28.07.2023
Here we present the reorganization of the technical and scientific documentation centralized by ATIBT.
The reflections of the last few months, carried out within the framework of a Master 2 in Wood Sciences at the University of Montpellier, have enabled us to propose a completely new tree structure for our technical documentation. It will be organized around the association's commissions. Indeed, the themes of the commissions (Agroforestry & Planting, Wood & Standardization, Carbon & Biodiversity, Certification & Regulations, Forestry & Industry, Training, Marketing & Markets) are the anchor points of the documentary resource relayed by ATIBT and play a crucial role in the actions carried out by the association.
The structure of the documentary resource was therefore defined on the basis of knowledge of the timber industry, the documents already in the database, and the subjects addressed by each commission. The titles of the files have been carefully chosen to avoid any confusion as to their content.
With this new tree structure, the association's website will be redesigning the "technical publications" section in the coming weeks. Documents will be accompanied by metadata (key words) to provide an advanced search tool and facilitate access to documents.
At the same time, a survey has been launched to gather external opinions on the site's media library and identify members' needs. This short survey focuses on the most important points. A total of 17 multiple-choice questions (1) identify the person answering the questionnaire, (2) give an idea of the image of the ATIBT media library on its site, and (3) identify areas for improvement.
The resources available are still heterogeneous between the commissions. Training" and "Agroforestry & Plantations" are not as well represented as others such as "Certification", "Forestry & Industry" or "Wood Materials & Standardization". Given that the majority of members are producers and traders, this could explain why the "Training" and "Agroforestry & Plantations" themes, although crucial, are less in demand than "Certification" or "Forestry & Industry", which play a decisive role in the export of wood products.
In addition, the "Carbon & Biodiversity" theme often came up as one to be explored in greater depth. The commission is a recent addition to the association. As the commission's projects progress, documentation can be added to.
According to the questionnaire, "Marketing & Markets" is not a theme requiring in-depth documentation. However, key figures on the tropical wood market should be added.
Lastly, many respondents mentioned other more specific themes that were important to follow up, such as CITES-related issues or the EUDR.
This survey was an interesting way of understanding some of our members' media library needs. In order to deepen these results, a new survey could be launched in the near future to better understand the relationship that market players and politicians have with scientific knowledge.
This work has led to a number of suggestions for facilitating access to the scientific information needed to raise awareness of environmental issues.
On this basis, the media library will now be easier to add to.
Access the "technical publications" section of the ATIBT website
