It will be the reference organisation for the natural resin sector at European level and will bring together all the members of its value chain.
The process of creation of the European Network of Resin Territories (RETR) began last May in the framework of the International Conference "Resin use: Forests with future" held in Portugal, organised by the SustForest Plus project and in which the main socio-economic actors of the resin sector participated.
The main objective of this meeting was to initiate the process of creating the European Network of Resin Territories, the RETR, a sectorial and transnational association that will promote a Strategy for European Natural Resin (ERNE) aimed at promoting policies, programs and actions that support the improvement, conservation and valorization of this resource.
Currently, its members are being formed and collecting applications for membership from all those entities of reference in the natural resin sector and its associated ecosystem at European level. These entities range from forest owners and managers, resin workers and the industry of first and second processing of resin, but also includes other interest groups such as regional and local administrations, R & D institutions and others.
The objectives of this Network are to lead initiatives that increase the profitability of the activity of the members of the European natural resin value chain, as well as to make the resin sector visible as an engine that generates opportunities, to manufacture a quality product in accordance with the objectives of sustainable development and to obtain support for resin from the public authorities. In this sense, the PRTR plans to present the sector to the public decision-makers of the European Union in Brussels, so that European natural resin is taken into account in the design of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the Bio-economy Strategy of the European Union and the Forest Policy guidelines.
If you or the entity you represent wishes to support this interesting initiative, a pre-accession form has already been opened which will also allow you to follow in person the process of creating the Network. To register, please visit the SustForest Plus project website, www.sust-forest.eu
From forest to market
Among its inspiring principles is the continuous improvement in the functioning of the value chain in all its links, from the forest to the market, so that the profit obtained strengthens the sector as a whole. In addition, the Network will take into account the cultural and territorial identity of the rural environment in which the resin activity is developed and will work for the constant improvement of the working conditions of the resin workers and the recognition of their work in the protection of forest resources mainly in the monitoring and prevention of forest fires.
Another commitment of the RETR is the conservation and improvement of the resin forests and their integral, profitable and sustainable use of the resources they generate. This declaration of values of the PRTR will be sustained thanks to its support and impulse in research, development and innovation, which are essential at all levels.
The SustForest Plus project
The project Sust Forest Plus SOE2/P5/E0598 "Strategy and collaboration networks for multifunctionality, conservation and employment in the territory of southern Europe through resin extraction" runs from 2018 to 2021, is co-financed by the Interreg Sudoe Programme through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) of the European Union and aims to improve joint management methods of natural resin sources in the Sudoe territory as a strategic and preferential resource for industry, job creation and the rational use of natural resources.
The SustForest Plus project has the following entities as 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), European Forest Institute (EFI), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária (INIAV), the municipalities of Penela and Proença-a-a-Nova and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM).
The project has also been supported by other entities related to the sector of natural resins and belonging to the territory SUDOE (Tunisia, Greece and Italy) which participate as associate partners of the project, which are: 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, United Ressins – Produção de Resinas S.A. and Centro de Investigación Forestal de Lourizán.
