National

The mechanization rate for harvesting hardwood stands is only 10% and mechanization in silviculture is very limited. Many operators report musculoskeletal disorders.The use of exoskeletons in the forest would make it possible to assist the operators in their work, it would make their task easier while aiming to preserve their health, without of course compromising their safety. It is a hybrid solution that combines the acuity of manual work with the strength and endurance of a machine, while obviously remaining affordable. Equipping field workers with ergonomic exoskeletons, adapted to work in the forest is an intermediate and complementary solution between mechanisation and manual work, allowing the unblocking of certain difficult situations. Seeking to increase human capacity instead of replacing it is also a way of meeting the various expectations of citizens (maintaining jobs in rural areas, social acceptability of forest sites) and of enhancing the value of work in the forest (and the sector) by promoting this type of initiative.

The use of IT tools is increasing in companies in the Forest-Wood sector. This computerisation goes hand in hand with an increased need for digital data. In this context, eMOBOIS offers a framework to facilitate the linking of IT systems belonging to each company, without interfering with their internal management processes. The founding element of the project is the standardisation of data and data exchange. The objective of eMOBOIS is therefore to facilitate the exchange of information between two companies involved in the wood procurement process. The use of a common language when exchanging information is proposed to avoid multiplying the development of computer interfaces. eMOBOIS focuses on the transaction of data from one company to another. There is no interference in companies' IT choices or in the processing of data by companies. The approach is compatible with the diversity of IT solutions encountered. The main benefits are time-efficiency, safety and reliability, a better productivity and communication between the stakeholders, and also a real-time update of the stocks.

The aim of the project is to propose a simple tool, free to use, with adapted services for the novice forest owners and allow the mobilization of wood from small private forests. Professionals in the forest and wood sector will also be able to access this tool in order to find information on the legislation and manage forest worksites by completing online procedures. The tool is used to facilitate forest management between forest owners and enterprises. Owners can locate their forest plots on an online map with a cadastre and then describe their stand using a question and answer system. They can also contact neighbouring owners using a form. An owner can request a quote online for forestry work from information on their stands. Professionals have the possibility to carry out their administrative procedures online. The owner follows the progress of his forest worksite on the platform. The module for estimating wood prices has an educational purpose in order to explain price formation. Finally it is possible to access a directory of professionals and publish an ad to sell or buy plots. All these services are on a national scale, but specific and regional information is provided to the forest owner. At the end of 2020, more than 3300 accounts had been created.

Today, the technology for identifying bark beetle attacks in the forest is largely based on manual work through visual checks of forest areas, where early attacks are almost impossible to see, while old attacks are easier to detect. Attempts have been made to identify damage attacks using satellite radar maps which give a good indication and can be seen as a complementing part to our precision analysis. Arboair Forest Mapper is a service where you analyze your images via our AI. Our model is trained on over 200 000 trees and it is verified by forest managers.

Women in Forestry (WiF) was established in 1986 by women studying and working in forestry. The purpose was to increase awareness among women to claim their right to inherit the family forest, and to work for women to be an active and skilled part of the forestry, as well as to build a strong and supportive network between women. Today, the members of WiF are students, forestry workers, forest owners - including former and future owners - supporters and various organisations within forestry or women's rights, and the organisation works with both forestry and gender equality. The activities include building both knowledge and network among the members and other women, by activities such as women crash courses in forestry, field days for immigrant women and annual Forest Conferences with various topics, as well as activities aimed at building knowledge in the society and the forestry, e.g. by participating in audit of the Norwegian PEFC Forest standard to ensure gender equality in both the working group and the revised standard, and other projects on both national and international scales. WiF reaches out to their members and other audience through the use of Facebook and Instagram, as well as their own podcast "Sound of Forestry", where the guests are mainly women, with an "everyday language" to reach also people without knowledge of forestry. The organisation is funded by membership fees, project fundings, governmental grants, sponsorship and sales of consulting services.

The scheme started in 1932 to ensure finances for rejuvenation after harvesting forests. Later, several forest measures have been added to the scheme, and the share of income to be disposed of has been adjusted. Now, the forest owner decides for him-/herself how much to set aside, within 4-40% of the sales revenue. The money is not taxed when it is set aside, but 15% of the money used from the fund is taxed. The forestry fund belongs to the forest property and should be used for silviculture, forest roads, forest inventory, production of Christmas trees, courses for the forest owner or employees, environmental measures, and the establishment and expansion of bioenergy plants. The forest owner is not given interest on the contribution to the forestry fund. This money is used to manage the scheme, and measures that will benefit the forestry community, e.g. information to forest owners and schools, development projects etc. The Government considers the scheme to be one of the most important measures in the forestry.

The online School of Forestry has been established in collaboration between the Norwegian Forest owners' associations, the State Forest, and the Forestry Extension Institute. The aim is to jointly develop the course content to increase the level of forestry expertise in all stages of forestry. The courses are open for everyone, although the target group are the organisations' employees. The system allows each organisation to make individual additions and adaptations to the courses. Several courses will be presented on the platform, mainly in the topics of silviculture, planting and soil preparation. The course content may be used by all organisations, with their own individual additions and adaptations.

Skogkurs is intended to be the common body for competence in business development and management of forests and other land resources. Through its activities, Skogkurs will contribute to increasing competence among actors in the forestry industry, and disseminate forest and nature knowledge to schools and the public. Skogkurs has 36 member organizations. “Active forestry” is a nationwide offer with courses aimed at forest owners, forestry workers and forestry operators. The courses are also relevant for other groups that use forestry tools, either professionally or in their spare time. The courses provide practical guidance, have a small group size and skilled authorized instructors. These are short, targeted, locally adapted courses that are given close to home or in the workplace. The teaching program “Teach with the Forest” offers lessons from kindergarten to higher learning educator programs.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food contributes significantly to the financing of the activities. About half of the development projects where Skogkurs has project management are partly funded through one or more of the forestry's own funds. Adult education funding, funding from the Norwegian Environment Agency and project funding from other partners also make important financial contributions to Skogkurs' activities.