Aaron Shearer, a PhD student at the University of Iceland and an employee at Land and Forest Iceland, is one of the keynote speakers you’ll meet at the Nordic Forest Summit 2026. He’s mostly looking forward to the networking part of the Summit.
– I think that as much as it’s brilliant for us, we also have this unique take in Iceland for people to see what they can take themselves from us, says Aaron Shearer.
At the Nordic Forest Summit, he will give a speech on where forest research in Iceland is at and where they are going in the future. He will provide an overview of the process of applying sustainable forest management standards. He will also give a glimpse into the research he is working on, which is to conduct the first assessment of forest ecosystem services in Iceland, and how that aligns with the forest transition in Iceland, going from a period of very low deforestation to where they are today.
Preparedness and resilience
The theme of the Nordic Forest Summit 2026 is Preparedness and Resilience. Aaron will tie into this theme by discussing the importance of forests in addressing climate change, especially given that forests cover such a small area of Iceland.
– We must prepare ourselves to be able to handle climate change. We must become sustainable and develop climate-smart forest management.
– To do this, we need a better understanding of what we have. To protect the future, we need a better understanding of the current situation.
Important to learn from others
He believes that Iceland needs to look at how other countries are doing things and adapt those approaches to its own conditions.
Originally from the UK, Aaron finds his research situation in Iceland fascinating due to the unique conditions there.
– As a researcher, Iceland is such a unique place when you try to apply research from other countries, it tends not to really work. So you constantly have to reimagine approaches, and that is fascinating in itself.
Aaron sees the Nordic context as important for Iceland, and that there has always been a connection.
– We are heavily reliant on Nordic Forest Research (SNS) networking a lot of times. We always try to see how we can utilize this sort of Nordic relationship to be beneficial. But also, we have some fantastic opportunities to, with the unique climate here, to look at how that can be adapted for other countries as well.
To hear Aaron Shearers speach at Nordic Forest Summit, register here!