The unmapped potential of German state and privately owned forests

The breathing green reserve

The significance of forests is multidimensional because they serve ecological, economic, and social needs. The role of the forests is highlighted in the climate change combat. Forests act as nature’s lungs sequestrating carbon especially in the growth stage. During recent years German forests have faced many damages, such as storms, forest fires and bark beetle infestations. According to the agricultural ministry, 2020 killed more surveyed trees than any recorder year before.

The German government has already established 1.5 billion euro support scheme to encourage forest owners to reforestation and to deal with forest damages.

The luring energy crisis also calls for immediate actions.

Companies and countries increasingly recognize the value of the forests as the year 2022 is characterized by shocks and constant change. After starting to recover from the covid-19 pandemic a new crisis hits Europe.

!!! For example – create a listing of top urgencies or items affecting the forest industry /resource sector! This is just to guide you – not the real list.

1. Raw material availability, energy prices and logistic disruptions shape the forestry market outlook with a heavy hand.
2. The prices of wood-based raw materials have soared high, as the demand exceeds supply in all major markets while expansionary monetary policy is speeding up the inflation.
3. States and companies must restructure to survive and build sustainable growth.
4. Due to economic iron curtain descending between Europe and Russia the trade flows must be re-routed.

Stakeholders are faced with a major dilemma: how to maintain biodiversity and reach for the goals related to sustainability and carbon neutrality while ensuring the raw material availability for different businesses?

Different end-uses of wood. Using all parts of the tree is resource efficiency at its best. Forests provide suitable raw-material for many end-uses, thus higher valorization of all the side-streams should be a common interest for the industry globally. (Source: Cepi, based on Vision Hunters´ research)

Understanding the whole forest value chain

Underpinned by our understanding of the whole forest value chain Vision Hunters can help clients with the complex issues they are facing. Our expertise covers wood and land availability and wood sourcing analyses, e.g. in connection with new potential investments, and global plantation and native forest-based business. Vision Hunters’ services also include forest transaction advisory, holistic wood supply planning and supply chain improvements, and strategic market analyses.

Changing climate conditions pressure operational adjustments

Acceleration of climate change forces plantation forestry to adjust operations to changing conditions caused by droughts, forest fires, pests, and floods. Growth expectations are altering, and seedlings need to be developed front-loaded, a few rotations ahead, to meet future requirements. In boreal forests the mild winters challenge the supply chain and pests are a problem both in North America and Europe.

Digitalization offers efficiency

Digitalization is offering new opportunities for improving efficiency also in this sector and forestry operations today are highly automated from seedling to harvesting. Also, forest mapping and inventory management, which used to take days of manual labor, can today by done by using drones in a fraction of the time.

Harvesters have been collecting the data for decades, but the data link has disappeared at the wood yard gates. Technology for full automation of wood yards already exists, and the utilization would enable tracking of the raw material from the forest to the end customer, increasing visibility throughout the value chain.