This year, the International Day of Forests (IDF) theme is ‘Forests and Innovation.’ In alignment with this theme, FOREST EUROPE organized a webinar on 14 March 2024 to commemorate the day. The IDF, which is celebrated annually on 21 March, celebrates and raises awareness of the importance of all types of forests. More than 110 participants joined our webinar, which aimed to highlight the importance of innovation by showcasing existing innovative practices and exploring ways of addressing the topic at the policy level.

Representatives of networks, including the Forest-based Sector Technology Platform (FTP), WoodPoP, and Future Forest Initiative (FFI), as well as start-ups like Breeze Technologies and Forest Mapping Management, provided insights from the practical perspective. They highlighted the uniqueness of their work ranging from their mission, roles, business models for forest owners and other stakeholders, and the integration of technology to address challenges such as wildfire detection and forest mapping processes. Speakers from Austria and Spain shared knowledge about their countries’ innovation ecosystems, contributing to a deeper understanding of the existing policies and the innovation-friendly environment they create. Structures and strategies directed towards foresters and government are necessary for the achievement of smooth dynamics between practice and policy.

In addition, participants had the opportunity to network with other start-ups and networks in the ‘Room for Innovation’ session, comprising of 4 breakout rooms: EFI Bioregions Facility, Firepoctep+ project, Lykaia and Forest.io. See here all the presentations.

Some of the key messages from the speakers on how to promote innovation in the forest sector included the importance of aligning priorities, coordinating policies, fostering cross-sectoral collaboration, creating enabling environments, including funding opportunities and other support services, and integrating policy, science, and practice at all levels. Embracing digital skills and fostering cooperation and co-creation were also emphasized.

Watch here the recorded webinar

The next webinar from the “From the Roots to the Canopy” series will be Spotlight on Forest Genetics: An Unseen Ally in Adapting Forests to Drought on 15 April 2024, 10:00-12:00 CEST, in collaboration with FORGENIUS and EUFORGEN. Mark your calendars and watch the webinar live on youtube.com/foresteurope/live

The post The roots of innovation – setting the course for innovation and sustainable growth in the forest sector first appeared on FOREST EUROPE.

FOREST EUROPE is organizing on 14 March 2024 webinar, “The roots of innovation – setting the course for innovation and sustainable growth in the forest sector.” This will be in the run-up to the International Day of Forests 2024, whose theme is ‘Forests and Innovation.’ The webinar is specifically for you if you are a member of the FOREST EUROPE signatories, observer organizations and countries, private sector, industry, students, research organizations, or just an interested person in innovation.

Join us as we engage with policymakers, practitioners, and start-ups to tackle different aspects of innovations with the goal of raising awareness around the topic and giving visibility to the innovations in the sector as we address policy gaps.

One more reason why you don’t have to miss: Start-ups involved in forest-related innovation will have an open space where they will present their initiatives in an open coffee style and interact with the audience.

Please register here!

Get more info about the webinar’s programme!

The post The roots of innovation – setting the course for innovation and sustainable growth in the forest sector first appeared on FOREST EUROPE.

But who are the innovators in the forest sector? The Future Forest Initiative prides itself on being Europe’s first sustainable innovation hub for forest and climate and comprises of 512 Network Supporters; 103 Startups, and 48 Startup Mentors. The Initiative is made up of three elements: Future Forest Community to support innovative ideas for the forest of the future; Future Forest Accelerator to support startup innovations until they are ready for the market; and Future Forest Forum, which is an event for innovations in the context of wood and forest.

Blankenburg Castle: Venue of the 2023 Future Forest Forum

On 8-9 September, approximately 300 innovators converged in Blankenburg, Germany, for the 3^rd edition of the Future Forest Forum to exchange ideas and perspectives and to inspire each other to rethink their forest management approaches and take actions centered around innovation for a sustainable forest sector. Start-ups from Germany and other countries in Europe showcased their innovations, which touched on a wide array of forestry topics such as:

• Early wildfire detection done in real-time and alerting local stakeholders about confirmed ignitions.
• Early bark beetle detection and alerts on bark beetle outbreaks.
• Ecosystem Service-Based Value Chains-mushroom growing in logs to provide forest owners with additional income.
• Digitalization & Automation in timber trade, inventories, regenerative nature-based solutions.
• Carbon sinks-Aerial photography and Artificial Intelligence to offer companies local climate projects.
• Bio-based materials for construction that combine both the sustainability of wood with the performance and productivity of advanced composites.
• Bio-Technological Solutions where AI is used to speed up seed quality control through dynamic bioassay analysis.
• Agroforestry
• And many many many more…
• More information about the Future Forest Forum is available here: https://www.futureforest.de/en/future-forest-forum

It is inspiring to see the innovations happening in the forest sector, a sector that has for many years been criticized as being outdated and unable to keep up with the trends in digitalization. The significance of these innovations is being acknowledged by different stakeholders. As such, the theme of the 2024 International Day of Forests will be “Forests and Innovation.” At FOREST EUROPE we are looking forward to continuing with the conversions on how to highlight the innovation potential of the sector, give visibility to the innovations taking place and the opportunities and challenges that these innovations bring. We will, therefore, continue to cooperate not only with the Future Forest Initiative but with many more actors in this important field, such as the Bioregions Facility of the European Forest Institute, Forest Technology Platform, the WoodPoP Initiative among others.

Do not forget to join us for the webinar planned to celebrate the International Day of Forests and promote the theme of forests and innovation!

The post Innovation in the forest sector: a reality or wishful thinking? first appeared on FOREST EUROPE.