1. The importance of a chain between forests as natural capital and wood as raw a material Italian Ministry for the Environment Land and Sea Italian Delegation to the Alpine Convention and Region Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy Ljubljana May 25, 2015 Dr. Rinaldo COMINO Forest Officer of the Regional Directorate for productive activities, trade, cooperation, agricultural and forest resources rinaldo.comino@regione.fvg.it I SLO A F CH HR BiH H

2. Italian Framework 1) National Level: the national wood chain plan Ministry Environment – Agricolture 2) Cooperation level on the Alpine area: Working Group “Mountain Forest” of the Alpine Convention chaired by Italy Framework Convention Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development Conservation of nature and countryside Soil conservation Energy Mountain farming Mountainforests Tourism Transport

3. The statement on the value of the alpine forests Main results from the Italian Presidency 2013-2014 of the Alpine Convention Guidelines for climate change adaptation addressing also forest issue

4. These results from the Italian Presidency 2013-2014 of the Alpine Convention was Approved by XIII Conference of the Alps by the Alpine Ministers of Environment (Turin, November 21, 2014) Presented to an international expert audience during the UNFCCC COP20 on Climate Change (Lima, Peru, 1-12 December 2014)

5. We would like to invite you to the next meeting jointly organized for the 3rd of June in Milano by MOUNTAIN WEEK 4-11 June in EXPO 2015

6. The importance of a chain between forests as natural capital and wood as raw a material Topic 1: Some data of the Italian forestry and timber sector Topic 4: The financial measures of the Rural Development Plan 2014-20 for the forestry sector Topic 3: The national wood chain plan Topic 2: The poplar cultivation Topic 5: Competence of the State and the Regions

7. ITALY (national forest inventory data): Forest area in 1985 8.600.000 hectares (28 % of the national territory) Forest area in 2005 10.300.000 hectares (34 % of the national territory) Forest area in 2015 10.900.000 hectares (preliminary estimates, 36% of the national territory) TOPIC 1: Some data of the Italian forestry and timber sector It is important to consider that the Inventory of 1985 has adopted a different definition of forest: the target of minimum covering increased from 20% to 10% and the minimum size from 2,000 m² to 5,000 m² Italian forest area has been subject, from the late '40s, to a process of gradual and continuous growth, due not only to reforestation measures, but also due to a natural increasingly recolonization of abandoned farmland The regions with the highest percentage of surface Forest are Liguria, Trentino, Sardinia, Tuscany and South Tyrol, where more than half of the territory It is covered by forests.

8. TOPIC 1: Some data of the Italian forestry and timber sector At national level, the most common forest categories are the oak and beech woods forests. The 68% of the forests consists of predominantly deciduous trees. The predominance of deciduous is common throughout the country, except for some Alpine backgrounds (Valley of Aosta, Trentino and South Tyrol). oak woods Quercus robur Quercus petraea Quercus cerris Quercus frainetto Quercus trojana and others coniferous woods Picea abies Abies alba Larix decidua Pinus sylvestris Pinus nigra Pinus cembra And others

9. 60s 80s 90s 2000 hectares TOPIC 1: Some data of the Italian forestry and timber sector years Increase of forest area in the region Friuli Venezia Giulia

10. The Region Friuli Venezia Giulia has a land area of 785.800 hectares. About 93% of the forest is located in the mountains, only about 7% in the plains Of these, about 324,000 are covered by forest, or 41% of the total 39% of the forest is planned and corresponds to about 124,800 hectares (blue color corresponds to the total area covered by Forestry Management Plan) SUPERFICI FORESTALI

11. TOPIC 1: Some data of the Italian forestry and timber sector all regions have actually an increasing forest area

12. Private forest area:5.800.000 hectares Public forest area:5.100.000 hectares Available area to timber harvesting: > 80% annual increase 36.000.000 m 3 annual average utilization 9.600.000 m 3 (corresponding to approximately 27% of the annual increase, compared to 65% of the European average, with varied situations from region to region, but with no many positive situations such as Trentino and South Tyrol with approximately 50%) TOPIC 1: Some data of the Italian forestry and timber sector

13. Timber for industryWood for energy use Fonte: piano di settore della filiera legno cubic meters harvesting intensity trend in Italy

14. TOPIC 1: Some data of the Italian forestry and timber sector Timber industry (beams - travi, big poles, round timber, veneer, roundwood for pastry, roundwood for saw, timber for shredding - triturazione, etc.) Firewood Total Coniferous woods (m 3 ) 2005 2006 2007 Total (m 3 ) 2005 2006 2007 Deciduous woods (m 3 ) 2005 2006 2007 downward trend

15. The trend of utilization is negative and reflects a low interest among forest owners, inadequate forests infrastructure, excessive bureaucracy, companies however small and little or nothing in the network etc.

16. The region with about 10.000 hectares of woodland and a total of 15.000 hectares property has a trend of withdrawals in contrast, motivated by the change of objectives, strategy and operating mode in the late '90s Forest harvesting in the properties of FVG

17. Availability of data for the decision not to sell the forest standing but prepared timber www.borsalegno.fvg.it

18. In 2010 the 32% of the total wood harvested in Italy (2.415.000 m 3 ) was industrial roundwood (lumber, veneer and saw logs, for pasta and other lumber for industrial use). Most of this production (60%) is concentrated in the North-East of the country, where there are the most important productive high forests of the country. TOPIC 1: Some data of the Italian forestry and timber sector As for firewood, 90% comes from deciduous woodlands, especially from mixed oak (47%) with predominant coppice government, typical of Central Italy. Deciduous woodlands represent more than 50% of the commercially productive forests. upward trend Italy is the world's largest importer of firewood and the fourth in chips and waste wood. In 2009, Italy imported 0,48 million tons of firewood and charcoal

19. TOPIC 1: Some data of the Italian forestry and timber sector SECTORScompaniesemployees Companies for wood harvesting (*) -43.000 Wood processing industry40.400 (**) 166.500 (*) Mobile - equipment industry (**) 33.140222.450 Manufact. of pulp, paper and cardboard (***) 4.57083.600 Total78.110515.500 Enterprises and employees of the forest, wood Fonte: (*) da tab.6.5a, State of Europe's Forest 2011 - MCPFE 2011 (media 2005-2010 su dati Eurostat afferenti all'EU Labour Force Survey); (**) Centro Studi COSMIT - FederlegnoArredo (2010); (***) Assocarta (2010); piano di settore della filiera legno

20. Italy is among the first places in the world for the export of finished products. The wood-furniture system is the driver sector of the Italian forest- wood chain. The main target markets for exports are the United States of America and Russia, covering about 12% of Italian exports. Europe, with France, Germany and the UK receive alone about 36% of Italian exports (in 2010 exports to these three countries have increased, respectively, 10%, 22% and 8%). TOPIC 1: Some data of the Italian forestry and timber sector Sports structures (for example swimming pools) Farms (for example wineries) Wooden houses Growth in the wood construction sector in the Italian market

21. TOPIC 2: The poplar cultivation hectares in year 2000: 83.368 hectares in year 2010: 39.308 in 10 years lost 44.000 hectares the majority of production of poplar is in Northern Italy Fonte: accordo interregionale pioppo

22. TOPIC 2: The poplar cultivation It is fundamental the adoption of protocols for the sustainable management of poplars (such as occurs in Friuli Venezia Giulia, where more than half of the area is certified, in this case according to the scheme of PEFC). The use of more environmentally sustainable clones is also requested by the European Commission, in the financing of agriculture policies for the rural development (2014-2020).

23. TOPIC 2: The poplar cultivation Areas planted with poplar allow today a withdrawal of about 950.000 m 3 per year, representing approximately 10% of the total wood volume of poplar cultivation nationwide. This levy allows the correct management of these areas, set with rounds of ten-year. The wood-furniture employs approximately 400.000 employees nationwide, equivalent to 8% of employees in the manufacturing sector, and affects 75.000 companies, representing about 15% of the national total. The system-wood furnishings thus constitutes the third sector for Italian contribution to the trade balance. OSB (Oriented Strand Board)plywood panel MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard)

24. TOPIC 2: The poplar cultivation In terms of needs of the number of plants, considering an average of 220 trees/hectares, the consumption of the Italian chain of poplar is approximately of 2,5 millions of poplar trees per year, equivalent to about 11.500 hectares/year. Considering that the traditional poplar cultivation is set with rounds of ten-year, it is considered essential to increase the areas cultivated with poplar by a value equal to 65.000 hectares, rising from 50.000 at present has 115.000 ha. This goal is part of an interregional agreement between institutions and economic categories of production of the wood industry (Venice, 29 January 2014), and will be able to bring environmental, ecological, employment and economic benefits for our country. The benefits of the relaunch of poplar cultivation in our country are compatible with the requirements demanded by the context of the ever more pressing and serious environmental problems (in terms of anthropogenic emissions of climate-altering or "greenhouse effect")

25. TOPIC 3: The national wood chain plan This plan shows a cooperation between entities representing the economic categories, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and a representative of the Italian Regions, and to which the Alpine Convention has given a fundamental proposal contribution And many others… The Italian forest chain, to its complex structure, has primarily a serious deficit in the integration and coordination among the different segments that compose it, characterized by different degrees of development. Today, the weakest link in the supply chain is its base production (harvesting and primary processing) due to the low use of national forests, the reduction of areas of wood production (poplar cultivation) and the consequent dependence on foreign countries for the supply of raw material. To better understand the the objectives of the national plan on forest and wood industry, is possible to consider the main points of the SWOT analysis prepared for this economic sector

26. SWOT analysis TOPIC 3: The national wood chain plan strengthnessweaknessopportunitiesthreats Increase of forest area and annual increase of the of the growing stock, higher than the rate’s use complicated orography, fragmentation High demand for wood raw material for the wood national industry (buildings, panels, furniture, packaging, paper industry, recycling, energy); Increase of the forest surface without management and related problems of hydrogeological and ecological efficiency (aging, increase fire risk, pathologies, etc.); Wood industrial sector with a great economic importance, recognized and appreciated in foreign markets Difficulties in the sector forestry production in the costs of bureaucracy Development of certification of forest and products; enhancement of the national wood product (100% Italian); Lower growth and socio- economic development with consequent depopulation of rural and mountain areas Development and growth of the Green Economy Inadequate system of laws, plans and organizational models at different level; high incidence of protectionist restrictions on the mobilization of forest resources Modernization of equipment and structural and infrastructure in forest harvesting Consolidation in the society of a static view of forest ecosystems, with difficulty to understand the importance of human intervention in the management, conservation of forests Added value of the Made in Italy Inadequate forest road network and difficulty of access to forest property Increase of carbon stocks in wood materials and products. Development and growth of the Green Economy Dispersion of forest properties and small size of the company Creation and development of short supply chains based on local resources Increase and development of the green economy

27. TOPIC 3: The national wood chain plan Promotion of a sustainable, competitive and integrated development of the national chain Wood, encouraging the active management of forests and ensuring in the long- term the multi-functionality and biodiversity of the forest resources General objective Thematic areas of the Wood chain Plan 1. Modernization and simplification of the forestry legislation; 2. Enhancement of the forest heritage and the national wood product; 3. Consolidation of the system of knowledge and research in the forest sector. A silvicultural treatment that favors the spontaneous regeneration of the forest: an example of best practice for the forests outside the protected areas and that might be the best way to them areas, such as Natura 2000 But a silvicultur near nature (with spontaneus regeneration) is more expansive and it is also possible with a good network of forestry road: we have to work about it.

28. TOPIC 3: The national wood chain plan WEAKNESS: Inadequate system of laws……high incidence of protectionist restrictions Coccau, Tarvisio (Udine – Italy) Today to build a simple forest road is required a regional hydrogeological and forestry authorization, a municipal planning permission, a state landscaping authorization, and a regional environmental impact authorization if the area falls in a site of the European network NATURA 2000. The FVG Region has established its own network NATURA 2000 consisting of 60 community sites that affect 19% of the region corresponding to about 150.000 hectares, often wooded Whole Italian forest is, without distinction, subjected to heavy state landscape protection Thematic 1 Modernization and simplification of the forestry legislation

29. TOPIC 3: The national wood chain plan OPPORTUNITIES: modernization of the infrastructure ……… Coccau, Tarvisio (Udine – Italy) Fusine, Tarvisio (Udine – Italy) Thematic 2 Enhancement of the forest heritage and the national wood product; This is possible starting from the improvement of forest roads both in terms of quantity (density per hectare of forest) and qualitative (road easily traveled by means for the transport of timber, made of bioengineering techniques, made with the best systems of water drainage )

30. CARINZIA (A) FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA (I) Grassland and hut of Mount Goriane (Tarvisio, Udine Italy)

31. Austria CARINTHIA Italy FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA Slovenia

32. Active and sustainable forest management in Carinthia (Austria) Production forest: 60 linear meters / hectare Protection Forest: 40 linear meters / hectare Density (linear meters / hectare) of forest roads: the situation for each municipality) Convegno Gorizia, 12.07.2013 dottore forestale, direttore Gerolf Baumgartner; gerolf.baumgartner@ktn.gv.at, www.landesforstdirektion.ktn.gv.atgerolf.baumgartner@ktn.gv.at mountain forest roads

33. TOPIC 3: The national wood chain plan OPPORTUNITIES: Increase of carbon stocks in wood materials and products. Thematic 2 Enhancement of the forest heritage and the national wood product Voluntary marketLocal Carbon CreditWood products Contract

34. TOPIC 3: The national wood chain plan THREATS: consolidation in the society of a static view of forest ecosystems, with difficulty to understand the importance of human intervention in the management, conservation of forests It is fundamental to communicate with non-experts the need for active management of forests The harvest of wood, according to the principles of environmental sustainability, is an economic, a social and an environmental advantage Thematic 3 Consolidation of the system of knowledge and research in the forest sector.

35. Under this program of the European Union (Regulation EC 1305/2013), an important attention is given to funding the measures for the forestry sector. This will allow in the future a better ability to supply of raw material from the Italian forests and to give concrete answers to the objectives of the National wood chain plan. TOPIC 4: The financial measures of the Rural Development Plan 2014-20 for the forestry sector The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and Regions have coordinated and have drafted a joint document, the National Framework of forestry measures for Rural Development 2014-2020, which facilitated the writing of each of the regional programs, now being negotiated with the European Commission. European Commission

36.  Measure 1.2 Support for information activities and demonstration projects  Measure 2.1 Consulting services targeted at forest workers and SMEs active in rural areas  Measure 4.3 Support for investment in forest roads  Measure 6.4 Investments in renewable energy  Measure 7.6 Investments for the improvement and enhancement of rural heritage through the use of wood coming from forests certified for sustainable management  Measure 8.1 Afforestation and creation of woodland areas (Poplar cultivation)  Measure 8.5 Investments improving the resilience, environmental value and the  mitigation potential of forest ecosystems  Measure 8.6 Investments in forest technology and processing, mobilization and  marketing of forest products  Measure 16.1 Support for the establishment and operation of operational groups (GO) of the EIP (European Innovation Partnership) for agricultural productivity and sustainability  Measure 16.2 Support for the creation of centers and networks for the development of projects of business innovation and supply chain, on an experimental and cross-sectoral character;. TOPIC 4: The financial measures of the Rural Development Plan 2014-20 for the forestry sector

37. Corps Forest are charged with repression of environmental offenses, with differences between different territorial autonomies and also in comparison with the state. In the regions and autonomous provinces, Corps forestry practice, although in different ways, even technical skills. Management : Regions with ordinary statute and autonomous regions and provinces, according to the constitutional mandate, have the responsibility in the management of forest resources (regional regulations, funding etc.) TOPIC 5: Competence of the State and the Regions The regions and autonomous provinces until now have their Forestry Corps too. On the rest of the territory the State Forestry Corp works exclusively and in the regions and autonomous provinces in partnership with them. Friuli Venezia Giulia Trentino and South Tyrol Sardinia Sicily Valley of Aosta Environmental surveillance: Environmental legislation, such as Natura 2000, and that about the landscape, as the forest is one of the categories protected by this rule, are state competences and also partially regional.

38. Thanks for the attention Fusine in Tarvisio (Udine – Italy) winter 2008 - 2009 Ljubljana May 25, 2015 Dr. Rinaldo COMINO Forest Officer of the Regional Directorate for productive activities, trade, cooperation, agricultural and forest resources rinaldo.comino@regione.fvg.it