In Switzerland, wood harvested in forests is increasingly used to provide energy. The share used to heat up, with logs or shavings for example, has doubled in 20 years, according to the OFS. This wood today represents almost 50% of the total harvest.
While in the early 2000s, 70% of the wood harvested in Switzerland was sent to sawmills and served for construction or carpentry, it is only 46% today.
More than half of the wood harvested now leaves for heating. “For twenty years, the wood-energy sector has taken up more and more space. This is explained by the political will to move on to renewable energies, but also because the price of wood-energy has become interesting. Result: this creates new outlets for forest owners,” explains Michaël Reinhardt, chief of the Federal Division of the Environment (
First as a material
Today, wood-energy has become such a profitable market that a large part of the harvest is therefore voluntarily oriented towards this outlet.
But in the middle, we remain attentive to prioritize the use of wood above all as a material. “We must respect the principle of the waterfall: first use the wood to build, to enhance it for decades, and only, as a last resort, to use it for heating. The idea is not to burn immediately a beautiful ball of wood,” said Jean Rosset, cantonal inspector of the forests of the canton of Vaud.
Cynthia Racine/lan
