Connecting Forest to Wood Sectors for Carbon Neutrality and Sustainability

Managing forests contributes to the sustainable development of local communities by harnessing the diverse values that the forest ecosystem can provide. Forest, as a primary supplier of forest products and a key carbon sink in terrestrial ecosystems, plays a crucial role in providing raw materials to the wood market as well as in climate change mitigation. Forestry must ensure the sustainable supply of natural resources, such as timber required by the wood industry, and sequestrate carbon in biomass, wood products, and soil through the sustainable forest management and protection. To foster the mutual growth of forestry and the wood industry, it is essential to link the both by facilitating crucial information exchange between the two sectors. By satisfying the economic feasibility of timber production in a healthy ecosystem and promoting increased wood utilization, achieving carbon neutrality becomes possible. Based on this background, this session will focus on the theme of "Connecting Forest and Wood Sectors for Carbon Neutrality and Sustainability." Experts from both universities in these fields will discuss various research collaboration strategies to promote the linkage between the forest and wood sectors. Additionally, collaborative measures for student exchange, research, and educational programs between the two universities will also be explored.