About the Living Lab
The Living Lab will look at what digital tools can support the wood traceability over the entire process lifecycle (in compliance with the EU Timber Regulation), by involving forest owners, public administrations, forest industry and civil society.
In Italy, forests cover 34.6% of the land area. However, this resource is often abandoned in the Apennine area because of the poor infrastructure and the low income generated by forest management activities.
The wood-harvesting sector is far below the European average (18-37 % of biomass annual regrowth vs 62-67% of the European average) and it is constantly decreasing. The firewood sector is weak and this makes Italy the first importer of firewood in the world.
This complex context allows a wide presence of illegally imported wood. According to the national energy balance, about 80% of the consumed firewood cannot be legally traced. Given this situation and in order to increase wood traceability from legal sources, the European Union adopted the European Timber Regulation (EUTR).
Against this backdrop, the Living Lab will explore possible digital tools to support the firewood traceability over the whole supply chain, which could in turn strengthen the competitiveness of the Italian forestry enterprises.
Living Lab coordinator: PEFC Italy
Domain: Forestry
Focal question
Objectives
- Identify the available technologies that could support firewood traceability.
- Identify technical and economic barriers, and enablers on the adoption of these technologies and find possible ways to overcome these barriers.
- Develop possible scenarios connected to the adoption of traceability technologies in the firewood sector.
- Support the spreading of tools and technologies among the forestry/trader operators.
Main stakeholders
Workers and trade unions: Conaibo forest owners’ association; Aiel Italian Agroforestry Energy Association; Conaf Agronomists and Foresters professional order; Coldiretti Federforeste.
Business and industry: Certification bodies; Freelance professionals; forest operators.
Scientific & technological community: CNR; Edmund Mach Foundation; Sisef – Italian Society of Silviculture and Forest Ecology; Replant – University of Torino spin off; University of Perugia; MEEO – Meteorological Enviromental Earth Observation, Unituscia.
Local authorities: Carabinieri Forestali (Difor – Mipaaf); Conlegno – Monitoring organisation; Umbria Region.
Non-government organisations: Legambiente
Media: Compagnia delle Foreste
Key documents
Policy brief: Digitalisation and wood-energy traceability in Italy
National Policy Analysis: Italy
Practice Abstract: Timber regulation wood-energy traceability in Italy