The conference is a continuation of the successful series of Forum Carpaticum meetings held every two years: starting with 2010 in Kraków, Poland, then Stará Lesná, Slovakia (2012), Lviv, Ukraine (2014), and 2016 in Bucharest, Romania.
The Forum Carpaticum is an open meeting of the Science for the Carpathians (S4C) initiative. The scientific cooperation network S4C was established in 2008. The network connects scientists interested or involved in research on the Carpathian region, helping to define research priorities and enhancing international collaboration with partners from outside the Carpathians.
Encompassing a broad spectrum of scientific disciplines from the natural and social sciences, as well as practical applications of that knowledge, the Forum Carpaticum advances science-based solutions to pressing environmental, economic, and social challenges.
The 5th Forum Carpaticum conference will cover a wide range of topics related to sustainability in the Carpathians, including land cover and land-use change, renewable energy, climate change vulnerability assessment- and adaptation, and connections between water and forests. The breadth of topics extends to the humanities, such as traditional ecological knowledge, spatial inequalities, and social innovation in mountain areas.
In conjunction with the Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention, the 5th Forum Carpaticum will specially highlight prioritized topics on biodiversity conservation and sustainable tourism development and education for sustainable development (ESD).