OFFICE NATIONAL DES FORETS

Their core work

Office National des Forêts (ONF) is France's national forestry agency, responsible for managing approximately 11 million hectares of public forests across mainland France and overseas territories. In H2020, ONF contributes operational forestry expertise — particularly national forest inventory data, in-situ monitoring capabilities, and field-level knowledge of forest ecosystems under environmental stress. Their participation spans forest data harmonization, precision forestry, forest genetic resources, and even security-related through-foliage detection in harsh environments.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

ONF's early H2020 involvement (2015-2019) centered on forest data infrastructure — harmonizing national forest inventories, monitoring disturbances, and building data products for EU bioeconomy policy. Their more recent work (2018-2025) has shifted toward forest resilience and genetic diversity, reflecting growing concern about climate adaptation in European forests. The FOLDOUT project represents an interesting detour into security applications, showing ONF's unique value as a provider of real-world forested terrain expertise.

ONF is moving from data infrastructure toward climate adaptation and genetic conservation — expect future involvement in forest resilience, biodiversity, and climate-smart forestry projects.

How they like to work

ONF operates exclusively as a supporting partner or third party, never as a coordinator — consistent with its role as a national operational agency contributing domain expertise rather than leading research. With 88 unique partners across 28 countries, they plug into large pan-European consortia where their value is practical forestry knowledge and access to French forest data and sites. Working with ONF means gaining access to one of Europe's largest managed forest networks and real operational datasets.

ONF has collaborated with 88 unique partners across 28 countries, indicating deep integration into pan-European forestry research networks. Their reach spans virtually all EU member states, reflecting the cross-border nature of forest policy and biodiversity research.

What sets them apart

ONF is not a research institute — it is the operational body that actually manages France's public forests. This gives them something most research partners cannot offer: real-world forest sites, decades of inventory data, and direct implementation pathways for research results into forest management practice. For any consortium needing a bridge between laboratory science and on-the-ground forestry, ONF is a rare and credible partner.

Highlights from their portfolio

• FORGENIUS
  Their largest funded project (EUR 69,945), addressing the increasingly critical topic of forest genetic resources for climate adaptation — active until 2025.
• DIABOLO
  Pan-European effort to harmonize forest information across national inventories, directly supporting EU bioeconomy and forest policy — ONF contributed French national forest inventory expertise.
• FOLDOUT
  Unusual cross-sector project applying forestry terrain knowledge to border security and through-foliage detection, demonstrating ONF's versatility beyond traditional forestry.