Workshop on Wood Mobilisation The Role of Forest Co-operatives

Transcription

1 Margot Régolini-EFIATLANTIC Workshop on Wood Mobilisation The Role of Forest Co-operatives 6 th May 2015 Waterford Institute of Technology

2 About the project 28 partners in 11 countries (11 SMEs) 4 year project ( ) Budget approx. 7.5 million Euros (EU contribution 5.9 million Euros) Funded by the EU 7 th Framework Programme (FP7) Fotolia/halilgor

3 To increase the mobilisation of wood from forests and woodlands in Europe SIMWOOD reaches out to stakeholders and regional initiatives with the aim of: Raising awareness and mobilising public and private forest owners Promoting collaborative forest management Ensuring sustainable forest functions. Fotolia/Jan Becke

4 Forests are a major natural resource 159 million ha = 37% of Europe s land area (Eurostat 2013) Multiple ecological, economic and social functions Natural cycles of soil, water atmosphere Biological diversity Mitigation of climate change effects Forest products, employment, services Fotolia/AK-DigiArt

5 Wood = backbone of the forest-based sector EU forest-based industries All value chains depend on renewable forest resources 4-5 million employees, 600,000 enterprises 550 bn annual turnover 10-15% of total manufacturing A major employer not only in rural regions EFI/Anu Ruusila

6 A growing demand for wood Total expected demand of 853 million mᶟ in 2030 solid uses will grow steadily, new chemical uses will emerge Wood fuel +1.5% growth per year, 585 million mᶟ in 2030 Expected to lead to -> scarcity of wood, stronger competition and structural shifts in the forest sector. EFI/Rach Colling

7 Underused wood resources Current harvesting levels below sustainable allowable cut Theoretical potential very high, mobilisable potential still unknown Main potential is locked in private forests EFI/Satu Williams

8 Private forest owners in Europe 16 million in Europe, increasing due to inheritance Traditional owners: declining Urban forest owners: increasing Timber no longer 1 st priority Land fragmentation: 2/3 of owners have less than 1 hectare Lack of interest, skills and capacity for forest management Wood mobilisation: mobilisation of forest owners! EFI/Rach Colling

9 What are the barriers to wood mobilisation? Socio-economic, technical and environmental barriers Demographic change Marginal or unstable income Increasing fragmentation Difficult access and harvesting Reluctance to accept reducedimpact logging Societal demand for free ecosystem services Unpredictable impacts of climate change EFI/Satu Williams

10 EFI/Satu Williams Promotes collaborative wood mobilisation in the context of multifunctional forest management across European forest regions

11 SIMWOOD objectives Understand motivations of forest owners Promote forest governance and joint action Develop multifunctional forest management Integrate forest ecosystem services Establish adapted forest harvesting techniques Demonstrate regional initiatives and solutions Recommend tailor-made instruments Encourage broad outreach and exploitation EFI/Satu Williams

12 14 European model regions Represents main European forest types Regional Learning Labs ensure stakeholder involvement Regional profiles developed and evaluated

13 Expected outcomes/results SIMWOOD Mobiliser A novel, cross-regional, pan-european monitoring and policy support information system Unique knowledge base of model region profiles, innovative practices and technologies, key actors and existing collaborative initiatives and effective support programmes in the regions Expert system to evaluate the impact of up-scaling innovative solutions to the larger EU context Modern communication tools for targeted outreach to forest owners and other stakeholders

14 More information Coordinator: Roland Schreiber, Bavarian State Institute of Forestry (LWF)

15 Partners