Syndicat des Forestiers Privés du Gard

What Syndicat des Forestiers Privés du Gard does

The Syndicat des Forestiers Privés du Gard is a French professional syndicate (non-profit) founded in 1966 that represents approximately 46,000 private forest owners across the Gard department in the Occitanie region of southern France. These members collectively hold around 186,000 hectares of private forest within a departmental forest estate of 258,000 hectares (44% woodland rate). The organization provides three core service pillars: (i) advocacy and legal representation of private owners before French and European authorities, including a formal seat in departmental commissions on taxation, land-use planning, and forestry financing; (ii) a unique collective civil liability insurance policy underwritten by Generali covering all declared parcels up to €9 million per claim, accessible only through Syndicate membership; and (iii) free annual technical advisory visits delivered through its technical arm, the Groupement de Développement Forestier Gardois (GDF Gardois), structured across five territorial sectors (Garrigues, Cévennes Alésiennes, Vallées des Gardons, Viganais, Costières-Camargue).

Commercially, the Syndicate generates revenue exclusively through tiered annual membership dues — €30 first-year, €35 for owners with less than 5 hectares, and €45 for 5–20 hectares — with no disclosed financials. Service delivery is people-intensive and field-based rather than technology-mediated: a permanent staff of two (a technician and an administrative officer) supported by elected sector referents organizes sector-specific information meetings, participatory forest workdays (chantiers participatifs), the annual Nuits des Forêts festival, school outreach programs, and Escapades Nature outings. The Syndicate distributes its services via direct member contact, its website (forestiersdugard.com), and a network of strategic partnerships with Fransylva (national federation providing the only legal service dedicated to private forestry in France), La Forêt Privée / Groupe Sylva Bois cooperative (group timber sales), CNPF (public technical institute), FOGEFOR (training), Sylvamap (forest management software at 20% member discount), and ZIMMER (forestry equipment at 10% discount). Notable historical milestones include obtaining in 1979 the first-in-France right for owners to participate in their own forestry work for remuneration, and founding in 1980 the country's first Association Syndicale de Travaux Forestiers to address the structural fragmentation of private forest holdings.

Name

Syndicat des Forestiers Privés du Gard

Legal name

Syndicat des Forestiers Privés du Gard

Website

https://forestiersdugard.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1966

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Syndicat des Forestiers Privés du Gard is a non-profit professional syndicate founded in 1966 that represents 46,000 private forest owners in the Gard department of France, providing advocacy, collective civil liability insurance, and free technical advisory visits to its members.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Forestry Association Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Forestry (11531), Support Activities for Forestry (115310)

SIC

Forestry (800), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Forest Certification, Compliance & Chain-of-Custody Support (AFAMAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Forest Fuels Management (Thinning, Mastication, Prescribed Burning) (AFAMAEAD), Controlled Wood / Due Diligence / Risk Assessment Services (AFAMALAC)

Keywords

• Private forest ownership
• Forestry association services
• Forest management advisory
• Collective liability insurance
• Timber sales facilitation

Headquarters

HQ city

Ribauté-les-Tavernes

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership dues (cotisations annuelles): Annual membership fees are the primary revenue stream. Fees are tiered by forest area owned: €30 first-year welcome price, then €35 for properties under 5 ha, and €45 for properties between 5 and 20 ha.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Syndicat des Forestiers Privés du Gard is a non-profit professional syndicate representing approximately 46,000 private forest owners in the Gard department of France. It sells annual memberships (€30–€45/year by forest area) bundled with collective civil liability insurance underwritten by Generali, free annual technical advisory visits through its technical arm GDF Gardois, sector information meetings, assistance with sustainable management documentation, access to specialized legal services via Fransylva, and wood commercialization via partner cooperatives.

Product overview

The Syndicat des Forestiers Privés du Gard is a membership-based organization representing private forest owners in the Gard department of France. It provides a suite of services including advocacy and legal representation, group civil liability insurance through Generali (up to €9,000,000 coverage), free annual technical advisory visits, and subsidized access to sustainable forest management documentation. The organization serves its members through five regional development groups (GDF Garrigues, GDF Cévennes Alésiennes, GDF Vallées des Gardons, GDF Viganais, GDF Costières-Camargue) and connects members with partners including Sylvamap (forest management software), ZIMMER (equipment supplier with 10% member discount), Sylvassur insurance, COOP FPLG for wood sales, and FOGEFOR for professional training. Public engagement programs include participatory forestry workdays, Escapades Nature guided walks, the national Nuits des Forêts festival, and school outreach initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Collective Civil Liability Insurance (Assurance Responsabilité Civile collective)
• Annual Syndicate Membership (Adhésion annuelle)
• Free Annual Technical Advisory Visits (Visites-conseil gratuites)
• Sector Information Meetings (Journées d'information sectorielles)
• Specialized Legal Services (Services juridiques spécialisés)
• Sustainable Management Documentation Assistance (Documents de gestion durable)
• Wood Commercialization Service (Commercialisation des bois)
• Sylvassur Damage Insurance
• Financial and Fiscal Aid Advisory (Aides financières et fiscales)
• Forest Owner Training via FOGEFOR

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Pays des Cévennes (Charte Forestière)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Territorial forest charter that co-organized the 2024 Fête de la Forêt des Cévennes alongside the Syndicate and other PETRs. The charter covers several Gard and Lozère municipalities and facilitates coordinated forest development actions.
• PETR Sud-LozèreminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Territorial entity co-organizing the 2024 Fête de la Forêt des Cévennes. The PETR Sud-Lozère has a forest charter for territory and forestry sector development.
• PETR Causses & CévennesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Territorial entity co-organizing the 2024 Fête de la Forêt des Cévennes. The PETR Causses & Cévennes operates a territorial forest charter.
• Forêt Méditerranéenne (revue)minorOthers · 1 January 2022The research study on harvesting techniques in the Cévennes was published in Forêt Méditerranéenne, t. XLIII, n°4, December 2022. The journal is a key Mediterranean forestry scientific publication.
• CNRS (UMR ESPACE)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Since 2021, the Syndicate (via GDF Gardois) partnered with CNRS for a comparative study of two timber harvesting techniques in the Cévennes, examining environmental impact on water pathways and population perceptions of forest access roads. The study was also conducted in partnership with IMT Mines Alès.
• IMT Mines AlèsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Engineering school partnered with the Syndicate (via GDF Gardois) since 2021 to conduct a comparative study of two timber harvesting techniques in the Cévennes, evaluating economic costs, environmental impact on water pathways, and population perceptions of forest roads.
• Centre National de la Propriété Forestière Occitanie (CNPF) — GardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCNPF is a public institution under the forestry ministry that orients and develops the management of private forests. In Gard, its technicians (Christine Boyer sector Nord, Nathan Bourguignon sector Sud, Elise Buchet) provide technical support, promote sustainable management documents (PSG, CBPS, RTG), and work with the Syndicate to advance private forestry in the region.
• La Forêt Privée — Groupe Sylva Bois (Coopérative forestière)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerForestry cooperative that implements forest projects (planting, improvement, road creation, harvesting, pruning), commercializes timber (purchase, sale, trade), drafts management documents (PSG, RTG, CBPS), and conducts expertise work. The Syndicate directs members to the cooperative for group timber sales and management services.
• FOGEFOR (Formation des propriétaires forestiers du Gard)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation for the training of private forest owners in the Gard, organizing basic and advanced training cycles covering forest ecology, silviculture, management documentation, forest taxation, digital tools (smartphone, mapping), and forestry equipment.
• Groupement de Développement Forestier Gardois (GDF Gardois)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe technical arm of the Syndicate. GDF Gardois carries out sensitization, dissemination of technical progress, facilitation of exchanges between forest owners, and promotion of forest economy actions. It provides free annual advisory visits to members and organizes field information days.
• Fransylva (Fédération Nationale des Forestiers Privés de France)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe national federation representing and defending private forest owners before French and European public authorities, forest-bois sector partners, and NGOs. Provides the only legal service in France dedicated entirely to private forestry. The Syndicate is a departmental member. Fransylva 6 Rue de la Trémoille, 75008 Paris.
• FRANSYLVA SERVICESminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides innovative financing for forest owners (Label Bas Carbone, forest renewal projects) and forest management services (carbon credits, insurance). The Syndicate organizes joint information meetings with FRANSYLVA SERVICES on topics such as insurance and forest aid programs.
• ZIMMER (matériel forestier)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorForestry equipment supplier. Members receive a 10% discount on all orders by presenting their Syndicate membership attestation.
• SylvassurminorOthersForestry insurance provider whose Sylvassur damage insurance product was presented at a joint Syndicate meeting. The collective RC insurance policy is underwritten by Generali, with Sylvassur covering optional damage insurance for forest owners.
• COOP FPLG (Fédération desforestiers privés de Lozère et Gard)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLudovic Perraud, director of COOP FPLG, presented a sector economic update at the Syndicate's 2024 General Assembly. COOP FPLG is the cooperative federation for private forest owners in Lozère and Gard.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Alliance Forêts Bois: France's largest forestry cooperative, providing forest management services, timber commercialization, planting, and management document drafting to private forest owners nationwide. Comparable as a service provider for the same small private forest owner segment that the Gard Syndicate represents.
• Coop FPLG — Fédération des Forestiers Privés de Lozère et Gard: Sister cooperative federation for private forest owners in the adjacent Lozère and Gard departments, presented at the Syndicate's 2024 General Assembly. Directly comparable as a regional cooperative providing wood sales, management documents, and forestry services to overlapping small-owner segments.
• La Forêt Privée — Groupe Sylva Bois: Gard-based forestry cooperative under longstanding partnership (since 1985) with the Syndicate. Provides timber valuation, group wood sales, planting, and management document drafting — overlapping directly with the Syndicate's commercialization and management documentation services.

Others

• Fédération Nationale des Communes Forestières (FNCOFOR): National federation of forested municipalities. While it represents public/community forest owners rather than private owners, it operates in the same Gard forest ecosystem, sits on overlapping departmental commissions, and partners on wildfire prevention and territorial forest charter initiatives.
• Fransylva — Fédération Nationale des Forestiers Privés de France: National federation of which the Syndicate is a departmental member. Provides the only dedicated national legal service for private forestry in France and represents members before EU and French authorities. Comparable as the apex industry body for French private forest owners.
• Sylvamap: Online forest management software platform that the Syndicate promotes to members via a 20% partnership discount. Comparable as an enabling technology provider serving the same PSG/CBPS/RTG documentation workflows that the Syndicate supports.

Broad incumbents

• Centre National de la Propriété Forestière (CNPF): Public institution under the French Ministry of Agriculture that orients and develops management of private forests. Operates departmental delegations (including CNPF Occitanie — Gard) that deliver technical advisory, sustainable management documents (PSG, CBPS, RTG), and policy support — directly overlapping with the Syndicate's core services.
• Office National des Forêts (ONF): France's national public forestry office managing state and community forests. Comparable as the dominant public forestry operator in the same Gard territory, with overlapping interests in fire prevention, sustainable management, and forestry sector employment (500+ jobs). Not a direct competitor since it manages public not private forest.
• PEFC France: France's national PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) chain-of-custody certification body. Comparable as a broader forest certification organization whose work the Syndicate directly supports through PSG/CBPS/RTG documentation for member certification access.

Regional players

• Fédération des Forestiers Privés des Cévennes: Regional-level forestry syndicate in the Cévennes zone with overlapping mandate around private forest representation and Cévennes-specific forestry issues. Comparable as a geographically adjacent (cross-departmental) peer organization serving similar forest owner segments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/syndicat-des-forestiers-priv%C3%A9s-du-gard

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Syndicat des Forestiers Privés du Gard