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Cette 16e fiche technique traite des bois sous rails, alors que le bois est un matériau largement utilisé dans le monde pour la fabrication des traverses de chemin de fer.

Some of the engineering students in their 3rd year at the Nantes École supérieure du bois acquire knowledge through the “World Forestry Exchanges” scheme. These students — Brazilians, Latvians, Taiwanese, Chines, Tunisian,… French — learn about forestry flows, wood marketing and product trends. It is against this multicultural background that is open and seeks to awaken the students curiosity that their feedback is requested in the form of their own vision of the products and services that should be on offer in the future in many forest-based industries. The diversity of their responses and the originality and relevance of some of these inspired the author to write this article which classifies and summarises these thoughts. This is a cooperative approach which aims at being of educational, academic and practical value; Pour certains des ingénieurs en 3e année de l’École supérieure du bois de Nantes, leur cursus les conduit à renforcer leurs connaissances par un approfondissement intitulé « Échanges mondiaux du bois ». Ces étudiants, Brésiliens, Lettons, Taiwanais, Chinois, Tunisiens… Français vont, tour à tour, être sensibilisés aux flux forestiers, au marketing du bois ou encore à l’évolution des produits. C’est dans ce contexte multiculturel, ouvert sur les possibles et cherchant à attiser leurs curiosités, qu’il leur a été demandé, en guise de travail de restitution, de donner leur vision quant aux produits et services à offrir, à l’avenir, dans nombre de métiers du bois. La diversité de leurs réponses ainsi que l’originalité et la pertinence de certaines, ont conduit l’auteur à produire cet article qui classifie et synthétise ces réflexions. Il s’agit d’une démarche collaborative qui se veut pédagogique, académique et pratique

International audience

In the Congo Basin, up to one-third of the total wood market is sourced from traditional (or artisanal) woodcutting, with these products primarily destined for domestic markets. Due to the informal nature of much of the domestic value-added wood product market, the sector's real contribution to GDP and to local livelihoods is challenging to measure. However, urban timber markets contribute to economic growth and provide jobs, with an annual turnover of at least USD 15 million and employment of some 5,000 individuals in Yaoundé, Douala, and Kinshasa alone. Boosting the share of locally-processed wood used in domestic construction and furniture-making could represent a significant business opportunity for small, medium and large-sized enterprises in wood fiberbased value chains: smallholders, community forest holders, forest concessionaires, as well as SMEs and larger companies involved in transportation logistics, wood processing industries (large or small), wood workers, builders, and even designers, with the right policy incentives and enabling environment. Domestic processing capacities are low, almost entirely limited to primary processing: sawnwood, peeling and slicing for plywood, and veneer production. Industrial and semi-industrial wood transformation enterprises are well equipped, but have difficulties competing on the domestic market as they are subject to higher taxes than smaller enterprises, operating informally. This report aim to improve knowledge and prioritize options for policies and targeted investments for improved domestic timber utilization in Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The report builds on prior knowledge to better understand the solutions needed to overcome barriers to expanding the market for legal (and possibly sustainable) timber and processed wood products used in the domestic furniture and construction markets in the two countries.

International audience; Can the analogy between management and forestry offer a better representation of contemporary management ? While Frederic Taylor led the development of scientific management in the early 20th century with a mechanistic view of organizing, Mary P. Follett presented during the same period, a more organic perspective. Her view of management was not so much about dividing functions for better control, but rather developing creative communities in the midst of a complex and ever-changing living world. This three part article presents first, the overall context leading to a "gardened" view of management, secondly a comparison of Taylor's and Follett's approaches, and thirdly, examines the emergent tendencies of a "gardened" approach to management.