1979: graduated in Forest Sciences at University of Padova (110/110 'summa cum laude')
1980-90: head of the Forest Economics Unit at the 'Centro di Sperimentazione Agricola e forestale' of SAF (ENCC Group), Rome
1981: visiting professor at the Institute of Agricultural Economics (Oxford University) with a CNR scholarship
1990-...: lecturer at the Dipartimento Territorio e Sistemi Agro-Forestali, University of Padova. Since 1992 associate professor. Since 2013 full professor. Since 2024 professor emeritus at the University of Padova
Davide Pettenella has published more than 500 papers and about 40 books and monographs in the field of forest policy and economics as a result of his research activities in two CNR Finalised Project (IPRA and RAISA), in the IIASA Wood Supply Model for Italy (Environment Program), in the EEC-DG XII research programme FAST RES 4, in the IIASA Wood Supply Model for Italy (Environment Programme), in the EEC DG XII research programme FAST RES 4, in the IEA 'Implementing agreement on bioenergy', in two Concerted Actions financed by the EC FAIR Programme ('Consequences of structural changes in roundwood and forest markets in Europe' and 'End-use and substitution analysis for sawn timber and wood based panels: Implication for European Forestry'), in the EC STD3 programme ('Sustainable development of the ecosystems of the coastal hill of Peru'), in the 'Sustainability audit of Swiss forest policy' of the Swiss Federal Forest Administration, in the FAO project 'Country case study on cross-sectoral linkages in mountain forest development'. In the past, he participated in the following research projects funded by the EC Framework Programmes 'Critical natural capital and the implications of a strong sustainability criterion', 'CARBO-INVENT', 'Network for a European Forest Information Service' (NEFIS), 'A New Environmental Accounting Framework Using Externality Data and Input-Output Tools for Policy Analysis' (EXIOPOL), 'New Ways to Value and Market Forest Externalities' (NEWFOREX), 'Future-oriented integrated management of European forest landscapes' (INTEGRAL), 'Multipurpose trees and non-wood forest products; a challenge and opportunity' (STAR TREE). He has been involved in other research projects funded by DG Justice ('Stop Crimes on Renewables and Environment' - SCORE), by the EC Joint Research Centre ('Development of a methodology for the analysis of the socio-economic impacts of forest fires and the economic efficiency of fire management' - MASIFF), by the Italian Ministry for the Environment and by regional and local administrations. He has been employed by the FED, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the World Bank, the FAO and the ENCC.
More recently, he has been involved in the following EC-funded research programmes: 'Alternative models and robust decision-making for future forest management' (ALTEFOR - Horizon 2020), 'Social Innovation in Marginalised Rural Areas' (SIMRA) (EC Horizon 2020), 'European Research and Enterprise Alliance on Marketing and Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity' - ECOSTAR (EC Erasmus+), 'Spurring INnovations for Forest ECosystem SERvices in Europe' - SINCERE (EC Horizon 2020), Study on Progress in Implementing the EU Forest Strategy (EC), 'European Cooperation for Social Responsibility' - SHOUTOUT4SDGs (EC Erasmus+ Key Action), 'Po Regions Engaged to Policies of AIR' - PREPAIR (EC Life+ Integrated Projects), 'Green for Health and Social Inclusion' - Green4C (EC Erasmus+), 'Eating the wild: Improving the value chain of Mediterranean wild food products' - WildFood (PRIMA programme - EC Horizon 2020), 'Learning and action alliances for nexus environments in an uncertain future' - LENSES (PRIMA programme - EC Horizon 2020), 'Tackling skills gap in the wildlife conservation sector' - WildSkills (EC Erasmus+), 'Managing REsilient neXUs Systems through Participatory Systems Dynamics Modelling' - REXUS (EC Horizon+).
He has collaborated with other international research institutions on the following programmes: 'Assessment of the EU Timber Regulation and FLEGT Action Plan' (European Forest Institute for the EC), 'Forest plantations in emerging markets: best practices for sustainable and responsible investments' (CIFOR), 'Legality constraints: the emerging of a dual market for wood products' (CIFOR), 'China-Europe Forest Bioeconomy: Assessment and outlook' (European Forestry Institute), 'Perceiving the Forest-based Bioeconomy - PerForm' (Network Fund European Forestry Institute).
Consultancy work: He has worked as a consultant for the European Commission in Cameroon (EC Project on Wood and other Energy Resources in the Garoua Region), Niger (EC Project on Forest Interventions to Combat Desertification), Tunisia (Economic Analysis of WB Forestry and Soil Conservation Projects), Argentina (Plywood and Sawmill in Rio Negro State - ENCC Feasibility Study for a Joint Venture), Croatia (FAO Forest and Wood Sector Industry Sectoral Study for the Agricultural Sector Review), Vietnam (FAO Programme "Country Capacity Strengthening for NFAP Implementation in Vietnam"), Ukraine (Tempus-Tacis "ENARECO" EC Project of Assistance to the University of Forestry and Wood Working Industry in Lviv) and Albania ("Technical Assistance to the WB Forestry Project" - FAO).
Lecturing: he has given full courses at the Universities of Calabria (Arcavacata), Tuscia (Viterbo), Cassino and Molise (Campobasso). He has given seminars and courses at the Luiss University in Rome, the University of Calabria (Arcavacata), Ca' Foscari (Venice) and the Universities of Ancona, Catania, Sassari and Palermo. Abroad, he has taught at the Universities of Belgrade, Brasov, Ljubljana, Khartoum, Sarajevo, Trujillo, at the National Forestry University of Ukraine (Lviv), at the Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava, at the Agricultural University of Tirana, at the University Sedes Sapientiae of Lima, at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences and at the State Forestry Academy of St. Petersburg.
Membership: Società Italiana degli Economisti Agrari, Associazione Italiana di Economia Agraria e Applicata, Accademia dei Georgofili, Accademia Italiana di Scienze Forestali, Wolfson College (Oxford), Centro Levi-Cases, Centro Studi Industria Leggera (CSIL). President of the Rete Montagna-Mountain Network. President of the Italian Cluster Forest-Wood. Deputy Coordinator of IUFRO WP 4.05.02 – Managerial economics. Member of the Scientific Commettees of Fondazione G.Angelini, Fondazione Symbola, Fondazione Lanza, Fondazione Alberitalia, Legambiente, Fondazione METES, Istituto per la Certificazione Etica ed Ambientale (ICEA), Unione italiana per olio di palma sostenibile, Associazione Italiana Energie Agroforestali (AIEL), Associazione Veneta per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile (AsVeSS), Comitato Tecnico Scientifico of the internationak exibition "Ecomondo), of the del Greenpeace network "Voci per il clima". Member of the ECE Team of Specialists on Sustainable Forest Products. Member of the Expert Group "Green Jobs" of Forest Europe and of the Tavolo della Filiera Legno at the Italian Ministry of Agriculture and Forests. Member of the SCAR Comittees Bioeconomy and Forests at European Commission and of the Technical Working Group Governance of WoodPoP. He is Honorary Member of the International Forestry Students Association (IFSA). He is representative of the Veneto Region in EUSALP.
He is member of the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Forest Policy and Economics, Agriculture and Food Economics, Acta Silvae et Ligni, FoodForests, Italia Forestale e Montana, Etica per le professioni - Questioni di etica applicata, Works of the Forestry Faculty of the University of Sarajevo, Forest Science (Sofia), Vestnik of Volga State University of Technology - Series ‘Forest, Ecology, Nature Management’, Sherwood – Foreste e Alberi Oggi.
In the past he has held two mandates as Coordinator of the LERH PhD programme at the University of Padova, Director of the Inter-University Centre for Agricultural, Environmental and Forest Accounting, member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the European Forest Institute, representative for Italy in the Implementing Agreement on Bioenergy Network of the International Energy Association, Member of the "Unità multidisciplinare per l'aggiornamento normativo del settore forestale nazionale" at the Italian Ministry for Agricultural, Forestry and Food Policy, Member of WG2 of ISO TC207, Expert at the Secretariat of the Framework Convention on Climate Change, Member of the Scientific Office of the Mediterranean Region of the European Forestry Institute, Member of the Associazione per studi forestali (Association for the study of forests), Associazione per studi e ricerche Manlio Rossi Doria, Italian Representative to the European Forestry Agency, Vice-Chairman of the Mountain Forests Working Group of the Alpine Convention, UNIPD Rector's delegate for two mandates for international relations with Eastern Europe, member of the Scientific Committee of the European Observatory of the Mountain Forests, member of Inter-ministerial Technical Committee for the Mountains at the Italian Ministry for Economy and Finance, member of the Committee for International Cooperation of the Veneto Region, member of the Scientific Committee for the Forest Map for Italy. He has also been president for two mandates of the NGO “Agronomi e Forestali Senza Frontiere” and deputy president of the NGO "Popoli Insieme".
He is honorary President of the Cluster nazionale Italia Foresta Legno and Chairman of the Technical Scientific Committee of the Regional Innovative Network ‘Foresta Oro Veneto". He is one of the founders of ETIFOR Benefit Company, a spin-off of the University of Padova. He was one of the founders of the Forest Stewardship Council Italia and its President for two terms.
He received two Honoris Causa Degrees by National Forestry University of Ukraine – Lviv and Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava (ROM).