EFORWOOD (6. PR)

Type of project

International

Project status

Finished

Implementation period

01.11.2005 - 31.10.2009

Contract number

Source of funding

Financing amount

Beneficiary

Coordinator / leading department

Project supervisor

Project description

EFORWOOD is an integrated project, (IP) funded under the Sixth Framework Programme for European Research & Technological Development of the European Union, Priority 6.3 Global Change and Ecosystems.

Project goals

The aim of the project is to provide methodologies and tools that will, for the first time, integrate Sustainability Impact Assessment of the whole European Forestry-Wood Chain (FWC), by quantifying performance of FWC, using indicators for all three pillars of sustainability; environmental, economic and societal. The project will provide methods to assess the sustainability impacts of modifications of Forestry-Wood Chains as influenced by policy changes, market drivers, or technological innovations.

The objective of EFORWOOD is to develop a quantitative decision support tool for Sustainability Impact Assessment of the European Forestry-Wood Chain (FWC) and subsets thereof (e.g. regional), covering forestry, industrial manufacturing, consumption and recycling.

The multi-functionality of the FWC is taken into account by using indicators to assess the sustainability of production processes and by including in the analysis the various products and services of the FWC.

Characteristics of the project

Forest-based industries (FBI) provide direct employment and income for up to 3 million people in the European Union and account for close to 10% of the manufacturing industry’s total production and value-added, according the European Commission’s FBI website. The EU forestry sector’s clients are mostly small and medium-sized local and national enterprises. Wealth creation through FBI is significantly above industry averages. This underscores the importance of making the sector efficient and environmentally sustainable. But to ensure this is the case in Europe, cutting edge research is critical. Research funding schemes, such as the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6), provide a platform and the right momentum for researchers and many different stakeholders to collaborate on major projects of value to Europe’s bottom line.

The Tool of Sustainability Impact Assessment (ToSIA) is the main product of EFORWOOD and will be elaborated during the four phases of the project. This tool will allow the assessment of the FWC (Forestry Wood Chain) based on previously determined social, economical and environmental indicators and it will be developed as a dynamic analysis model, using a consistent and harmonized framework from the forest to the end-of-life of final products.

EFORWOOD gathers together a wide range of experts from technical, environmental, social and economical science from 38 different organisations across Europe, including three overseas partners. Due to its multidisciplinary and multinational nature, the project requires sophisticated coordination and management. The project is structured in 7 interrelated modules, each of them with several work packages:

  • M0: Scientific Co-ordination and IP Management;
  • M1: Sustainability Impact Assessment;
  • M2: Forest Resources Management;
  • M3: Forest to Industry Interactions;
  • M4: Processing and Manufacturing;
  • M5: Industry to Consumer Interactions;
  • M6: Knowledge Transfer.

Scope of IBL participation

The Forest Research Institute (IBL) is involved in Module 2 (Forest resources and management). Module 2 (M2) aims at improving knowledge, methods and tools to assess the sustainability of forests and raw material production in the context of present and future FWCs. M2 will concentrate on key forest types and tree species for wood production in Europe and on several different scales (from local to European).

Module 2 is divided into the following Workpackages:

  • WP 2.0: Module management;
  • WP 2.1: Sustainable Forest Management Strategies;
  • WP 2.2: Environmental services;
  • WP 2.3: Social values;
  • WP 2.4: Risk assessment;
  • WP 2.5: Integrated modeling tools.

IBL is participating in two Workpackages:

WP 2.1 – aimed at characterization and evaluation of forest management impacts on wood quantity and quality and economic indicators. WP 2.1 addresses the issues related to the adaptation and conversion of forest and site management strategies to changing environmental conditions, to evolving FWCs and to changing social demands: site conditions of production forests vary, and forest management varies among European countries. The responsible person is Dr Sławomir Ambroży.

WP 2.4. – aimed at evaluation of forest vulnerability and damages for main types of hazards (storms, fires, pests and diseases). WP 2.4 will develop appropriate simulation and monitoring tools to evaluate the sensitivity of management strategies to hazards and to provide pertinent risk and damage indicators directly connected with European policy for the protection of forests and monitoring actions (Forest Focus). The responsible person is Dr Wojciech Grodzki.

The main area of interest in Poland is the Upper Silesia region (Regional Directorate of the State Forests in Katowice), and the Scots pine as the main tree species in consideration. Additionally, IBL is responsible for the integration of data and information about the risks in Norway spruce forests in Central region (European level).

Project contractors

Department of Forest Management in Mountain Regions
39 Fredry Street, 30-605 Kraków
tel. + 48 12 252 8208, + 48 12 252 8212
fax. + 48 12 252 8202
dr inż. Sławomir Ambroży
dr inż. Wojciech Grodzki

Partners

Role* Number Participant name Short name Country
CO 1 Swedish Forestry Research Institute Skogforsk Sweden, Uppsala
CR 2 European Forest Institute EFI Finland, Joensuu
CR 3 The University of Copenhagen KU Denmark, Copenhagen
CR 4 Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique INRA France, Paris
CR 5 Albert Ludwigs University, Freiburg ALUFR Germany, Freiburg
CR 6 Kenniscentrum Papier en Karton KCPK Netherlands, Arnhem
CR 7 STFI-Packforsk AB STFI-Packforsk Sweden, Stockholm
CR 8 InnovaWood Limited InnovaWood Ireland, Dublin
CR 9 Warsaw Agricultural University SGGW Poland, Warszawa
CR 10 Institute of Forest Ecosystem Research IFER Czech Republic, Strasice
CR 11 BOKU – University of Natural Resources and Applied Sciences, Vienna BOKU Austria, Vienna
CR 12 The Norwegian University of Life Sciences UMB Norway, Aas
CR 13 Instituto Superior de Agronomia ISA Portugal, Lisbon
CR 14 Forest Research, an executive Agency of the Forestry Commission FR United Kingdom, Edinburgh
CR 15 Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) VTT Finland, Espoo
CR 16 Building Research Establishment BRE United Kingdom, Watford
CR 17 Asociación de Investigación y Desarrollo en la Industria del Mueble y Afines AIDIMA Spain, Valencia
CR 18 JP Management Consulting (Europe) Oy JPC/Pöyry Finland, Vantaa
CR 19 Association Forêt Cellulose AFOCEL France, Paris
CR 20 Centre Tecnologic Forestal de Catalunya CTFC Spain, Solsona
CR 21 Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet SLU Sweden, Uppsala
CR 22 Alterra BV Alterra Netherlands, Wageningen
CR 23 European Confederation of Woodworking Industries CEI-Bois Belgium, Brussels
CR 24 Confederation of European Paper Industries CEPI Belgium, Brussels
CR 25 CEPF – Confédération Européenne des Propriétaires Forestiers CEPF Luxembourg, Luxembourg
CR 26 OY Keskuslaboratorio – Centrallaboratorium AB KCL Finland, Espoo
CR 27 Baden-Württemberg Forest Research Institute FVA Germany, Freiburg
CR 28 CIRAD-Forêt CIRAD France, Paris
CR 29 Federal Research Centre for Forestry and Forest Products BFH Germany. Hamburg
CR 30 Slovenian Forestry Institute SFI Slovenia, Ljubjana
CR 31 Savcor Indufor OY Savcor Indufor Finland, Helsinki
CR 32 Instytut Badawczy Leśnictwa IBL Poland, Sękocin Stary
CR 33 Technical University in Zvolen TUZVO Slovakia, Zvolen
CR 34 Latvian Forestry Research Institute SILAVA Latvia, Salaspils
CR 35 Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry IFE-MUAF Czech Republic, Brno
CR 36 Center for International Forestry Research CIFOR Indonesia, Bogor
CR 37 Unité de Recherché sur la Productivité des Plantations Industrielles UR2PI Congo Republic, Pointe Noire
CR 38 Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Centrer CATIE Costa Rica, Turrialba

*K – koordynator, P – partner

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