Planting forests, the central challenge
Decarbonising the construction industry through timber depends on making more and better use of the resource, which should ideally be sourced locally.
But French forests also play a key role in mitigating climate change by providing a natural carbon sink.
How can these two priorities be reconciled? Do we have to choose between them?
Sabrina Fuseliez, deputy director of the “Plantons pour l'avenir” (planting for the future) endowment fund, gives us her point of view.
Annual carbon sequestration by forests has halved over the last decade. In this context, how can we reinforce the use of timber without getting in the way of its climate role?
If forests are now capturing less carbon, this is because they are increasingly fragile, due to droughts, diseases associated with growing numbers of pests, fires and other disasters. Ageing forests that are not managed can decay. The more fragile the trees become, the heavier the impact of these phenomena.
In my view, it's essential to have both a global vision of forest-related challenges and a sector-specific vision. To ensure forests are renewed, we must work together more and plant or replant species that are better able to withstand climate change, anticipating its effects as much as possible. In fact, this was the goal of the government's much-publicised announcement in October 2022 setting a target of a billion trees to be planted in 10 years, equivalent to renewing 10% of France's forests. There are many programmes and sources of funding enabling professionals to put this into practice in the field alongside forest landowners.
SABRINA FUSELIEZ, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE "PLATONS POUR L'AVENIR" ENDOWMENT FUND
This renewal needs to take multiple priorities into account, reflecting the multifunctional nature of forests: global warming and its impact on forests, the need to decarbonise our economy by promoting timber products, resource and biodiversity preservation, recreational uses of forests and many others.
The equation is complex, but it can be sustained subject to certain conditions.
To respond as effectively as possible, this multifunctionality cannot be applied in the same way to every plot of land. It needs to be considered on the scale of a region, a massif or an estate for optimum results.
Of course, a common core of sustainable forest management remains an absolute necessity, and regulation provides an excellent framework for this.
But to decarbonise the economy and improve the country's timber sovereignty, we will need to use more French wood. We currently import timber, because our national resource is not sufficiently developed. In France, planted forests make a major contribution to supplying the timber industry while only representing 15% of forested land in the country. These planted forests must continue to grow by several additional percentage points.
With the “Plantons pour l'avenir” fund, which you manage, you have supported 400 reforestation projects since 2014, representing nearly 2,500 hectares and over three million new trees. You operate primarily in the development of planted forests. How, and what standards do you set?
The reason for this focus on planted forests is simple. In France, 75% of forests are privately owned by 3.5 million landowners. Our “Plantons pour l'avenir” endowment fund was created in 2014 in response to concerns about the lack of support for replanting.
The need to support forest renewal stands out in a series of reports that have been published in recent years.
There are different ways of managing forests, and the one to choose depends on the property and the region. They all represent a cost, with no short-term profitability, since tree growth takes place over the long term. The result is that a significant proportion of our forests are abandoned or stagnating for technical or economic reasons. This is where we intervene.
As a public interest fund, financed by donations, we act at a level close to operators in the field to enable declining forests faced with forestry-related or economic obstacles to be brought back under management. We offer forest owners support with planting and maintenance over five years in the form of an interest-free advance repayable after 30 years. At the end of this period, the planted trees can be harvested and more trees replanted. The revenue generated can be used to repay the advance and support further projects. This contributes to forest renewal by offering attractive leverage for landowners. We can also supplement public support provided by central or local government, again with the aim of easing deadlocks and facilitating sustainable management.
Every project we conduct is supported by a state-registered professional forest manager (a cooperative, an expert or a freelance manager). And every time the manager discovers a specific issue in the property associated with the plantation project, such as the presence of wetlands, “islands of senescence” (areas in which trees are left to age naturally) or forest edges, which are all rich in biodiversity, we are experimenting with direct grants for their improvement, restoration or preservation to contribute to the co-benefits of the project.
As well as our “Planter” (planting) programme, we also have a “Sensibiliser” (awareness) programme to spotlight attention on the roles of forests and the uses of timber in fighting climate change and encouraging regional development.
Our third programme, “Innover” (innovation), aims to support research, development and innovation projects for techniques, practices and species that will be better suited to the climate of the future. We have contributed to studies of ash dieback, for example, and we have been supporting work in arboretums for several years, alongside INRAE and IEFC, to study how deciduous and coniferous trees along Europe's Atlantic coast are responding to drought and other climate disruptions over nearly a decade, analysing their growth at various sites. We recently supported a study to evaluate plantations of Turkish fir and its possibilities as a substitute for more fragile species.
By concentrating on forest renewal and the development of timber products, we are helping to support a whole economic sector for the future, with a positive impact on the environment and the regions.
So you are fairly optimistic about the ability of forests to fulfil all the goals set for them in the future?
Yes, absolutely.
Only just under 65% of natural annual growth is currently used. French forests are continuing to gain ground, and it is important to make sure this happens in the optimum way to maximise their chances of playing their part in tackling the challenges we face. Forests are an essential ally. Let's support them in the appropriate way for each area so that they give us the solutions we need in return.
Only by developing cooperation between all stakeholders throughout the chain, sharing knowledge, encouraging investment and educating the public can we succeed collectively in promoting and preserving the magnificent heritage of our forests.
At our own level, this is what motivates us every day to take our work further.
If you want to find out more, come to the next Eurobois trade show, which is sponsoring “Plantons pour l'avenir” through its CSR policy.
