From 24th to 26th April 2018, SUSTREE Mid-Term Meeting was held in Chorin, Germany which was one of the most important meetings of the project team, external experts and representatives of the Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE grant provider. The aim of the meeting was mainly to evaluate the progress of the project implementation, the fulfilment of the set goals and, last but not least, the proper use of the allocated funds.
The team of Ms. Tomášová from the Department of Genetics and Physiology of Forest Trees and a representative of the financial management from the department for the development of the faculty were attending this meeting.
On Tuesday, 24 April, the internal meeting of the project team was held, which allowed to evaluate the fulfilment of the individual tasks of the project partners, to get feedback from both the scientific and managerial staff and to set out the directions for further work. The first day also served as a preparation for Wednesday's session with the participation of the External Advisory Board (EAB) and representatives of the Joint Secretary (JS), ie the Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE grant provider. This meeting was crucial for the further realization of the project. If there were any doubts as to the achievement of the project's objectives, the Joint Secretary would be able to cut the allocated budget or, in the worst case scenario, to end the project prematurely.
However, EAB and JS did not find any more serious problems in the project implementation so far, but they highlighted the importance of the project and the excellent work of the entire international project team. Thanks to the positive conclusions of this meeting, the SUSTREE project could enter the second phase of implementation.
The main objective of the SUSTREE project is to support the adaptation of forest ecosystems to global change through the international management of forest tree genetic resources. The project will result in map outputs, cross-border seed transport instructions and access to national forest reproductive material registers.
The lead partner of the project is the Bundesforschungs- und Ausbildungszentrum für Wald, Naturgefahren und Landschaft, Vienna, Austria. FFWS CZU is the coordinator of one of the three work packages. The end of the project is scheduled for July 31, 2019.