23 October 2026
Bilbao
The University of Deusto will host and co-organise the 12th Annual Meeting of the international FLARE network (Forests & Livelihoods: Assessment, Research, and Expansion), alongside the University of Notre Dame in the United States, from 21 to 24 October. The meeting brings together leading researchers, academics and social sector representatives to explore the relationship between forest ecosystems and the livelihoods of millions of people around the world.
Following its most recent editions in Lima (Peru), Rome (Italy) and Nairobi (Kenya), this globally travelling event places Bilbao and the University of Deusto at the heart of international debate on environmental governance, forest conservation, community well-being and socio-ecological justice.
The opening ceremony was attended by Adolfo Uriarte, Director of Natural Heritage and Climate Change Adaptation at the Basque Government, and Juan José Etxeberria, Rector of the University of Deusto, who stressed that «we cannot protect forests without also caring for the lives, rights and hopes of the people whose futures are bound up with them. As Pope Francis reminds us in *Laudato si’*, environmental responsibility and social justice go hand in hand». He also emphasised the importance of «listening to indigenous peoples and local communities, recognising their knowledge and respecting their decisions», stressing that research should be «a form of service that contributes to the common good». Speech.
Forests for Hope and Solidarity
Under the theme ‘Forests as Spaces of Hope and Solidarity’, the conference addresses the major contemporary challenges threatening nature conservation and rural and local communities: from climate change and deforestation to economic inequalities and resource governance.
Against a backdrop of global uncertainty, FLARE 2026 focuses on collective action, rigorous research and partnerships based on solidarity as tools for building sustainable models capable of protecting biodiversity and ensuring human well-being.
A roundtable discussion with female researchers, activists and specialists
The programme began on 21 October, following the opening plenary session, with an international roundtable discussion moderated by Edurne Iñigo Alday, a lecturer at the University of Deusto, in which participants from various continents and disciplines discussed the many dimensions of hope and cooperation in forest management.
Participants included Cécile Ndjebet, co-founder of Cameroon Ecology and president of the African Women’s Network for Community Management of Forests (REFACOF). A renowned researcher and activist, she specialises in women’s land rights and forest management in Africa and is the recipient of the Wangari Maathai Forest Champion Award. The conference also featured Victoria Reyes-García, an ICREA Research Professor at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, who is a renowned anthropologist and ecologist, specialising in indigenous and local knowledge systems and climate change, and a member of the US National Academy of Sciences.
Estefanía Liehr, Forestry Policy Adviser at the International Forests Unit of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) in the United Kingdom, is attending FLARE as an expert in environmental diplomacy, climate finance and international public policy on forest conservation, zero deforestation and sustainable development from a governmental and institutional perspective. Preeyaphat Chaiklang, a doctoral researcher at Dresden University of Technology and the United Nations University’s UNU-FLORES Institute, specialises in researching the links between water resources, soil and sustainable forest management, bringing a fresh perspective on environmental sustainability.
Finally, the conference will also feature Felipe Borman, Executive Director of the Fundación Sobrevivencia Cofán and a leader and advocate for Indigenous community-led conservation in the Ecuadorian Amazon. His work focuses on protecting tropical forest territories, biodiversity, and the self-determination and cultural survival of the Cofán Indigenous people.
The keynote lecture, on Thursday 22 October, will be given by the researcher Eduardo Brondizio, Professor of Anthropology at Indiana University in the United States and one of the world’s leading experts on socio-environmental transformations and governance in the Amazon. A recipient of prestigious awards, Brondizio offers an innovative perspective on the interaction between the human sciences, ecology and indigenous knowledge.
A shared commitment to sustainability
This international event is being held to mark the 140th anniversary of the University of Deusto and the institution’s commitment to research with a social impact. The collaboration with the University of Notre Dame also confirms the importance of university partnerships in addressing global environmental crises through knowledge and social transfer.
FLARE (Forests & Livelihoods: Assessment, Research, and Expansion) is a global research and action network dedicated to understanding and advancing knowledge about the relationships between forests and people’s livelihoods. Its aim is to provide quantitative and qualitative evidence to support inclusive, fair and sustainable forestry policies. The network’s secretariat is based at the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame (USA).
Photo by Jean Gc for Pexels.
