Swiss-Canadian accord aims to promote wood research

Switzerland's Empa will also join the Boreal Alliance, a transnational research initiative aimed at sustainable use of forest resources. Keystone / Fred Thornhill

The Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) says a cooperation agreement on wood research with Canada’s University of British Columbia will help promote new, sustainable bioproducts.

The Canadian university’s BioProducts Institute (BPI) and Empa are to share knowledge and provide reciprocal access to research infrastructure, the Swiss partner said in a press releaseExternal link on Friday. “The partnership will further advance Europe-Canada research collaboration in the sustainable use of renewable resources,” it said.

Empa will also join the Boreal Alliance, it continued. This is a transnational research initiative, of which BPI is a co-founder. It aims to aggregate research from countries along the Boreal belt to “optimally utilize the forest resource and advance prosperity and well-being in balance with sustainable development”.

The Boreal or Arctic forests, one of the world’s largest land ecosystems, stretch across much of North America and Eurasia.

“With the Alliance being formed with Switzerland, Finland and Sweden, we are creating the largest cluster of research in the forest-based bioeconomy,” says BPI Scientific Director Orlando Rojas, adding that it should promote “innovations to open new routes for biomass valorisation in next generation bioproducts”.