[en] The energy crisis and predicted global warming are opening up new prospects for the use of forest biomass. France has made a commitment within Europe to increase the proportion of renewable energy in total energy consumption to 23% by 2020, i.e. a threefold increase on the current situation. Much of the biomass used will come from forests, for which the Grenelle Environmental Forum set a target of 20 Mm³ additional harvest by 2020, i.e. a 30% increase on the current situation. In addition, France is committed, alongside other European countries and within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted in 1992, to 'halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010', and the 'Grenelle de l'Environnement' itself is committed to preserving forest biodiversity. The possibility of reconciling the objectives of increasing biomass production and conserving biodiversity was discussed as part of the Grenelle Environmental Forum, which saw the major forestry partners agree on the objective of 'producing more (wood) while better preserving (biodiversity)' as part of 'a concerted territorial approach respecting the multifunctional management of forests'. At the request of the French Ministry for the Environment, GIP Ecofor has coordinated a collective study to summarize the potential implications of increasing the use of forest biomass on biodiversity and natural resources (soil and water) in mainland France. The study covered: - the context, forest biomass utilization prospects and forestry development scenarios to be expected in the medium term; - the possible impact of these developments on wood resources, forest biodiversity, forest soils and surface waters; - the recommendations that can be made to control the main risks and organize governance so as to effectively harvest more wood while preserving the forest environment and its biodiversity; - opportunities associated with favorable conditions for the use of biomass. The study did not address, except very partially, the world of micro-organisms, insect pests and pathogenic fungi, the intraspecific variability of forest trees, and more generally 'functional' biodiversity, ecosystem functioning (mineral element flows, etc.), the link with climate change, and the case of tropical forests

[en] Carbon sequestration and the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as strategies to limit climate change, are objectives of the highest global importance, deserving close study by every nation. Forests and the forestry and wood sector are recognized as strategic elements in the question of climate change mitigation due to their large capacity for carbon storage and their potential to limit GHG emissions. The overall carbon impact of the forestry sector includes both the effects of carbon storage in forest ecosystems and forestry products, and a substitution effect that can result from the use of wood in place of other materials or energy sources that are greater emitters of GHG. In this context, the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food requested INRA and IGN to conduct a study of the GHG emissions mitigation potential of the forestry-wood sector in France through the year 2050. The scope of the study included all forests available for wood production in mainland France, all wood-processing industries, and all social actors contributing to the development of the bio-economy via this primary production and processing supply chain. Using simulations of the effects of three contrasting forest management scenarios through the year 2050, the study confirms the central role of the French forestry and wood sector in climate change mitigation. In addition to carbon storage in forest biomass, significant benefits could be gained through increased use of wood as an energy source and - more importantly - as a material. The latter strategy, which could be encouraged through proactive forestry management and tree-planting programs, is likely to become more important as climatic conditions deteriorate and as forests become increasingly subject to severe weather events and associated threats such as forest fires and pest outbreaks

[en] The forest-based sector, like the regions where it is a symbolic feature, is currently central to challenges that are not only specifically national but also of a global nature. As a major carbon sink that is currently affected by climate change, forests are acknowledged as supplying a large number of products and services. Both economically and socially important - representing a turnover of euros 60 billion and 440,000 direct and indirect jobs -, the 14. ranking strategic industrial sector in France remains vulnerable, with a marked trade deficit of around euros 1 billion per year for timber alone, and nearly euros 5.5 billion per year if the imported materials used by the furniture, paper and board sectors are added. Faced with these challenges, support for the competitiveness of the forest-based sector, and improvements to its global, economic, environmental and social performance, necessitate a reinforcement of the research-development innovation (RDI) continuum. Work on this assignment combined various pre-existing sources (studies by the National Forest Wood Programme (PNFB) and the Strategic Committee for Forestry and Wood Sector (CSFB)), with individual or collective consultations with different actors in the sector. This approach generated two series of proposals: - 13 RDI projects grouped according to three central and complementary priorities: (a) to improve performance in all parts of the sector through systemic approaches, (b) to develop uses for wood in a future bio-economic context, and (c) to adapt forests and prepare forest resources for the future; - an analysis of RDI mechanisms and funding instruments in the sector, supplemented by recommendations: (a) mapping of these mechanisms, and (b) the characterisation and development of innovative funding modes