF projects targeting different aspects of agroforestry systems. All these projects were always conducted with partners having an agricultural background to ensure a balanced know-how and to strengthen the knowledge transfer between the disciplines. In the same way it has always been important to me that our scientific results find their way into practice. For this reason, me and my colleagues organized several workshops for farmers to directly transfer our knowledge and to get a deeper understanding about the constraints and restrictions farmers have. To ease the knowledge transfer we additionally produced handouts and guidelines on agroforestry systems and their management especially targeting the farmer’s needs.
As a founding member of the European Agroforestry Federation (EURAF), the German subdivision (“Deutscher Fachverband für Agroforstwirtschaft (DEFAF)”) and the International Union of Agroforestry (IUAF), I have been able to follow the slow but steady rise of these fantastic land use systems for many years. As a member of the EU focus group "Agroforestry", I have already had the opportunity to work together with colleagues from all over Europe on exciting questions concerning the promotion of agroforestry in Europe (final report).
As I believe that agroforestry can only be promoted by joining our forces, I support the idea of promoting agroforestry on the EU level in addition to national associations and I am very happy to represent Germany in the EURAF.
Julia Günzel
German Association for Agroforestry – Education Officer & Public Relations
Contacts:
DeFAF – Deutscher Fachverband für Agroforstwirtschaft e. V.
Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 102
03046 Cottbus
Germany
Mail: guenzel [at] defaf [dot] de
Phone: +49 355-752132-44
Website: www.defaf.de
With an academic background in international forest ecosystem management and sustainable development I had the opportunity to gain valuable experience in regional development and the way societies interact with nature and their environment in several countries around the world. During a period of three years as a technical advisor for the GIZ in Cameroon I worked closely with National Park staff, farmers and other land users on the sustainable management of natural resources. This also included the promotion of agroforestry as a well-established land use method with a long tradition and great potential. In order to build on my experiences and deepen my knowledge I decided to do the master course „agroforestry“ at the Bangor University in Wales, through which I got more involved in the agroforestry sector in Europe.
After finalizing my master thesis on agroforestry and ecosystem services in Greece I got the opportunity to become a founding member of the DeFAF and apply my passion for agroforestry effectively for the work oft he association. I am convinced that agrofrestry is one of the major solutions for a future-oriented and sustainable use of our landscapes. I also believe that the promotion of this multifunctional land-use requires the constructive collaboration of a variety of interest groups and that in our globalized world the exchange and interaction within countries is essential. I am thankful for the opportunity to represent the German agroforestry sector on the European level and I am looking forward to the upcoming exchange of experiences.