Mikko Mönkkönen

Mikko Mönkkönen is a Professor and currently serves as Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Science at the University of Jyväskylä. His research focuses on reconciling sustainable forest use with biodiversity conservation, emphasizing boreal forest ecosystems' multifunctionality. He chairs the Expert Panel for Sustainable Development, an independent Finnish body advising on sustainable development integration into decision-making processes.

His academic background includes expertise in applied ecology, particularly regarding forest bird populations and flying squirrels. Research interests center on balancing timber production efficiency with ecological and societal sustainability, addressing climate change impacts, and policy-driven forest management conflicts. He leads projects like ResForest (enhancing socio-ecological resilience) and ForTran (systemic sustainability transitions in forest systems).

Mönkkönen's recent publications emphasize global wood demand's sustainability risks, EU biodiversity policy impacts, and cost-effective conservation strategies. His work frequently intersects policy analysis, multi-objective optimization tools (e.g., MultiOptForest), and biodiversity protection frameworks. Notable contributions include defining safe operating spaces for timber harvesting and analyzing trade-offs between climate targets and ecosystem services.

He directs the Boreal Ecosystems Research Group (BERG), a multidisciplinary team addressing boreal ecosystem challenges. His advocacy for systemic sustainability transformations is evident in collaborative projects integrating economic, environmental, and social dimensions of forest use.