On invitation of its Belgian members (Fédération nationale des Scieries – FNS, Union nationale des Entreprises du Bois – UNEBO, Centre de Populiculture du Hainaut – CPH and Union flamande pour l’Exploitation de la Forêt – UVB), Pro-Populus gathered on 19 and 20 June 2014 in Ghent at the occasion of its 6th General Assembly, 4th European Poplar Congress and field visits.
In the morning session of 19 June, the members of the General Assembly took part in the traditional presentation of the activity report, future projects and relevant European dossiers. In the afternoon, the European Poplar Congress gathered some 70 participants from Belgium, France, Italy and Spain around a programme focusing on the situation on the poplar market from a global, European and national perspective as well as on the latest news in terms of research and development.
On the second day, the European delegation went to Oudenaarde for a visit of the production facilities of DDS, a company specialized in poplar light packaging. The programme continued with a tour of two poplar plantations and the presentation on site of two new varieties by the Research Institute for Nature and Forest INBO.
At the time of closing this two-day programme, all participants recognised that poplar is a qualitative species characterized by a fast growth, which can offer swift solutions to safeguard the future availability of wood, contribute to a more durable and greener economy and help mitigating climate change.
They all agreed to continue their cooperation to sensitize European policy makers about these inherent advantages, which are great assets for reaching the European targets in terms of sustainable development.
