How can research and innovation in the forestry sector boost growth and employment in rural areas?

Transcription

1 AN(14)7537:1 Bernhard Wolfslehner How can research and innovation in the forestry sector boost growth and employment in rural areas? Congress of European Farmers 2014

2 2 You [ ] believe to get a grip on climate change by means of regulations. God bless you! What we need, are inventors in their garages (Michael Friedman, 2009)

3 Is it only garages? Innovation is more. 3

4 Systemic Model of Innovation Markets / Demand for Forest Products Consumers (final demand) Producers (intermediate demand) Framework Conditions Financial environment; taxation and incentives; propensity to innovation and entrepreneurship; mobility Production System Final products Large Intermediaries companies Intermediary Research products institutes SMEs Brokers Primary products Forests Resources / Supply Suppliers Resource raw material producers Research System Public sector research Education System Higher education Professional education and training Political System Government Governance RTD policies Forest Sector Policies Rural and Regional Development Policies Sustainable Development Policies 4 Infrastructure Banking, venture capital IPR and information Innovation and Business support Standards and norms Actors & Institutions Interactions System as a whole Adapted from Arnold/Kuhlmann 2001

5 Most important innovation areas Processes co-operation along the forestry-wood chain use of information technologies forest owners' co-operation marketing of wood wood processing technologies improvements in transport and logistics harvesting techniques and facilities infrastructure development 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100 % very important rather important not very important no response 5

6 Product Mix % roundwood, industrial wood other wood products renting 60 game 50 services for other FH < 10 ha ha ha ha > 1000 ha other products services in recreation & tourism services in nature protection other services Rametsteiner et al

7 But also new approaches are needed

8 Example: The Borgatoro Mushroom trail (Emilia-Romagna) This trail was developed with support from the EU Leader initiative to give a thematic identity to a regional; development initiative built around the Boletus mushrooms which are found widely in the area ( territorial marketing ). 8

9 Example: The Alpannonia Longdistance hiking trail (Austria) This project supported both by EU Leader and Objective 1 support comprises a 100km trail targeted at hikers for pleasure. The trail descends from the high mountains through the Alpine pasture region and forested mountains to rolling hills in wine regions until it ends at the edge of the Pannonian plane in Hungary. 9

10 New markets - Carbon trade and bioenergy

11 Trade with forest goods

12 Spiritual or cultural services

13 Eco-sponsoring, donations, gifts, certification

14 Gaps in forest sector innovation policy Comprehensive innovation policies are lacking Innovation is seen important by policy-makers and documents but innovation support measures are rare Lack of cross-sectoral co-ordination Forest sector is hardly connected to national innovation systems Sector tends to focus on traditional products and neglects new business opportunities

15 15 What can research do?

16 Interfaces policy science science-policy transfer practical, applied research stakeholder involvement providing communication channels advocacy and agenda-setting of forest-related topics practice 16

17 Two examples

18 FP7-ARANGE: multifunctional mountain forest management 5 SMEs involved ~ 80 stakeholders in 7 European regions Concepts for managing ecosystem services in mountain forests Adaptation strategies to climate change wrt to ecosystem services (timber, biodiversity, recreation, carbon, protection) 18

19 FP7-StarTree: non-wood forest products 9 SMEs involved ~ 130 stakeholders in 13 European regions Screening of products and markets in Europe New product lines, brand creation, international exchange, business planning tools for NWFP, communities of practice for innovative production and marketing 19

20 20 COST Action Changing Forest Ownership

21 Innovation and research needs for rural areas innovations in traditionally inert production systems incl. adaptation strategies more coherent policy systems and advanced value chains New marketing schemes for ecosystem services horizontal and vertical cooperations to unravel synergies in R&D, production, and marketing collaboration and exchange with research to gain access to information, knowledge, and funding sources 21

22 Thank your for your attention Dr. Bernhard Wolfslehner European Forest Institute 22