Abstract
In the fall of 2018, the “Vaia” windstorm grounded around 8.5 million m3 of timber in northeastern Italy. Soon after, the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) Italy activated a project called “fair supply chain” to promote the purchase of timber from the damaged areas at a reasonable price. The initiative was addressed at forest owners, forest and processing enterprises, retailers, and supporting organizations. This study reports the results of a survey performed to assess the effectiveness of the project two years after its launch. The survey, in the form of a questionnaire submitted to all adhering organizations, investigated different aspects such as motivations for adherence to the project, satisfaction with the project, sale of the labeled material, and promotion of the specific label. The results provide a detailed outline of the above aspects. Through the various findings, the project is perceived as effective in supporting the region, enhancing an organizations’ image, and limiting price fall. Yet, further efforts should be aimed at increasing networking and business opportunities. Some recommendations are also offered for similar projects in the future, as forest disturbances are increasing worldwide in frequency and intensity due to climate change.
Highlights
IntroductionPublisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
The primary objective of the project was to promote the purchase of timber from the To date, 124 organizations adhere to the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) fair supply chain, of which 38 are forest damaged areas to mitigate the economic and social drawbacks of the storm [8]
The PEFC fair supply chain can be considered an innovative example of valorization of timber recovered from forest disturbances
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. In the fall of 2018, the “Vaia” windstorm grounded around 8.5 million m3 of timber, mainly spruce and silver fir, in northeastern Italy [1,2]. This event strongly impacted the forest-wood sector of the area, resulting in changes to timber harvesting, processing, and the market [3,4]. In the months after the storm, the Italian agency of the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) activated a specific “fair supply chain”
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