How to improve forestry capacity?

DIALOGUES 03. Barrié Foundation in A Coruña. Saturday April 27, 2013 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Currently, Galicia (with 70% of its territory classified as forestry) plays a relevant role in the Spanish production of wood and derivatives. However, the relevance of this sector in terms of turnover and employment is lower. Furthermore, 30% of the Galician forest area is wasted.

Ownership of the Galician forest is concentrated in private smallholdings, with an average surface area smaller than in other countries with forests. This greatly complicates the concentration of ownership or management, which in turn conditions forestry exploitation. The level of return from the forestry business for a small owner does not encourage active and professional management. Promoting associations as well as the exploitation of certain plots towards non-wood production (chestnuts, honey, mushrooms,...) could be a way out for their use.

The processing industry needs certified, quality raw materials to be competitive and provide added value, but without efficient forestry the forest burns and its potential is diluted.

The Galician forestry industry can double its contribution to the economy of Galicia, but to achieve it it is key that current forestry commits to being more competitive. This implies improving the productivity of wooded masses, deepening the creation of grouped management models and investing in the forest.

The Barrié Foundation Scholarship Association held the first edition of this debate in November 2010, Dialogues 01, which was focused on the optimization of research capacity in Galicia. In May 2012, the second edition of Dialogues 02 on organization of metropolitan areas.

Dialogues 03, an interdisciplinary debate in which experts in territorial planning, management and the forestry industry will propose solutions on how to improve Galician forestry. The event, free and open to the public until capacity is reached, will be presented by the president of the Scholarship Association, Fernando González Laxe, and will feature the participation of The Boston Consulting Group, and several members of the Barrié Foundation, organized in the following discussion topics:

Group 1. Territorial planning (coordinator: Toni Garcia)

Guest experts

Ramón Reimundo and Daniel Villapol

Group 2. Forest management (coordinator: Gustavo Amann)

Guest experts

Luis Díaz Balteiro and Xavier Bruña.

Group 3. Industry (coordinator: Emilio Santos)

Guest experts

Juan Picos and J. Rocha