Lionel Say’s testimony
In silviculture, for example, FCBA has often intervened as a scientific service provider: to help us find the right methods for preserving our seedlings (how we should water the cups, expose them, protect them from the cold, etc.), when we wanted to change the standard between 400 cc and 200 cc Douglas-fir cups, or when we needed studies on calcium-magnesium amendments to “unblock” acidic soils and make adult forest stands grow better.
Another example is the work done in the field of valorisation, with the BOOM project, which aims to make available good practice in the mechanisation of hardwood stands.
And of course we cannot forget the EXTRAFOR project, which has developed an exoskeleton for work in the forest. This is a major project for professionals who operate in harsh conditions and on physically difficult jobs.
There is strong collaboration between FCBA and CFBL directly and through organisations such as France Douglas and GCF (Groupe Coopération Forestière). FCBA is strategic in the upstream ecosystem of the sector.
Essential collaborative work
Our collaboration is now a given and works both ways. Sometimes it’s FCBA that comes to us with a project, sometimes the other way around, and we look together to see if it makes sense for the profession. Then we work together to develop it until it becomes operational.
FCBA helps us to give very concrete scientific arguments to the forest owners, who know the Technological Institute because it is recognised in the sector. When we work on a project that requires scientific studies, we know that we can trust the results provided by FCBA.
A technical institute is the ideal body to make the link between science and application in the forest, and FCBA plays its role very well. The external technological perspective helps us to make enormous progress. This is one aspect of FCBA’s work that is reflected in the Professional Commissions, where the teams are very attentive to the needs of professionals. It is the collaboration and the complementary nature of the visions that brings richness.
FCBA, with a division dedicated to Territorial Forest Resources, has a special place and added value in the field of forest resources, particularly in the large-scale productions: Maritime pine, Douglas fir, poplar, etc., where technical and scientific expertise is very important. The upstream sector needs a strong FCBA to help companies in the sector, both in collective projects and private contracts.
CFBL is a forestry cooperative operating in the regions of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It was created by forest owners in order to pool resources to carry out maintenance and exploitation work on their forests. It is a company founded on the principle of cooperation, which aims to serve the best interests of its members through the strength of the group.
www.cfbl.fr
Lionel Say – Director of Forestry Cooperative
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