2. Cascade Challenge of the SMURF project

The community office informs its members about our success in the 2. The call of the European project SMURF.

After successful involvement in the 1. Challenges of the SMURF project, our active participation continues in the 2. Cascade Challenge of the SMURF project. After the evaluation process by the representatives of the SMURF project, our organization – community was selected to receive a grant in 2. Cascades of the SMURF project. The SMURF project is aimed at further strengthening the capacity and visibility of private forest owners‘ organizations in the European Union.

The second call was prepared with a total budget  of €825,000. 67 organisations applied for support, with funding  allocated to 58 entities from 17 countries in the European Union. Almost the entire budget of the call (99.8%) was successfully distributed, which confirms the high quality of the submitted projects and the growing interest in this sector.

Three entities were supported on behalf of the Slovak Republic:

• Association of Owners of Private and Jointly Managed Forests BBSK
• Union of Regional Associations of Non-State Forest Owners of Slovakia
• Land Association of the Compossessorate and Urbariat Šalková
  
  

Our community will be involved in the following activities during the years 2026 – 2027:

• Activity 1: Participation in the final conference of the SMURF project in Brussels in June 2027 and joint dissemination activities.
• Activity 3: Establishment of a demonstration point for natural relatives silviculture (CNS).

• Activity 4: Participation in training on the cultivation of close-to-nature forests (CNS).
• Activity 6: Participation in the National Working Group on Small Forest Enterprises.
  
  

Activity 6 is a new and important element of the second call. The aim is to create a platform for cooperation between state administration bodies, forest owners and other actors, which will use the results of the SMURF project and shape the future of small-scale forestry. Slovakia is included among the 15 selected countries and regions where these working groups will be established.

The grant agreement for the 2. We have successfully signed the call – the cascade of the SMURF project. We are confident that in the second call we will represent our land community and the private forestry sector with dignity at the European level. We will keep you informed about the course of the activities and their outputs.