The relationship between international trade in wood products and the state of the world’s forest resources is explored in the latest issue of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) forestry journal.
The “Unasylva” publication includes a number of articles based on recent FAO/Japanese government research, which looked at ways to make the relationship beneficial.
The UN estimates that international trade in timber and wood products grew by 50% to US$150bn between 1993 and 2003, during which time the world lost 9.4 million ha of forest.
Christian Mersmann, who co-ordinated the FAO-Japan research, concludes that cross-sectoral collaboration, coherent policies and good governance can help both the trade and forests to be mutually supportive.
Another article surveys global trends in the trade of wood products, focusing on new players such as Russia, eastern Europe and China, as well as the recent expansion of processing industries in tropical countries.
Professor Jim Bowyer, of the University of Minnesota, looks at changing realities in forest sector markets, including the shift of industrial capacity to countries with lower costs, and predicts the implications for the future of trade and sustainable management.
