Twenty-seven entities are calling for the creation of a National Research and Innovation Agenda for the Forest and Forest-based Bioindustries for 10 years with 11 priorities, it was announced today.
The Collaborative Laboratory for Integrated Forest and Fire Management (Colab Forestwise), based in Vila Real, said in a statement that the document advocates a national long-term strategy, with concrete priorities, multi-annual funding, and mechanisms to turn research into applied solutions.
So far, 27 entities linked to research, industry, forest producers, technological centers, sector associations and certification systems have signed the document “Forest and the Bioeconomy of the Future: Knowledge, Innovation and Value,” promoted by Colab Forestwise, which proposes the creation of the National Research and Innovation Agenda for the Forest and Forest-based Bioindustries, with a 10-year horizon and a five-year review.
“Portugal has knowledge, scientific capacity and highly innovative companies. The challenge is to create conditions for that capacity to respond continuously to the needs of the forest, the industry and society. This proposal precisely aims to build that bridge, as a long-term vision, with clear priorities and mechanisms to turn knowledge into impact,” states Luís Rochartre of Colab Forestwise, in a statement.
The document identifies 11 research and innovation priorities, covering forest resilience to climate change, fire-resistant landscapes, health and biosafety, biodiversity and ecosystem restoration, digitization and active forest management, governance and forest policies, valorization of raw materials and by-products, bioproducts and biorefineries, timber construction, decarbonization and industrial efficiency, and the application of digitization, automation and artificial intelligence along the value chain.
In the document, they argue that these priorities should be realized through structural programs and national missions with measurable targets, with participation from the state, the scientific community, companies, business associations and producer organizations.
Among the conditions considered essential, according to the press release, are multi-annual funding, compatible with the long cycles of the forest, as well as a national network of trials and monitoring with continuity over time, greater demonstration and forest extension capacity, pilot and pre-industrial infrastructures, and a strengthened commitment to education and the training of sector professionals.
The year 2026 is considered “a particularly relevant moment for this discussion” due to the end of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) and the preparation of the next European financial framework, and the proposal, as explained, “does not arise from the need to create new structures,” but from “a greater articulation of existing institutions and competences.”
Forests occupy more than one third of the continental territory, and between 2021 and 2025, exports associated with the sector reached an annual average of around €6.3 billion, roughly 8% of the country’s total exports of goods, with a positive balance close to €3 billion.
The sector also accounts for around 100,000 jobs, many of them in rural and low-density areas, at a time when it faces growing challenges such as the effects of climate change, extreme wildfires, pests and diseases, invasive species, lack of property management, shortages of raw materials and labor.
Colab Forestwise is based at the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD).
