position paper
- Position Paper, Fastwood Plantations 79 KB pdf
Sustainable plantations
Planting right
Natural and plantation forests can provide environmental services, social benefits and livelihood support if they are managed in a sustainable way.
At WWF, we recognize that well-managed and appropriately located fast wood plantations can play an important role in healthy, diverse and multi-functional forest landscapes. It is this kind of approach that can provide conditions compatible with biodiversity conservation and human needs.
related resources
WWF calls upon the forest products industry, regulators, financiers and other stakeholders to work collectively to develop and promote the adoption of practices in plantation forestry that are:
Planted forests are estimated to supply around a third of the global industrial round wood supply and this is projected to increase substantially in the near future.
A small proportion of plantations, often referred to as Fast Wood Plantations, is more intensively managed and it is estimated that in Asia, Africa and Latin America, 40% of industrial wood supply will come from such sources by 2010.
However, these fast wood plantations in particular are controversial: some of their expansion has come from the conversion of natural forests and other areas of high conservation values such as grasslands and wetlands.
Their establishment has in a number of cases also resulted in significant social consequences due to a disregard for the rights and interests of local communities.
Such impacts can be avoided.
- environmentally appropriate,
- socially beneficial and
- economically viable.
Background
Planted forests are estimated to supply around a third of the global industrial round wood supply and this is projected to increase substantially in the near future. A small proportion of plantations, often referred to as Fast Wood Plantations, is more intensively managed and it is estimated that in Asia, Africa and Latin America, 40% of industrial wood supply will come from such sources by 2010.
However, these fast wood plantations in particular are controversial: some of their expansion has come from the conversion of natural forests and other areas of high conservation values such as grasslands and wetlands.
Their establishment has in a number of cases also resulted in significant social consequences due to a disregard for the rights and interests of local communities.
Such impacts can be avoided.