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A taskforce of forest industry stakeholders from Eastern Canada and Maine was launched this month to explore bio-related opportunities within the forestry sector across the region.

The Atlantica BioEnergy Task Force is comprised of regional government, industry, federal and regional organizations and post secondary institutions.

The group has come together to better understand what opportunities may exist and are supported by a world class team from PricewaterhouseCoopers who will systematically examine opportunities in the area of wood-based BioProducts while considering sustainable use of resources, current regional operations, maturity of new technologies, the current regulatory environment and the economic impact.

"The global forest industry is rapidly changing and it is incumbent on all stakeholders to look for environmentally sustainable ways to best use our wood-based resources in the future," says Task Force Executive Director Thor Olesen. "The BioEnergy Task Force is a group of forest industry stakeholders who are committed to future sustainable development of our forest products and the role biotechnologies can play in that."

The study will seek to map the most effective use of wood resources available in the region including BioEnergy, Biochemical and value-added Bio-products. The study will also examine new technologies with a strong focus on solutions that complement the current operations across the region.

Task Force partners include the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and the state of Maine; the Universities of New Brunswick and Maine; the N.B. Forest Products Association and its sister organization in Nova Scotia; the Main Pulp and Paper Association and Maine Forest Products Council; the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; BioAtlantech; Emera and NB Power; and several forest industry corporate leaders, including AV Group, JD Irving Ltd, Groupe Savoie, Abitibibowater, NewPage Corp; and Pricewaterhouse Coopers.

"The work will be conducted over the next few months and will culminate with a Leader's Summit and Research and Development forum by the end of the year that will bring together industry and government leadership along with key stakeholders to identify tangible actions that will move the study into meaningful outcomes," adds Olesen.