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The Rally to the Foresters!!.. Chi-Chi-Chi; Le-Le-Le!!

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Rodrigo O'Ryan, President of the Chilean Biomass Association, AChBiom

Even though we didn’t make it to Qatar (you can sense the sigh and the seconds of silence), the World Cup has already begun and will surely add some excitement to these days while it lasts. Who’s my favorite? It hardly matters.
But what does matter is that in Chile, a spirited and World Cup-like atmosphere is emerging in another area… in the global competition to improve environmental care and develop bioproducts, bioenergy, biomaterials, and even "bio-experiences" from and alongside nature. Nature-Based Solutions are the new World Cup, where every team needs to win, EVERYONE NEEDS TO WIN.
We have multiple team members.
Those who ensure there’s no soil erosion, who care for the water cycle and water availability, who protect and restore biodiversity, and who are involved in developing tree species with better genetic conditions to enable more efficient and environmentally friendly renewable raw materials, among many other tasks at the start of the chain—should we call them "goalkeepers"? Maybe.
Moving forward on the field, we have those in charge of nurseries, who pass the ball to the planters, the caretakers, the pruners, and then the harvesters. The ball is already in motion.
After these slow movements, "the ball is passed" to the transporters, who direct the game toward where scoring opportunities seem strongest.
Passes between players until the shots on goal and scores come. Goooooooooal!!!!!! Amazing!! Or rather, goooooooaL-SSSSSSSS!!!!
Why "goals in plural"? Simple. We have the unique feature that in the penalty area, the ball "splits" into several parts, and from one of them, multiple goals can be scored at once. From a single tree, we can ultimately produce sawn wood, cellulose, pellets, biochemical products, toilet paper, and countless other products—each one of them: A SPECTACULAR GOAL.
All of this would be much harder if played "barefoot," with uncomfortable pants, no referee, and no defined rules or field. This is where the "enabling conditions" come in, allowing the match to take place. In the forestry sector, we have many enabling conditions, such as micro-entrepreneurs (from "Señora Juanita" who sells sandwiches outside a plant, taxi drivers, and more), SMEs (those who make uniforms and safety gear; small hotels or cabins; among others), schools and universities that train our workers and the general population, social organizations, sectors like hospitality and transportation (not just forestry), and many more.
Finally, there are the "sponsors" and governments, who provide resources, visibility, infrastructure, and everything needed to make this happen, gain more relevance, and generate development and excitement. Just as stadiums, hotels, and much-needed infrastructure were built in Qatar, developing a bioeconomy from the forestry sector requires building roads, ports, ensuring security along the chain, and creating promotion and regulation policies, among many other things.
All of this forms the foundation for hosting a World Cup and winning the Nature-Based Solutions World Cup.
About a year ago, Red Futuro Madera was born, bringing together the main forestry associations (Acoforag, PymeMad, Aprobosque, Corma, and AchBiom). Hard work has been done to gather and train players, seek sponsors, generate publicity, and engage in dialogues with different sectors and fans, pushing for measures to regulate the domestic market and unite to "speak to FIFA" about the things we believe must be improved and incorporated for a better future.
It would be very unfair not to mention many other institutions also working for the same team, such as the College of Forestry Engineers AG, Infor, Conaf, and the National Forestry Society, as well as all members of the Congressional Future Commission involved in the "Sustainable Forestry Chile" project (my apologies to those I didn’t mention but know they’re part of the team).
This simple and fun analogy (hopefully) only seeks to convey that each of us working in the forestry sector is playing the same match. We are a team where everyone is needed. Empathy, transparency, and collaboration are key. Messi or any other player won’t win a World Cup playing alone. Not even a single match.