To remain within planetary boundaries, global production and consumption must become more sustainable and biobased. The transition towards the biobased economy depends on the development of new uses of wood, increased material-use and processing efficiency, and development of new markets, while keeping supply chains legal and free of deforestation. The overarching objective of this thesis was to study how the forest-based bioeconomy can be driven by innovation and developed based on legal and deforestation-free supply-chains.
Regional analysis in North Karelia, Finland (Article I), demonstrates that while companies are generally oriented towards innovation, they face significant structural barriers. Innovation is hampered by regulatory complexity, financial limitations, and skilled labour shortages.
As the bioeconomy develops, the demand for forest resources is expected to increase. Due diligence and enforcement to ensure legal supply chains require scientific verification to combat fraud. A global market study (Article II) revealed that while 87% of stakeholders are aware of wood identification (ID) tools, their effective uptake is constrained by high costs, limited access to reference data, and technical gaps in countries with weaker governance.
In addition to requiring legal supply chains, the European Union (EU) Deforestation Regulation expands requirements to prove that products are sourced without causing deforestation. A quantitative risk framework (Article III) reveals that 17% of total EU wood-based import value is exposed to high-risk origins, with risk profiles varying significantly for each commodity. The results highlight where wood ID tools and intensified due diligence could focus to ensure market integrity.
By assessing company innovation and constraints in developing the forest-based bioeconomy, estimating the market capacity for wood ID technologies, and developing a tool for quantifying risk exposure of trade in legal and deforestation-free wood-based commodities, the research presented in this thesis offers tools and insights for private and public actors to govern the forest-based bioeconomy.