National anchoring

From a strategic perspective at the national level, the FORESTT PEPR is first anchored in the National Forest and Wood Plan (PNFB), which set out the policy directions for public and private forests as early as 2016 and included measures to reduce uncertainties related to global changes through research and dissemination of results to stakeholders. The major scientific orientations were detailed in the Research & Innovation Plan 2025 for the forest-wood sector, which was also informed by the strategic contract for the forest-wood sector between 2014 and 2018.

More recently, within the framework of a dialogue space involving all stakeholders concerned with Forest-Wood issues, namely the "forest and wood symposium" (2021), the construction of a major research program was identified as a priority action in the action plan to support national strategies in forest management and wood sector development through scientific knowledge. The forest, long overlooked in policy directions, is now strongly associated with a number of national strategies (fight against imported deforestation, Biodiversity 2030, Adaptation to climate change, energy and climate), and more generally with ecological planning issues (embodied by the France Green Nation plan).

In 2022, France launched an extensive investment plan for innovation and technological development, France 2030 (54 billion euros), including ambitious actions for the forest-wood sector. In line with the Recovery Plan (2021-2022), and in coherence with the acceleration strategies "Sustainable City and Innovative Buildings" and "Biosourced Products - Sustainable Fuels", France 2030 pursues two main objectives:

• Promoting the development of the wood sector, identified as one of the possible (industrial) solutions to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 (National Low Carbon Strategy, 2020);
• Supporting forest renewal (sustainable management and biodiversity preservation), by optimizing the use of wood resources and enhancing the competitiveness of the wood industry.

To achieve these objectives, the French government has already implemented various support programs and calls for projects dedicated to technological developments for the production of biosourced products (sustainable fuels) and the development of innovative processes and products in the construction sector. An envelope of 500 million euros has been dedicated to supporting the forest-wood sector to enable sector stakeholders to address the challenges they face. Additionally, a vast financial support program for forest renewal and adaptation to climate change has been implemented: initiated in 2021 as part of France Relance and continued through France 2030, this program aims to renew 10% of French forests by 2032 through the planting of one billion trees.

Positioning of FORESTT scientific issues within the France 2030 panorama

These actions are based on the idea that forest issues are key challenges that must be addressed in the context of ecological transition. Increasing the mitigation potential of the forest-wood sector is a national priority, but the French government also promotes a proactive strategy for forest adaptation and biodiversity conservation, in mainland France, overseas, and in the tropics. Faced with the rapid increase in tree mortality linked to biotic and abiotic hazards, the government also emphasizes risk prevention and forest crisis management. This strategy requires the involvement and commitment of all stakeholders in a common dynamic of programming and organizing actions in favor of the forest and the wood sector.

The FORESTT PEPR is part of this trajectory, to contribute not only to the development of scientific knowledge related to forest resilience but also to provide practical knowledge and decision-making tools to help public and private actors implement and update national strategies around forest and wood sector issues.

Specifically, the FORESTT research program will provide:

• Silvicultural management guidelines to ensure the successful implementation of the "forest renewal" program, to increase forest resilience and ultimately promote the provision of ecosystem services;
• Factual information on the state of forest ecosystems and their vulnerability to multiple hazards, as well as scenario-based strategies to support risk prevention systems designed by governments;
• Updated and forward-looking knowledge on raw material availability to help industrial investors anticipate and secure their supply;
• Characterization and evaluation tools for wood product value chains to ensure a positive environmental and social impact of wood-based economies;
• Innovative approaches to governance and management challenging and supporting the implementation of a "Forest & Wood" strategy at local, regional, and national scales.

In collaboration with forest R&D organizations (ONF and CNPF/IDF for public and private owners respectively) and forest management actors (owners, experts, cooperatives, etc.), the scientific community will contribute to the selection and improvement of forest reproduction materials, the development of management practices, and the promotion of ecosystem services and the bioeconomy. It will rely notably on the support of the Joint Technological Network on Forest Adaptation (RMT AFORCE) to ensure knowledge transfer and operational implementation of scientific work. FORESTT researchers will also collaborate with the FCBA technological institute and professional organizations (FBF, FBIE, CODIFAB, CSF) to develop a forest bioeconomy valorizing forest resources and addressing the challenge of decarbonizing the economy.

FORESTT will contribute to the development of future forest policy and support decision-makers involved in forest and wood industry governance. Additionally, the FORESTT program will participate – in partnership with universities, the Agreenium national alliance, and engineering schools – in developing skills in the management of forest socio-ecosystems, multi-risk approaches, forest monitoring, and bioeconomy development. Finally, the FORESTT program will support France in its commitments to tropical forest preservation and contribute to achieving the ambitions of the One Forest Summit held in Libreville in March 2023 and implemented as part of the One Forest Vision initiative.