Africa’s Vast Forest Potential Untapped, Circular Bioeconomy Could Help
"Africa has enormous potential to derive more value from its forests without producing more wood, and could thus provide a good example of the possibilities of the circular bioeconomy, says Lauri Hetemäki, assistant director, European Forest Institute (EFI).
Africa produced 54 percent more wood and has four times more forest area than the European Union in 2019; yet the export value of EU forest products was 17 times greater than in Africa – $100 billion compared with $6 billion, he explained during a digital summit demonstrating the potential benefits of a circular bioeconomy."