Jouko Virta, President
Louis Carbonnier, Executive Vice President
Jaakko Pöyry Consulting (UK) Ltd.
ABSTRACT
Forestry is charged with the responsibility of managing the world’s forest resources to provide valuable foods, building materials and other important products to society while maintaining the inherent nature of forests and their role in the global environment. As we move towards the 21st Century, forestry will be increasingly challenged to meet the rising demand for forest products created by population growth and economic development, as well as the impact of social development on the environmental values of our forest resources. These challenges will present new opportunities to advance the development of sustainable forest management, develop new and more efficient industrial processing technologies, and promote a greater understanding of the important role of forests in the global environment.
INTRODUCTION
Role of Forests
Forests provide many valuable functions ranging from their fundamental role as a range of diverse ecosystems harbouring a large proportion of terrestrial species, to the provision of valuable foods, building materials and other products of great importance to man. Forests are varied and their uses are diverse depending upon where they are located, however the principal roles of forests can be expressed as follows:
Forests provide a renewable source of raw materials for the forest industry which in turn supplies essential goods to modern society such as building materials and paper products. The value of global forest products produced in 1996 was estimated to be USD 415 billion. The pulp and paper industry contributed USD 265 billion.
Despite the economic value of processed forest products, fuelwood accounts for over 50% of the volume of wood removed from forests. Fuelwood usage is highest in developing economies where access to other energy sources for heating and cooking is limited. Demand for fuelwood will continue to increase in line with global population placing increased pressure on forests as a source of fuelwood.
Managing Forests
Forestry is the science of managing forests to provide multiple benefits to society while maintaining the inherent nature of forest ecosystems. The broad nature of forest types and conditions, from tropical forests to the northern boreal forests, necessitates a vast knowledge of forest ecosystem dynamics as well as highly developed management systems to ensure these objectives can be fulfilled. The development of society dictates where and how forests are utilised, and hence how forests are managed. The challenges facing forestry as we move into the 21st Century will be to continue managing the balance between society’s needs and the forests integrity in a sustainable manner. The challenge will come from society itself.
CHALLENGES
Two principal challenges confront forestry as we move into the 21st Century:
Meeting these challenges will require a global commitment to sustainable forest management initiatives and preparedness by the international community to permit trade in forest products between regions with resource surpluses and those with resource deficits.
Meeting Increasing Forest Product Demand
The global forest products industry is dynamic and growing. The value of all sales in 1994 was about USD 400 billion. The annual growth rate for the period 1985-94 was 5%/a, primarily driven by the increasing value of the paper and paperboard sectors.
In the future, global demand for forest products will continue to increase in volume terms by 1-2%/a for mechanical wood products and nearly 3%/a for paper products until 2010. These demand increases will be generated by simple increases in population, literacy rates and improved standards of living, especially in developing countries.
The demand for industrial forest products varies considerably by region (Figure 1). Demand is highest in industrialised regions such as North America, Scandinavia and Western Europe, although growth in demand is slow in relative terms. In contrast, the greatest demand growth is occurring in regions with developing economies, particularly Latin America, Asia and Russia.
FIGURE 1 Wood Fibre Demand Development by Region 1994 and 2010
Supply of industrial forest products will meet demand, although there will be regional deficits necessitating continued international trade and industry rationalisation. In regions with increasing scarcity of industrial wood, and associated price increases, the development of more efficient processing technologies and higher utilisation rates of less favoured species have resulted in more efficient wood resource utilisation, absorbing some of the demand increase.
Fuelwood accounted for 54% of wood usage in 1994, with most demand coming from developing countries (Figure 2). A quarter of the total energy requirement in developing countries, and over half in Africa, is obtained by burning wood, compared to 1% in industrialised countries. In 1994, 2.0-2.2 billion people were affected by a shortage of fuelwood and this is expected to increase to 2.8 billion by 2000. The increase in fuelwood demand from 1.74 billion m³/a in 1994 to over 2.0 billion m³/a in 2010 will place continued pressure on forest resources, particularly in developing countries, compounding the effects of other land use pressures.
FIGURE 2
Industrial Roundwood and Fuelwood Harvest in 1994
Meeting Increasing Environmental and Sustainable Development Demands
Sustainable development encompasses many interdependent factors defining how a country progresses towards its desired goals. Economic sustainability is a common goal influencing strategies to achieve development in industry, agriculture and other sectors. The sustainability of forestry is strongly influenced by the demands of these other sectors.
Agricultural development has played a major role in the current distribution of forest land. In developed countries, the conversion of forest land to agriculture and other non-forest land uses has largely been completed, resulting in the total forest area remaining stable or even increasing in some regions. However, in forest rich, developing countries there is a continuing trend towards forest conversion to other land uses to enable economic and social development. The FAO estimated that an additional 85 million hectares of forest would need to be cleared for agriculture between 1995 and 2010.
The Charter of the United Nations grants every nation the sovereign right to exploit its own resources pursuant to its own environmental policies, provided that activities within its control do not cause damage to the environment of other nations. This provides nations with the right to utilise, manage and develop their forests in accordance with their development needs, including the conversion of forests to other land uses within their overall socio-economic development plan and based on rational land-use policies. Continued development of agricultural systems as part of sustainable development initiatives to alleviate poverty will place substantial pressure on existing forest areas in these regions.
Increasing scrutiny is being placed on the utilisation of forest resources as the impact of social development on the nature of the global forest resource becomes more widely appreciated. The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 focused attention on issues of global environmental significance, identifying the need for the adoption of national level strategies to ensure sustainable development. The outcomes of the conference directly applicable to forests were that countries should:
Following the Rio Conference, many international forums have been conducted to explore the issues associated with the sustainable development of different forest types. This has led to the development of the principles of sustainable forest management (SFM) which provide guidelines for individual countries to develop appropriate management strategies for their local conditions.
Due to the large variation in forest types and management objectives around the world, consensus has yet to be reached on a single definition for sustainable forest management. However, a broad definition is:
The management of the commercial and non-commercial values of forests to improve the welfare of society (both material and non-material), whilst maintaining the values of forests as a resource for commercial use and for conservation, for current and future generations.
The key principles and criteria for assessment of sustainable forest management are:
In addition to the issues and principles applying directly to forest management, it is essential to consider the impact of other land uses on current and future forest use. For example, the provision of adequate food and other agricultural products will place continued pressure on forested land, as will the need for housing, industrial and infrastructural development. Unresolved land tenure and customary land rights issues pose further obstacles to forest management, particularly where traditional land owners are not adequately consulted prior to commencement of forestry activities. These issues act as constraints to the development and implementation of truly sustainable forest management systems, and must be considered at the highest level to ensure the successful integration of forest management planning into overall land use planning and development at the local level.
Considerable debate currently surrounds the means by which sustainable forest management can be assessed to ensure compliance with the defined principles. Requirements from product markets are a driving force in this debate. Some parties favour a system of certification in which the quality of forest management is assessed against predefined criteria covering environmental, social and economic factors. It is essential that such certification systems are repeated at appropriate intervals to ensure continued compliance. Certification has only been conducted for a small number of forests globally and the quality of assessment has been questioned in some instances due to the failure to address pertinent issues.
Once a forest has been certified, all products derived from that forest could be labelled as being produced from sustainably managed forests. This would permit forest owners and subsequent users of this raw material to market their products as being derived from sustainably managed forests, providing a promotional tool in some highly discerning markets. A major obstacle to the successful implementation of a labelling scheme is establishing exactly which products originate from sustainably managed forests. The ‘chain-of-custody’ from forest to processing facility to final market is difficult to establish, particularly where raw material is derived from both certified and uncertified forests.
OPPORTUNITIES
The challenges confronting forestry into the 21st Century provide the stimulus for critical assessment of operations and identify opportunities for continuous improvement. Some of the greatest opportunities will come from intensified management of natural forests, particularly the under-utilised boreal forests, expanding fast-growing forest plantations, industrial product development permitting more efficient use of a wider range of forest products, and increasing recognition of the influence of forests on the global environment.
Boreal Forests
The coniferous natural forests of the boreal zone dominate the forest resources of Canada, Scandinavia and Russia. These forests account for over 30% of the global forest area and are a major source of industrial wood for the forest industry. However, intensive forest management practices have been largely confined to Scandinavia where the intermediate removal of suppressed trees (thinning) and concerted forest regeneration efforts have resulted in a significant increase in forest productivity. Implementation of similar intensive management practices has increased in Canada in recent years, although there is considerable opportunity to further increase the utilisation of this resource.
The forest resources of Russia are highly under-utilised and present an enormous opportunity for the sustainable development of the forest industry. Almost one quarter of the global forest area, and about 50% of the coniferous forest area, are located in Russia.
Much of the under-utilisation of Russian forests can be attributed to the lack of adequate roads and other infrastructure, particularly in the Far East where only 30% of the forests are considered accessible. Improved access would not only increase the volume of wood available to the forest industry, but would also permit more intensive management and facilitate fire suppression activities. Fires are a major cause of forest loss, particularly in Siberia where up to 2 million hectares of forest are affected each year by fire.
The output from the Russian forest industry declined dramatically following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The volume of wood harvested from Russian forests declined by 50% between 1990 and 1995 due to uncertain economic, social and political conditions. Subsequent investment in the industry has been low, exacerbating the problems of ageing production facilities and rising costs. A small number of foreign investments have been made, but these are struggling to achieve the desired returns in the current economic climate. The outlook for the industry is for moderate but cautious development, with success dependent upon increased economic and social stability.
Fast-growing Plantations
Fast-growing plantations provide a growing opportunity for the forest industry to augment wood supplies from natural forest with low cost, uniform supplies. Plantations are typically grown on short-rotations ranging from 6-8 years for tropical hardwood pulpwood plantations to 25-35 years for temperate softwood sawlog plantations. This permits much greater returns than from slow-growing natural forests, where it typically takes between 80 and 120 years for the forest to mature before harvesting.
Fast-growing plantations are managed intensively with the principal aim of maximising the production of quality wood products. The principles of management are similar to that of modern agriculture, with the plantation being treated as a crop and subjected to regular tending operations such as weeding and fertilising.
The area of fast-growing plantations is expanding rapidly through the afforestation of cleared agricultural land as well as the reforestation of degraded natural forest, principally in tropical Asia. The majority of plantations are located in South America, Oceania, southern Africa and South-east Asia. Large areas of new plantations will reach maturity in the early years of the 21st Century providing opportunities for the development of new forest industries.
Product Substitution
The changing nature of wood supplies and requirements demanded by consumers have led to the development of new products such as MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) and OSB (Oriented Strandboard). Both products use lower quality wood which is not suitable for lumber production and, in the case of MDF, also wood residues from sawmilling operations. The products are engineered by first breaking the wood into small fragments, after which they are glued together to form panels or beams of desired dimensions. These are termed engineered or reconstituted wood products.
MDF is a panel product used in a range of furniture and non-structural building applications, and has replaced traditional solid lumber and plywood in some applications. OSB is made with larger ‘flakes’ of wood into beams and other structural building products for use in applications where high strength is required but appearance is not important. Further development of such products offers new opportunities for more efficient utilisation of wood produced in forests, helping to meet the challenge of increasing demand.
Global Carbon Cycle
One of the great advantages of forestry is the wide range of benefits that can be provided through sustainable management of this renewable resource. Forests play an important role in the global carbon cycle through the storage of large quantities of carbon in vegetation and soil, and exchange of carbon with the atmosphere through photosynthesis, respiration and disturbance.
Forests contain more than 55% of the global carbon stored in vegetation and more than 45% stored in soil. Most of the carbon pool in forest vegetation (62%) is found in tropical forests, whereas most carbon in forest soils (54%) is located in boreal forests, where more than four times the amount of carbon is found in soil than in vegetation. Consequently, changes in the amount of forest cover in the tropics has a greater potential to influence the global carbon cycle than equivalent changes in the boreal zone. While forests play an important role in the global carbon cycle, they are nevertheless considered to be a small net contributor to atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, due mainly to the release of carbon through the conversion of tropical forests to other land uses.
The magnitude of the role of forests in the carbon cycle can be manipulated by the type of management applied. For example, young rapidly growing forests absorb (sequester) large quantities of atmospheric carbon dioxide compared to over-mature forests which are relatively balanced in their absorption and release of carbon. The ability to manipulate the rate of sequestration and release of carbon through managing forests to contain a range of age classes provides a great opportunity for forestry to contribute to the carbon cycle and its influence on global climate change.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
The challenges and opportunities facing forestry towards the 21st Century are many and varied. Meeting these challenges and realising the opportunities will require commitment and ingenuity from the forestry community from intergovernmental policy development to local implementation of operations. Although challenging, the contribution of forestry to the maintenance of the global environment and provision of essential goods to society will become increasingly more valuable.