France owns 17 million hectares of forests (31% of its territory) and a further 6.2 million hectares in the French overseas territories, of which 6 million hectares are in Guyana alone. 75% of the forests are private, 16% are communal and 9% are state forests managed by the ONF (Office National des Forêts), with hardwood accounting for 72% and softwood for 28% of forest stocks.
This creates a significant demand for industry expertise. Consequently, one of the regional French Forest Centres, along with its members, including forest owners, the Group Productivity Center and Forestry Action from Aquitaine / Lot-et-Garonne region in Southwest France, will visit Finland in September with five main objectives:
- Get to know the Finnish forestry industry
- Understand Scots pine and birch silviculture
- Discuss wood business and pricing
- Visit production facilities and molls, and
- Search for Smart forestry solutions to enhance their forest management and in response against climate change.
During their visit, the French group will meet with representatives of the Finnish forest ecosystem, key stakeholders, industry leaders, and policymakers.
In connection with the visit, Business Finland, in cooperation with the Group Productivity Center and Forestry Action from Aquitaine, is organizing a networking event on Monday, September 9, 2024, from 18:30 to 20:30 at Team Finland House in Helsinki.
Draft agenda
Welcome Remarks
Presentation on the French Forest Ecosystem by the GPF Lot-et-Garonne Association (Forest Owners Group Association) and their needs
Presentations by attending Finnish companies (5-10 minutes per company)
Networking
We are pleased to invite you to this event, where French and Finnish experiences in forestry can be shared and new business relationships can be established.
Who should attend?
Finnish organizations that provide the following solutions or products in forest management and smart forestry:
- Smart forestry, forestry know-how and management, technologies and automation in wood processing
- Forest management
- Harvesting and transportation
- Forestry data and analytics
- Remote sensing and digital inventory, monitoring
- R&D highlights, and
- Risk analysis solutions.
Welcome to meet with the French forest delegation, learn about the French ecosystem in the Aquitaine region and their needs, and present your solutions!
