Chairperson

Dr. Marco Ferretti was the Chairman of ICP Forests from 2017 until his retirement in 2026. He already joined the programme in 1988 and has been an active member and co-ordinator of various ICP Forests Committees and Expert Panels before being appointed as the Chairman.

Dr. Ferretti holds a Master’s degree in Forest Science from the University of Firenze and obtained his PhD from the University of Siena. Until 2026, he was the Head of the Research Unit “Forest Resources and Management” at the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL. Before, he was Technical Director at TerraData (Italy), Contract Professor at the University of Siena, and Contract Researcher at the University of Firenze. He also served as co-ordinator of the IUFRO Working Group 7.04.01 "Detection, Monitoring and Evaluation".

Dr. Ferretti’s main scientific interest was to ensure high quality forest monitoring, to link different fields of the monitoring science, and to promote integration across disciplines in order to improve our understanding of forest dynamics and management, and to better respond to societal needs.