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The article examines the potential of road verge for biomass production, and it was published in the Journal of Cleaner Production in September 2015 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.04.034).

Dunsin is one of our most active ESRs when it comes to publishing. His publications include both peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Please see them all listed on our publications page at http://www.castle-itn.eu/publications.html.

Dunsin is working at ZALF in Müncheberg, Germany under the supervision of Dr. Katharina Helming.

The topic of your research project is “Using and expanding the material and energy flow analysis (MEFA) framework for sustainability impact assessment of bio-energy systems”. You’ve been working on it for about two years now – how is your work progressing? What do you plan to do over the next 6 months?

Recently, my manuscript entitled “Global patterns and trends of wood harvest and use between 1990 and 2010” has been published in the Journal of Ecological Economics. I presented the preliminary results of this study at the IARU Sustainability Science Congress held in Copenhagen, Denmark las year. I have just finished a secondment with BTG Biomass Technology Group in Enschede, the Netherlands. During my secondment, I did research on carbon emissions reduction by utilizing post-consumer wood and paper wastes for the manufacturing of paper and particleboard in the European Union (EU-28), which was presented at the CASTLE Conference in Barcelona on 23rd October. In the next 6 months I would be focusing on writing scientific manuscripts for publication related to the environmental impacts of cascading in the wood sector and the relationships between harvest pressure and changes in forest carbon stocks.

Why did this exact topic interest you?

Climate change and sustainability of biomass and bioenergy are one of the important issues globally. As a forester and environmentalist, I am always eager to deepen my knowledge on these issues. Being part of the CASTLE project and working on these topics that I am most interested in was a great privilege.  With my individual research project, I hope I could contribute to filling the gaps in research knowledge related to biomass sustainability and climate change.

What would you like to do after the CASTLE project has finished?

I would like to continue doing research on issues related to sustainability impact assessment of biomass and bioenergy, sustainable biomass supply chain, climate change, land use, etc.  Since I had experience working with international non-profit organization, I would like also to continue to participate in advocacy programmes related to climate change mitigation, nature conservation, sustainable development, etc. I would also consider a consulting job for industries, bioenergy sectors and private businesses. However, I am open to whatever interesting job opportunities come my way.

What are your thoughts on the CASTLE project so far, and the training courses in particular?

I consider CASTLE project as exceptional programme in Europe,  we (the ESRs) were given a great privilege to broaden our work experience and skills through secondments and also an opportunity to organize international conference. CASTLE trainings were not only beneficial to our individual research but also a unique opportunity to meet people with culturally diverse background and wide range of expertise and experiences. 

The topic of your research project is “Dynamic indicator calculation in ToSIA using a framework for model linkage”. You’ve been working on it for about two years now – how is your work progressing? What do you plan to do/cover over the next 6 months?

Research, for my experience, is like to be about to cross a corner: you do not have the exact idea of what will be next and if you will be successful. However, I recently received the notification from the editor of Biomass and Bioenergy that a submitted paper has been accepted, and I recently ended my secondment period as visiting researcher at FCBA (French Technological Institute Forest, Cellulose, Wood for construction, Furniture) in Paris. These two events should indicate that I am progressing well on my plans.

The next six months are crucial: I am working on two big parts of my project. One consists in capitalize my experience in Paris and inform the scientific community on how to have a more efficient forest-based sector: it will be the focus of my presentation at the upcoming conference “Towards a Sustainable Bioeconomy”. The other one will be about the improvements to the ToSIA method that will derive from my work; in this case I want to contribute to make Sustainability Assessment easier, that is somehow the Graal of my research.

Why did this exact topic interest you?

My roots are into engineering, so I should “cause the best change in a poorly understood situation within the available resources”. So, what is better than working on methods for sustainability assessment? Having a better way of assessing the sustainability of products and processes it is not only a need of the forest-based sector, but it is important for the whole bioeconomy. We need to study the existing and potential synergies between different bio-based flows, and we need to measure what and where are the inefficiencies, and what are the economic, social and environmental impacts of (bio-based) processes.

What would you like to do after the CASTLE project has finished?

I see the “end” of the CASTLE Project as a formal date that will not really affect too much the innovative network we built and we are improving day by day. I’d like to continue working at the interface between Science and Practices (Industry and/or Policy Making), and contribute to connect diverse expertises and interests.

What are your thoughts on the CASTLE project so far, and the training courses in particular?

It is great that there is a project to enhance our employability and career development, putting togheter  mobility, innovative trainings, and science. The attended courses were about sustainability assessment methods and general complementary skills education. I expect that having attended these will be useful in my career development in “sustainability excellence”.  Then, an intrinsic value of these courses is the possibility of meeting frequentily the other ESRs: the discussions around our projects and ongoing work has always been very useful to pursue good results.