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Issue 1 2014

Forest Information Billboard

 

Issue 1, March 2014


 

Forest Reporting

 

How close are EFSOS II projections for the energy scenario?



The UNECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section published the European Forest Sector Outlook Study (EFSOS II) in 2011. One of the main features of the study was the energy scenario with country by country outlook for wood used for energy generation until 2030. The comparative advantage of EFSOS II is its overview on material and energy use by 2020 and 2030. The basic calculations of this study were based on best data available. The most recent data available at the time on forest products production, trade and consumption were from 2008. Wood energy data were only available up to 2007. One of the major challenges for building the wood energy scenario (and others) was how to reflect the impacts of the economic downturn on wood production and consumption in the medium and long term. 

The UNECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section is conducting an assessment of the state of wood energy in 2012 in comparison to the EFSOS II scenario. For this task, Sebastian Glasenapp, a graduate from Hamburg University, has joined the UNECE/FAO team. Sebastian has compared the values of the EFSOS II study with those reported in the Progress Reports for the National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAP). Even though these reports only cover the EU28 (21 are currently available), they will give a very good indication on the current trend of wood energy use and production, compared to the calculated data in the wood energy scenario.

 

The results may be discussed by the Teams of Specialists on Forest Sector outlook and/or wood energy and may also result in a short publication. For more details, please contact Florian Steierer.

UNECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section initiates work on forest ownership in cooperation with COST Action FACESMAP

 

 

 

Forest owners play a key role in sustaining forest ecosystems, enhancing rural development and supplying resources to markets. Nevertheless, there is a significant lack of knowledge on forest ownership in the UNECE region.

 

What is the role of different forms of forest ownership in conservation of biodiversity, supply of timber and renewable energy, mitigating climate change, and providing other services? How have forest owners responded to the increased use of wood for energy in Europe since 2005, which has had substantial impact on production and trade of wood in the whole region? What is the role of forest ownership in management and use of forests?

 

The first attempt to address these and other questions was a study on private forest ownership prepared by UNECE/FAO in cooperation with FOREST EUROPE and the Confederation of European Forest Owners (published in 2011). However, the study included data representing situation at the beginning of the century and contained substantial data gaps.

 

To improve the picture on forest ownership and to monitor substantial changes that have occurred in some parts of the region, the UNECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section has initiated cooperation on forest ownership with COST Action FACESMAP "Forest Land Ownership Changes in Europe: Significance for Management and Policy". The objectives of the work are to gather information on and analyse trends in:


(A) State of forests and forest management in the context of forest ownership;
(B) Forest owners’ challenges and opportunities including attitudes and constraints of different forest owner types in Europe;
(C) Innovative management approaches and new types of forest owners; 
(D) Effective policy instruments with a comparative analysis approach;

and finally to draw conclusions and recommendations for forest-related policies, forest owners community, forest management practice, further education and future research. Data collection for the project will be completed by the end of 2014 and the report prepared in 2015.


For more information contact Elina Warsta (UNECE/FAO) or Gerhard Weiss (COST Action FACESMAP).

 

Publications

 
A new publication from PEFC – ‘Developing a National Forest Certification System: Your Toolkit’
 

Designed to address the needs of organizations currently leading standard setting processes, the Toolkit provides a step-by-step guide to developing a national forest certification system aligned with PEFC’s globally recognized sustainability benchmark requirements. It gives hands-on advice for practitioners, summarizes complex requirements with innovative graphics, and captures recommendations from PEFC and its existing members who have completed the same process.

 

For what can often be a lengthy process, the Toolkit provides a roadmap to ensure people don’t lose sight of where they are at and differentiates 5 key phases of the process: Your organization, Developing your System, PEFC Council membership, PEFC Endorsement and Running your System.

 

“The Toolkit brings together the collective knowledge of PEFC members and presents it in a format to inspire and guide other organizations embarking on the process around the world,” said Sarah Price, PEFC Head of Projects & Development at the opening of a recent publication launch event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. “We are extremely excited to finally share the results of a long, collaborative effort.”

 

The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting Sustainable Forest Management through independent third-party certification. PEFC is an alliance of national forest certification systems which are developed through multi-stakeholder processes and tailored to local priorities and conditions.


Explore the Toolkit here.
Download the Toolkit here.

Reduction of Forest Areas Available for Wood Supply (FAWS) Impacts on the Economic Situation of the Austrian Forest-Based Sector

 

Wooden biomass availability and the possibility of a scarcity due to the reduction of forest areas available for wood supply (FAWS) are of crucial importance to the Austrian forest-based sector. The simulation model of the Austrian forest-based sector (FOHOW) was used to simulate a base-scenario (incl. the implementation of the National Renewable Energy Action Plan 2010) as well as scenarios with a 10% reduction of the Austrian FAWS area. In addition, for one scenario it was assumed that Austrian roundwood imports would decrease. The aim of the study was the analysis of the impacts of reduced wood supply on the value-added wood chain. A 10% reduction of FAWS area increases the pressure on the remaining FAWS regarding higher harvests there, but also on the FAWS in neighbouring countries. But lower domestic roundwood supply cannot be fully compensated. Forest-based industry production goes down and international competition decreases due to higher roundwood costs and product prices. When decreasing roundwood imports are assumed in addition, the sector will suffer from even more impacts,e.g. the costs of wooden biomass for energy rise dramatically, as shown in the figure below.

 

The study clearly reveals the conflicting goals of nature conservation, climate protection and economy. A soft mobilisation of increment by a minor cutback in growing stock (like in the base-scenario) seems to be the most positive and stable development for all stakeholders; political goals can be reached, economic risks are low and a long-termbalance between economic and ecological sustainability can be expected.

 

Schwarzbauer et al. (2013): Reduction of the Forest Areas Available for Wood Supply (FAWS) – Impacts on the Economic Situation of the Austrian Forest-Based Sector. Austrian Journal of Forest Science 130 (2), 61-83.

 

The full text is available here.

 

 


 

Events

 

6th WoodWisdom-Net Research Programme Seminar, 9-10 April 2014, Stockholm, Sweden

 

The 6th WoodWisdom-Net Research Programme Seminar will bring together researchers and stakeholders from industry, academia and policy-making organisations in the forest-based sector.

 

The objectives of the seminar will be to discuss project results, information exchange, networking between the stakeholders and to further develop the WoodWisdom-Net Research Programme.

 

For more information (programme, registration, accommodation, contacts), please have a look at the invitation letter and other materials available on the seminar website.

 

The WoodWisdom-Net Programme is an initiative of the ERA-NET WoodWisdom-Net on wood material science and engineering and is in its third phase, now running under the ERANET Plus Scheme of the European Commission (for years 2012-2017). Currently the programme provides funding to 22 ongoing transnational research projects. The first 17 transnational research projects were funded within the programme from 2007 to 2010, and the final results of these projects were presented in connection of the 3rd Seminar in February 2011 in Paris.

 

For more information, please visit the WoodWisdom-Net website.

Annual meeting of the Timber Measurement Society, 9-11 April 2014, Coeur d'Alene Idaho, USA

 

The Timber Measurement Society will hold its annual meeting on 9-11 April 2014 in Coeur d’Alene Idaho. Participants from all over the world will attend and discuss methods of measuring roundwood, standing inventory and wood products. The meeting will include two full days of presentations from expert speakers and a field day.  Presentations will cover all facets of the technical challenges of measuring wood and biomass. There will be many technical solutions shared with the group and presentations on the general state of the forest industry. The field trip will be to the town of St. Maries Idaho with a visit to the Potlatch Corporation mill site where the participants will exchange practical information on log scaling, tour the plywood mill and the sawmill. You can download the latest version of the meeting announcement and agenda here.

 

The goal of the organization is to exchange information, educate the membership and to promote uniform measurement of timber. The organization is an excellent network of knowledge and provides a forum for cooperation and exchange of information. Anyone with an interest in the measurement of timber is invited to become a member. For more information contact Matt Fonseca at [email protected], or you can visit the Timber Measurements Society website at: www.timbermeasure.com. From the website you can go to past meeting pages where you can view hundreds of presentations from past meetings in PDF format.

4th Annual Vancouver Global Softwood Conference, 7 May 2014, Vancouver, Canada
The conference agenda/global speaker lineup covers a broad range of the key supplying regions and major global markets. We are very pleased to be able to offer such an exceptional caliber of speakers at this event.
Delegates can obtain new perspectives and outlooks on exporting regions and key markets, and they should also be well positioned to better understand new opportunities, evolving issues and possible threats to the commodity log and wood products trade.
More information is available here.
In conjunction with PwC's annual Global Forest & Paper Industry Conference - May 6, 2014. 
Optional Two 1-Day Industry & BC Coastal Temperate Rainforest Tours
May 8th (Vancouver/Lower Mainland area)  
  • View large cedar sawmill cutting for North American and export markets
 
  • Visit old growth, large log, specialty-cutting sawmill
 
  • Visit an engineered wood facility producing for North American and export markets
 
  • Subject to scheduling, observe the loading of logs onto an ocean going vessel
 
  • For those going onto the second-day tour, we will take the ferry to Vancouver Island, over-nighting in Nanaimo

May 9th (Vancouver Island - Nanaimo area)
  • Visit modernized, high speed, structural lumber sawmill
 
  • Visit the largest rotary veneer mill in B.C.
 
  • View amazing old growth forest
 
  • Attend logging operation harvesting second-growth logs
 
  • See log loading onto an ocean vessel for export to Asia (subject to scheduling of vessel)
 
  • Return to Hyatt Regency Hotel by ferry and tour bus.
 

 

24th IUFRO World Congress, October 5-11 2014, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Sustaining Forests, Sustaining People: The Role of Research
The Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

 

http://iufro2014.com/

 

Join researchers from 100+ countries for presentations on cutting-edge forest science, networking, side events and much more! Share your experiences and learn from others!

 

30 April 2014 – Early Bird Registration Deadline


 

 

 

How to contribute? Deadline for the next issue is 15 June 2014.
More information is available

here.

 

We work in cooperation with the Global Forest Information Service.