Submitted: The Two Sides Team February 1, 2013

By 2050, rising population and demand, as well as an increase in use of wood for bioenergy, could triple the amount of wood society takes from forests and plantations per year, according to the latest instalment of WWF’s Living Forests Report.
January 28 2013

WWF

By 2050, rising population and demand, as well as an increase in use of
wood for bioenergy, could triple the amount of wood society takes from
forests and plantations per year, according to the latest instalment of
WWF’s Living Forests Report.
The report, presented today at the international paper conference
Paperworld in Frankfurt, projects paper production and consumption may
double in the next three decades, and overall wood consumption may
triple.

“A scenario of tripling the amount of wood society takes from forests
and plantations needs to motivate good stewardship that safeguards
forests – otherwise we could destroy the very places where wood grows,”
says Rod Taylor, Director of WWF’s Global Forest Programme. “Wood, if
sourced from well managed forests or plantations, is a renewable
material with many advantages over non-renewable alternatives. The key
challenge for forest-based industries is how to supply more wood
products with less impact on nature. This challenge spans the whole
supply chain, from where and how wood is grown and harvested to how
wisely and efficiently it is processed, used and reused.”

WWF’s forest conservation target is zero net deforestation and forest
degradation by 2020, which means no overall loss of forest area or
forest quality. The target requires the loss of natural forests to be
reduced to near zero, down from the current 13 million hectares a year,
and held at that level indefinitely.

“WWF’s research suggests that it is possible to achieve zero net
deforestation and forest degradation while sustaining a vibrant wood
products industry that meets people’s needs,” says Emmanuelle
Neyroumande, Manager of WWF International´s global pulp and paper work.
“But the longer we delay our actions the more difficult and costly the
solutions will be. We need wiser consumption, more efficiency,
responsible forestry practices, good governance and more transparency.”

For paper in particular, the Living Forests Report outlines a variety of solutions:

More recycling in countries with low recovery rates:
Even with higher global paper consumption in the future, society would
need less virgin material than today if recycling rates increased. A
2020 scenario shows that an increase of paper production by 25 per cent
could still require less virgin fibre input if the current global level
of 53 per cent recycled fibre use is increased to 70 per cent. Paper
recovery rates vary greatly between countries. Therefore, efforts to
increase recycling in countries with low recovery rates and high
consumption growth have particular potential to reduce pressure on
natural forests.

Resource efficiency and fairer consumption patterns:
More efficient processing and manufacturing can help produce more
products with a given amount of wood. Also, the current consumption
patterns of rich nations (10 per cent of the world’s population
consuming 50 per cent of the world’s paper) cannot sustainably be
followed by developing countries. Richer nations can reduce wasteful
paper use, while poorer nations need more paper for education, hygiene
and food safety.

Plantations to reduce pressure on natural forests: Even
with more frugal use and greater recycling and efficiency, net demand
for wood is likely to grow. Maintaining near zero loss of natural
forests after 2020, without significant reductions in consumption, would
require up to 250 million hectares of new tree plantations by 2050,
which is nearly double the amount of plantations today. Therefore,
well-managed plantations, particularly on currently degraded land,
contributing to restore ecosystems, will play an increasingly important
role.

Well-managed forests: Growing demand will also
certainly push production further into natural forests. The report
indicates that by 2050 up to 25 per cent more forests might be
commercially harvested than today. Forest certification will continue to
be an important tool to improve forest management practices via a
market driven mechanism.

The energy challenge: By 2050, annual wood demand for
energy could reach 6-8 billion m3, which would require more than twice
the wood removed for all uses today. This clearly poses a challenge for
sustainable land-use planning. WWF sees an important role for bioenergy
to provide diverse alternatives to fossil fuels, plus new incomes and
increased energy security for rural communities. However, for these
benefits to be realized, its use must be carefully planned, implemented
and monitored for environmental and social sustainability. Badly managed
bioenergy production can destroy valuable ecosystems, undermine food
and water security, harm rural communities and prolong wasteful energy
consumption.

Humanity will likely use more wood in more ways in the coming decades.
Given the massive projected increase in wood and paper demand,
forest-based industries are key to conserving forests. For wood to play a
positive role in a “green” economy based on renewable resources,
production forests need to be managed to the highest ecological and
social standards, and the use and recovery of wood products must become
more efficient.

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