23rd February: World Cafe in Romania

The main topic of the event organized on the 23rd of February by PRO WOOD Regional Wood Cluster, together with the National Forest Owners Association and National Furniture Producers Association, was on emphasizing the importance of a sustainable value chain. The idea of sustainability and circularity has been mentioned several times. 

The event brought together stakeholders from all sectors of the value chain. The main purpose of the seminar was to highlight the importance of sustainable forest resource management, promote responsible practices in wood processing and furniture manufacturing, and encourage collaboration among the various parties involved to build a more sustainable and ethical value chain.

The main topics covered included:

·        Sustainable Forest Management and Forest Certification.

·        Energy Efficiency and Waste Reduction in Wood Processing Processes.

·        Responsible Design and Sustainable Materials in Furniture Manufacturing.

·        Collaboration among Different Stakeholders in the Value Chain to Promote Sustainable Practices.

Additionally, discussion sessions and Q&A sessions were organized to facilitate the exchange of ideas and experiences among participants.

A particular focus was on the following initiative: Wood as primary construction material - The policy aims to identify how forests can provide new jobs and business opportunities in order to keep rural communities alive.  Beside the strengthen of traditional use of wood there is a need to create new, competitive wooden products with high added value. Since Harghita County is rich in wood source, the main aim of this policy is to encourage and promote the use of wood in constructions first of all at the level of public buildings but to enlarge it on business and household level. This successful implementation project from Harghita County we are going to expand this approach on national level in Romania.

 In order to protect the local wood processing-based industry the policy of County Council does not allow the establishment of international investors who would like to exploit the county’s natural resources without adding high value-added activity on local level.  Taking into account that at this moment there isn’t any big company, investor in the field of silviculture and forestry establish in the county this is already a positive impact of the policy.

This policy approach should be taken into account at in other regions of Romania as well. 52% of Harghita County’s turnover is given by forest management and wood processing.  35.6 % of the County’s surface is covered by forest, 47% of these forests are owned by local forest owner associations, the rest being owned by private owners and local public authorities, churches and state.  The most important lessons from this best practice is the consciousness and endurance of the local stakeholders.