The European Forestry Strategy of 1998 was replaced by a new and modern document in 2013 that reflects the needs of the sector, and in 2014 the Strategy went through several stages of adoption. European forests are rich in terms of biodiversity, but they are increasingly under pressure because of the demand for raw material and partly because of climate change.

In 2013 this sector was worth around EUR 115 billion (USD 128 bn.) at the global level, and in 2014 recorded an evident increase. According to unoffi cial data from the Italian Institute CSIL, last year the furniture sector was worth around USD 140 billion (a growth of 9.5%). Also, the report points out that furniture comprises about 1% of

Europe is recovering after the recession and represents the engine for some areas of the entire world in the forest-based sector; here is the world’s largest pellet market, and Europeans are leading the way in sustainable management and forest certification. They are also giving legal assistance in the prevention of illegal logging. European companies have an active approach to increasing exports

Now that this sector has been fi nally included in the Industrial Strategy of the Republic of Croatia, wood processing and furniture production actively look for possibilities to draw on EU funds and to ensure the international competitiveness of the sector and its long-term growth. Sector companies, members of both the Croatian Wood Cluster and the Competitiveness Cluster, are vigorously

The New Forestry Strategy and other industry policies encourage member states to develop measures aiming to make better use of the potential of employment which this sector has, to improve the skills of workers in the sector and to improve working conditions. One of the most important elements of sectoral education and communication with the public is highlighting the need for

The Cluster supports the idea that the Croatian Rural Development Program should contain as many measures as possible associated with forestry, wood processing and energy from wood, and to promote those measures among sector companies in order to ensure better utilization of available funds from European sources. Forestry and the wood processing sector are of crucial importance for the development

Entering the Industrial Strategy is a big boost for the sector to work even better, to strengthen its domestic and international competitiveness and to meet the required criteria and objectives set out in the Strategy. In recent years, and especially during 2014, sectoral indicators have been truly encouraging. The wood industry has achieved a growth in exports 21 percent over

The lobbying activities of the wood processing sector and forestry in Croatia were very intense last year. From this point of view, the Cluster was one of the most active operators in the field. Following a thematic session of the Croatian Parliament, the wood industry launched a series of initiatives and events that drew the attention of politicians and decision makers to crucial

In order to distribute information about the activities of the Cluster and the sectoral events to the target groups, apart from the above mentioned communication channels, various web platforms are besides other communication tools. The Cluster has chosen a multiple access with several separate websites that are thematically related to certain events or campaigns. Due to the complexity of our

The more than ten years of experience of professional services and external associates of the Cluster, regular contacts with a number of national, regional, European and international sectoral institutions, as well as with the representatives of state administration, represent a foundation for the preparation of high quality professional thematic studies. The Croatian Wood Cluster prepares custom-made studies for its members, non-members,