Regional value chains – forest and wood

HUB BERN | Project AWN-2

Our aim is to help improving regional forest- and wood-related value chains, taking into account the ecologically and socially relevant ecosystem services provided by the forest.

The regions of Oberland East and Emmental are both characterized by having a significant amount of forest, but they differ in terms of ownership structure and the proportion of forest designated for protection. The pilot project in these two regions aims to improve regional forest- and wood-related value creation together with local decision-makers from the forestry and timber sectors as well as policymaking and wider society. In collaboration with these stakeholders, ideas and solutions will be developed on how to use renewable wood resources sustainably in a regional circular economy, and how to initiate the necessary societal transformation process for this purpose.

At the same time, a research project has been launched to study transformative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the wood-processing sector. Utilizing case study regions in the canton of Bern and Austria's Voralberg, the project investigates the ability of such SMEs to drive sustainable business practices and the strategies they employ to steer the entire sector towards sustainability. Through targeted information and knowledge exchange, relevant research results will be integrated into a practice-oriented project on wood- and forest-related value creation.

In a interregional workshop with broad stakeholder participation, initial ideas for potential solutions were discussed. The subsequent industry survey facilitated the prioritization of the ideas. Currently, partnerships are being formed and initial pilot projects along the value chain are being implemented in the regions of Oberland East and Emmental.

Read more:

Projekte - Regionale Wertschöpfung Wald und Holz (lignumbern.ch)

Office for Forests and Natural Hazards of the Canton of Bern