Throughout the life of the SustForest Plus Project, a specific line of work has been developed for the European natural resin, a raw material that faces global competitors and substitute products that threaten the sustainability of the sector. Based on the results obtained from the project, a Plan has been drawn up to promote the European natural resin as a product of environmental, socioeconomic, technological and sustainable value.
The guarantee of origin marks are instruments perfectly adapted to the objective set for the 'integrated territorial development' through the value chain. These marks somehow 'restructure' the traditional forestry activities, such as the extraction of natural resins, which turn them into others of greater added value, linking them to the industrial sector and the final consumer. The foundations to create this distinctive that differentiates the European forest-sourced natural resin from other non-EU sourced products on the market and other substitute products, were laid down with SustForest Plus through an action taken in cooperation with representatives of every value chain link of the European resin sector.
Any information on the Collective Brand "Natural Resin of Europe" is collected through the recently launched website on the European Natural Resin, www.resinanaturaleuropea.eu, which is the distinctive that certifies the species, the management and the origin of the resins that are approved and controlled by their owner: the European Network Association of Resin-Producing Territories. Two documents have just been published under this brand, which establish the following:
These documents establish the grounds for obtaining, managing and developing a brand that protects and distinguishes the origin of the resin extracted in the European Union territory. The general provisions governing the mark, its definition, production, registration, controlling and self-controlling bodies, controlling and labelling badges, infractions, sanctioning procedure and annual self-control plan are also included in these documents.
In addition to the European Natural Resins Guarantee Mark, this Plan was brought to live through the following lines of work, along with its resulting outcomes that are available at the following links:
The European natural resin value chain
All the stakeholders involved in producing the natural resin by-products in southern Europe are under review in SustForest Plus, from the forest to the final consumer, providing an overview of the material and information flows, the distributed added value and an appraisal of the product characteristics throughout the value chain. The study will allow us to identify the determining aspects for the optimization and improvement of productivity, efficiency, transparency and the increase of the added value.
The resin and the low carbon economy
The analysis of the carbon balance from producing the European natural resin is addressed in order to highlight its environmental value compared to oil-derived resins, Tall-Oil by-products and non-EU natural resins. If facts are properly grounded when reaching the final customer, who is becoming more concerned about environmental matters, the product will be more highly rated which will be translated into an increase of the profitability of the resin production and the territorial expansion as a result.
Traceability of the Natural Resin
Due to the growing global concern about environmental problems, in recent decades traceability systems have acquired crucial importance as a solution to control the origin and ensure sustainable practices for the use and marketing of forest products. SustForest Plus designed and developed a traceability system based on a computer application that allows a real-time documented resin path from its extraction in the forest to the factory where the initial processing takes place.
This traceability of the product will make the European sourced-resin accreditation easier; it will be used as a business management tool for the initial processing companies; and it will facilitate the monitoring and closing procedures of transactions between resin producers and companies.
The International Natural Resin Trade
SustForest Plus is set to design a structured instrument for gathering and reviewing information on the international market of resinous products. This monitoring tool will allow foreseeing the positive or negative circumstances related to the European resin-producing sector itself, its clients and its competitors. The designed system will increase market transparency and it will allow taking better informed decisions on the production and marketing of natural resins, both for individual operators and for sectorial organizations such as the European Network of Resin Territories.
About the SustForest Plus Project
The SOE2/P5/E0598 SustForest Plus Project, ‵Strategy and Collaborative Networks for Multi-functionality, Conservation and Employment in the Territory of Southern Europe Through the Extraction of Resin′ was developed from 2018 to 2021 and it is co-funded by the Interreg Sudoe Program through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) of the European Union. This Project aims at improving the methods in place to manage jointly the natural resin sources in the Sudoe territory as a strategic and preferential resource for the industry, job creation and the rational use of natural resources.
The following institutions are the Project beneficiary partners:
Fundación Centro de Servicios y Promoción Forestal y de su Industria de Castilla y León (Cesefor), Centre Nacional de la Propriété Forestière (CNPF), Institut Européen De La Foret Cultivée, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária (INIAV), Municipio de Penela, Municipio de Proença-a-Nova and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM).
The project has also been supported by other institutions related to the natural resins sector which belong to the SUDOE territory (Tunisia, Greece and Italy) and which participate as the Project associated partners:
Asociación Nacional de Resineros (ANR), Associação das Indústrias de Madeira e Mobiliário de Portugal (AIMMP), Associação Florestal do Vale do Douro Norte (Aflorodounorte), Certis – Controlo e Certificação, Lda., Decentraliced Administration of Epirus-Western Macedonia, Diputación Provincial de Soria, Essência Química – Resinas e Derivados, Eurorègion Nouvelle Aquitaine-Euskadi-Navarre, Federación de Asociaciones Forestales de Castilla y León (FAFCYLE), Groupement de Producteurs Forestiers du sud Gironde (CPFA), Holiste Laboratoires et Developpement, Industrial Resinera Valcan, S. A. (IRV), Instituto de Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas (ICNF), National Institute for Research in Rural Engineering Water and Forestry (INRGREF), Junta de Castilla y León, Luresa Resinas, S. L., Pôle de compétitivité Xylofutur, Quercus - Associação Nacional de Conservação da Natureza, Resipinus - Associação de Destiladores e Exploradores de Resina, Rincón de la Vega S.A.L., Sociedad de Resinas Naturales, S.A., Unione Di Comuni Valdarno E Valdisieve y United Ressins – Produção de Resinas S.A. and the Centro de Investigación forestal de Lourizán.
