EU-wide network unlocks potential of sustainable wood forest resources
European forests currently face several challenges, including the effects of climate change. Foresters, forest owners and public authorities are looking for sustainable solutions. “The challenge was to support stakeholders of the wood value chain in mobilising more wood from European forests in a more sustainable way, while safeguarding their undeniable ecological and social value,” explains Anthony Salingre, coordinator of the EU-funded ROSEWOOD(opens in new window) project.
Knowledge transfer network for sustainable European wood mobilisation
Project partners established a trans-European network to transfer best practices and innovations in sustainable wood mobilisation. Four regional hubs(opens in new window) for sustainable wood mobilisation in north, central, east and south Europe are at the heart of the network. They initiated dialogue and collaboration on wood mobilisation amongst practitioners, experts, and political and economic players. “Based on this, the buzz phrase was the transfer of knowledge between the hubs to allow for best practice exchange and the creation of new cooperative projects,” notes Salingre. The connections and synergies created through the network will impact Europe’s wood sector, initiate new partnerships, and provide momentum for lasting growth and novel business opportunities. This network of regional hubs has been restructured and expanded thanks to the follow-up ROSEWOOD4.0 project. New countries joined, resulting in the creation of an additional hub.
Facilitating uptake of best practices as new business opportunities
Together with the network stakeholders, the ROSEWOOD team selected innovative solutions and best practices in the field and supported the development of new partnerships and business models. It delivered a suite of instruments and resources for sustainable wood mobilisation that can be further used by the network. Roadmaps(opens in new window) based on stakeholder needs within the regional hubs highlight best practices and innovations that have the potential to serve as tools for prosperous and sustainable wood mobilisation. A toolbox(opens in new window) eases innovation processes within organisations and shows how to better exploit best practices and innovations. Recommendations(opens in new window) assess current policy instruments for wood mobilisation and provide suggestions for an improved EU policy framework. The focus is on education, training, financing instruments and political measures. Team members created a map viewer(opens in new window) to explore all the best practices and innovations across Europe by country, type and domain. It presents over 100 best practices and 30 innovation cases in sustainable wood mobilisation. Among the cases featured are exemplary products, business concepts and ideas from the entire wood value chain, from novel services in digitalising forest management to innovative reuse of wood for new window frames. The online platform also presents examples of excellence in wood mobilisation from 10 European countries. “ROSEWOOD has launched a knowledge exchange dynamic between the regions to improve the global sustainability of wood mobilisation practices in the EU,” concludes Salingre. “Stakeholders are benefiting from the hubs by having a point of contact to look for potential partners and find sources of knowledge from other countries that can have relevant practices to support their businesses’ sustainability.”