OptiForValue article in Les Échos d’Ecofor (Issue No. 66)

We were happy to have OptiForValue work featured in the summer edition (Issue No. 66) of Les Échos d’Ecofor, published by GIP Ecofor! This issue explores the potential and limitations of artificial intelligence in forest ecology and includes contributions from:

• FORESTT-HUB Second seminar
• OptiForValue: Optimising Forest Operations for Sustainable Forest Management and High-Value Applications
• GreenEO:  Satellite-based services to support sustainable land-use practices – Satellite tech for a greener Europe – AI and satellites at the service of fire management
• FORbEST: Safeguarding Carbon and Biodiversity across European Forest Ecosystems through Multi-actor Innovation – science, policies and territories united for the forests of tomorrow

Full article in French can be found here: http://www.gip-ecofor.org/les-echos-decofor-n66/

OptiForValue article in Les Échos d’Ecofor (Issue No. 66) – English

OptiForValue – Optimising Forest Operations for Sustainable Forest Management and High-Value Applications

Through case studies in Austria, Spain, Sweden, and Finland, the OptiForValue project aims to strengthen sustainability, resilience, and competitiveness across European forest value chains. Expected long-term impacts include a 10% reduction in wood damage, €350m annual gains from improved quality control, €240m annual gains from increased harvest, 5% rise in forestry jobs in climate-impacted areas, and up to a 10% cut in fossil fuel use and emissions.

Global wood demand is rising and is estimated to outpace supply, increasing pressure on forests. Forestry offers a pathway to boost European competitiveness, reduce dependence on non-renewable unsustainable resources, and enhance the circular bioeconomy and climate resilience. However, Europe’s forests and their value chains face diverse challenges due to climate change, including biodiversity loss and increasing threats to forest health and economic revenue.

OptiForValue is a 4-year European project funded by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking that tackles these challenges by optimising forest operations for sustainable forest management and high-value applications, and by fostering a transition to more sustainable and resilient forest-based value chains. This is being achieved using unique advanced modelling techniques, remote sensing, innovative cascading wood uses, strong participative stakeholder engagement and novel scientific approaches. The project will support early warning indicators for declining tree health and wood quality, adaptive sustainable forest management strategies, and artificial intelligence for agile value-management and forest operations integrated with life cycle assessments.

Led by LUKE Natural Resources Institute Finland, the transdisciplinary team of 17 partners from across seven European countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Sweden) are working together to deliver innovative tools and guidelines to improve forest and value chain management under climate-related stresses like drought, fire, pests, and snow damage. In addition, the team are developing solutions for new high-value engineered wood products from both healthy and damaged wood, supporting cascading use of sustainably harvested forest biomass to boost adaptive forest and value chain management for future demands.

OptiForValue’s methods and solutions will be demonstrated via four local multi-actor studies and data analysis, spanning forest inventory and operations to transport, storage, processing and production of value-added wood products. This will increase co-creation with knowledge exchange between regional and local forestry actors to develop innovation capacity, encourage deployment of solutions and maximise uptake of new opportunities.

Learnings will be integrated, creating a comprehensive forest knowledge base that will enable forest owners and managers to improve their response to growing pressures on forests and strengthen forest resilience and the bioeconomy for forest-based value chains. This includes novel non-invasive techniques, technologies and guidelines for improved management of forest stands and value chains affected by drought, fire, insects, and snow damage across Europe.

Outputs will also incorporate sustainable methods to restore and enhance forest health and increase biodiversity; an understanding of the environmental and social impacts of the solutions and their economic feasibility; new high-value engineered wood products; and adjustments in forest management to meet future alternative demands for high-value forest products, all in alignment with the EU Forest Strategy 2030, EU Green Deal and EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030.

OptiForValue will accelerate this transition by enhancing the sustainability, resilience, supply security and cost competitiveness of regional value chains in Central European, Mediterranean and boreal forests, with potential applicability to various regions throughout Europe.

Funding acknowledgement: The OptiForValue project is supported by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) and its members under Grant Agreement N° 101157658. Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CBE JU. Neither the European Union nor the CBE JU can be held responsible for them.