Summary
• The wood fuel market could ensure fairer prices for wood fibre.
• IT could also drive poor forest management practice.
• Rules are needed so that bioenergy environmental benefits aren’t at the expense of nature.

The bioenergy market is quickly becoming a chief competitor for wood material, and recent, legally binding renewable energy targets in more than 50 countries, give it still greater impetus.

In general, WWF does not take a position on potential wood end uses but focuses instead on ensuring raw materials are produced responsibly. However, it is unquestionable that in the face of this shifting landscape certain sectors will have to adapt.

Large forest products companies have already recognised this as another market that they need to respond to, and the signs indicate it has the potential to affect the industry as a whole.

The largest impact will be on those buying cheap timber for panel products and pulp wood, as prices are predicted to inflate due to rising competition for this fibre supply.

But this is not all bad news. In some parts of the world, the price of fibre used by the panel board or the pulp and paper sector was kept artificially low and the higher prices forest owners are now receiving due to the competition can result in positive environmental and social implications. In the same way, it could also bring more investment into forestry, leading to better management and reinforcing the need for better quality, sustainably-produced, forest products.

Serious challenges

But while WWF supports renewable energy, there are also serious challenges in ensuring that climate benefits are delivered without harming nature. Unbridled additional timber demand could drive low-cost, poorly managed plantations or practices such as stump extraction and whole tree harvesting. The aim is to recover more fibre, but the practice requires careful analysis with regard to its impact on long-term biodiversity, productivity and carbon.

Against this background, what is needed are some ground rules in the bioenergy field, stipulating credible certification and responsible purchasing, for instance, to ensure that forests are managed properly, regardless of end use.

The EU recently failed to set such rules. While it recognises potential environmental and social concerns – especially related to imported material – it fell short of proposing a robust and practical system to ensure that biomass production and use are truly sustainable. Instead of a legally binding EU-wide solution, demanded by more than 90% of stakeholders, including commercial operators, it proposed a voluntary, national system which is likely to maintain an inadequate status quo.

Plantations

Looking to the future, fast-growing plantations need to be carefully established and managed to ensure the maintenance or enhancement of ecosystem services and conservation values. And support measures should be carefully designed to avoid perverse incentives. We need to address wasteful consumption and aim to use resource efficiently to maximise benefits and minimise environmental and social impacts. And regardless of wood end use, forest management should follow internationally agreed sustainability principles, such as the FSC’s.