Professor Maria Nijnik has been granted a Distinguished Service Award for her significant contributions to furthering the scientific, technical, and organisational aims of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO). From 2010 to 2019, she was deputy coordinator of Working Party 4.05.02, Managerial Economics. In 2019, she helped establish Working Party 4.05.05, Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which she now coordinates. Professor Nijnik is also a deputy coordinator of Task Force 52, Forest Living Labs for Sustainable Climate Adaptation (FORLIVS), established in 2025. She contributed to the establishment of Task Force 49 on post-conflict forest landscape restoration and Task Force 48 on gender equity, diversity and inclusion.