State of the World's Forests 2012.pdf - D'Dline 2020

ForewordThis tenth edition of State of the World’s Forestselaborates on a fundamental truth: forests,forestry and forest products play a critical role insustainable development. State of the World’s Forests ispublished every two years.The first chapter in this edition provides an overview ofthe main issues raised in the first ten editions ofState of the World’s Forests. One interesting trendobserved is the growing recognition that forests andtheir use lie at the centre of any serious discussion ofa sustainable future for planet earth. Forests play anessential role in mitigating climate change and providingproducts and ecosystem services that are essential to theprosperity of humankind. Forests and forestry played acentral role in the development of modern civilization.Chapter two, “Forests and the evolution of the modernworld”, looks back at the successes and failures of pastsocieties. Understanding ecological and economic history isan essential first step towards building a sustainable future.Throughout history, deforestation has accompaniedeconomic development. It was primarily in responseto deforestation that the concept of sustainabledevelopment originated and evolved within forestscience. The good news is that deforestation ceasesto be a serious problem in most of the countries whereeconomic development has progressed and sound forestpractices, backed by political commitment, have beenimplemented. However, it must be clear that includingforests at the core of a strategy for a sustainable future isnot an option – it is mandatory.Chapter three, “Forests, forestry and forest products fora sustainable future”, describes a world where economicoutput has more than doubled in the 20 years since theRio Earth Summit; but this growth has been achieved atthe expense of natural resources, including forests.The world now needs to change its thinking about“progress” and develop new approaches for futureeconomic success.Photosynthesis – nature’s way of capturing solar energyand storing carbon – is necessary for the survivaland prosperity of planet earth. Wood is produced byphotosynthesis, and wood products continue to storecarbon throughout their lifetimes. A sustainable globaleconomy will use more wood for energy, shelter and anincreasing array of products. To understand why “woodis good”, it is necessary to understand the entire lifecycle of a forest. The same could be said of other forestproducts, such as bamboo and cork.However, if wood products are produced fromnon-sustainable sources, the result will be deforestationor forest degradation, impeding sustainable development.In addition, not all forest products are positive inthemselves. The forest practices that are collectivelyknown as “sustainable forest management” must be usedthroughout the world for the global economy to becomegreener. At the core of sustainable forest management isthe simple idea that as trees are used, they are replacedby new trees.To the extent that “good wood” is used in themanufacture of higher percentages of buildings,infrastructure and other consumer products, the economywill become greener and more sustainable. Wood andcharcoal are already the dominant form of renewableenergy worldwide. In a greener economy, more woodwill be used for energy as the use of fossil fuels declines.Net carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will decline asnew trees are planted and nurtured to replace thosethat are used. Dealing with the increased demand forfood, fodder, fibre, fuel and wood requires optimizingenergy use, ambitious landscape restoration, intensiveplantations where appropriate, imaginative agroforestryv