Spain

The European Forestry and Environmental Skills Council (EFESC) is a membership organization of industry representatives and organisations which manage and monitor the skills and competence certification processes on national level.

Chainsaws are potentially dangerous, so it is important to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to use it. First checking if your training was set up to meet the European Chainsaw Standards, then next level is European Chainsaw Certificates that ensure skills and competences through detailed description of the required qualification for each level. ECC enhance operator mobility and employability throughout Europe, independent of language and country. ECC guarantee traceability of the licensed certificate holder through registration at the National Agency and in the EFESC database.

European minimum standards (ECS) have been developed for different competence levels of chainsaw use.Currently standards are available for the following competence levels:
ECS 1 : chainsaw maintenance and crosscutting
ECS (Tension) : wood under tension (simulated situations)
ECS 2 : basic tree felling
ECS 3 : advanced tree felling
ECS 4 : windblown and damaged trees
ECS (Height): chainsaw use at height (currently being developed)
Based on each of the above ECS competence levels, a formal assessment procedure has been agreed upon. By taking an assessment in an accredited assessment centre, chainsaw users can acquire a European Chainsaw Certificate. Only EFESC accredited assessment centres can issue European Chainsaw Certificates. From 2012 to 31/12/2018, 12.532 certificates were issued at European level.

The project aims to develop new models of prefabricated ultra-lightweight panels consisting of a combination of solid wood products, wood-based products and the use of thermal and acoustic insulation. The application of a tongue and groove system to assemble panels to each other and solid pieces of traditional heavy wooden framework, emulating a semi-heavy framework, will allow the development of a new innovative construction system aimed at modular construction, quick assembly and with enormous versatility and adaptation to different designs and types of construction.

Just started

The structural characterisation of the panels will be carried out by means of mechanical laboratory tests, as well as thermal, acoustic and watertightness characterisation by analytical means.

The aim of the project is to develop a construction system known as High Efficiency Light Panel (HELP). Consists of a set of innovative solutions based on a mixture of lightweight timber framing and cross laminated timber (CLT), for the manufacture of "Zero Emission" walls, slabs and roofs.

There is an improvement of the structural capacity of the construction system that allows more height (3-4 floors) than with the traditional lightweight building. The positioning of a three-layer or CLT board on the inside of the walls acts directly as a vapour barrier, saving the cost of installation.

The new building solutions are based on wooden or wood-base panels which will be subjected to tests, analytical calculations and numerical approximations for their structural, thermal, acoustic, watertight and fire resistance characterization. In addition, its environmental characterization (CO2, reutilization) will be carried out.
A solution with the new construction system has been defined for use in slabs, walls and roofs. Spreadsheets have been developed to obtain thermal transmissivity, surface and interstitial condensations, sound absorption and structural capacity.

Search for pilot areas, biomass sampling and extraction preparation
Extraction of essential oils and hydrolysis of biomass
Characterization of compounds present in essential oils and residual hydrolyzed biomass

In progress

(Expected results)
Development of innovative biofuels and bioproducts from forest biomass with little or no use as bushes and forest treatment residues through state-of-the-art techniques applied throughout the value chain.
To define the best management, harvesting techniques and forestry treatments for rockrose, juniper, rosemary, pine and eucalyptus. Selection of pilot action areas.
To develop a prototype of continuous extraction of essential oils using microwave technology.
Production, analysis and testing of products in the laboratory and in the field: biocides, solid biofuels (pellets) and liquid biofuels (ethanol).

The proposal proposes to methodology for the evaluation of the economic and financial sustainability of the poplar plantations, incorporating to the most usual analysis of profitability, by means of the calculation of the IRR and NPV indicators, the perspective of annual revenue for the forest owners. The methodology seeks to lay down the principles of the economic aspects to bear in mind, overcoming the approach of the calculation based only on the costs and income for hectare and it was not possible to compare with other crops.

In progress

The analysis with this new perspective allows to evaluate the rentability of the activity and to compare it with those of other agrarian crops which can occupy the same surfaces. In addition, they have stable subsidies that increase their competitiveness in the agro-forestry areas. The proposal establishes for the first time the term "forest income" for consideration to the "agrarian income", with which shares many assailable aspects. The comparative one between the calculation of both incomes can be of great usefulness for the invest decisions on the part of the owners, managers and responsible administrations.

SAXMEL intends to become a novel highly systematized and protocol-based approach aimed as a solution to contribute improving current forest management practices acting at local scope. SAXMEL consists of a catalogue of services composed of identified key processes considered essential to solve major problems affecting forest resource development. Also it includes some inner processes and procedures aimed to steer the system itself functioning such as resource management, communication, financing & founding, ...SAXMEL has been conceptualized based on some key mainstays: participatory approach, transparency, self-sufficiency, selfgovernance, territorial persistency, technical criteria-based, local scope.

1- Providing solutions to and gaining interest from public administration is a failed task as their functioning are far from efficient, transparent and sound
2- There is a great need from private stakeholders towards integral solutions to forest resource problems, this has been checked on several territories
3- SAXMEL´s concept approach is valid preliminarily, although implementation needs to be broadly validated.

Currently the solution is under development, being piloted in the municipality of Gondomar (Pontevedra, Galicia) thanks to broad support from 80% of comunity-scope forest landowners. There is an approved regional operational group as well as a national operational group stilll both pending from funding.

Scots pine wood from the Region of Pinares (a region located between the provinces of Soria and Burgos) enjoyed great prestige in the Spanish market, despite the fact that it lacked a common standardised basis among the companies in the sector that would allow  to launch a regulated product on the market that would facilitate its commercialisation.
There was also a mismatch between the quality of the product and the quality of the service offered to the buyer by the industry.
In this context, the first guarantee mark was created in the wood sector, the Guarantee Mark Pino Soria Burgos.

The main lesson learned is that the wood sector requires common marketing standards that make it easier for users to buy their products, eliminating confusion and insecurities that lead to a rejection of the use of wood. They also allow generating a mercantile reference to compete with the rest of products, whether made of wood or other materials such as concrete, steel, pvc…
It also allows for closer ties between the business and technology sectors, which guarantees continuous improvement of the business sector through both training and innovation.

This guarantee mark is based on three basic pillars: Guarantee of origin, sustainability (all forests and their processors are certified under the PEFC system) and quality (common marketing bases are established).
More than 48 municipalities and the Community of the 150 villages of the Land of Soria, and a total of 15 companies of first transformation of the wood, have joined.
On the other hand, we have managed to join a sector that until the creation of the Guarantee Brand was completely dispersed. In addition, its close relationship with Cesefor (forestry and wood technological centre) has enabled it to carry out extensive certification of its products (CE marking, PEFC, carbon footprint), training courses (cost control, structural calculation, wood treatment, etc.), and innovation projects (structural characterisation, development of new building systems, etc.). Currently, the companies of the Guarantee Mark are references in the Spanish wood sector and in the construction sector.