Making paper destroys forests

Now there’s a headline to catch every printer’s eye – I can almost hear the mob assembling, says Kellie Northwood, national manager of  print and paper lobby group Two Sides

Fear not my Two Sided friends, ‘Making paper destroys forests’ is our first of our seven myths. The fact is that credible paper production supports sustainable forest management and is not a contributor to deforestation.

It is important as an industry that we know and understand the facts because the more breakfast seminars or green think tanks I attend, the more concerned I am about the generic green-wash and inflammatory statements being made about the forestry and related industries. Paper and print are unfortunately in the fallout zone, being thrown into the related industries category.

Without being combative, it is important as an industry to be armed with the facts and ready to respond to such generalisations.

The elephant in the room is the emotional connection human beings have with trees.  We love trees, we sit under them, we are relaxed by them, we play on them and yes, we hug them. The good news is that the paper industry also loves trees and sustainable forest management is all about responsible forestry to protect the forests of the world. Paper does not destroy forests, rather it nurtures them.

In the United States, the paper industry is growing more trees than it harvests. US forestland has remained stable over the past 100 years having 750 million acres of forest despite a tripling of population in that time.

Europe offers similar success stories with forests now covering over 44 per cent of land area and 98 per cent of European forests are covered by recorded sustainable management plans.

Australia’s figures are still to be tabulated. However in Victoria, less than 0.1 per cent of native forests are harvested each year and this is on the decline. Once harvested, forested areas are replanted and regenerated with local species.

Despite the paper industries in Australia, US and Europe committing to sustainable forestry management and investing in the environment they rely upon, it is a lonely and difficult road. Some other countries, namely China and Indonesia, are struggling with their sustainable forestry policies and this can leave a stain on the rest of us if we are not readily armed with the facts.

Deforestation is not caused by sustainable forest management programmes or practices. In the UN’s Underlying causes of deforestation, World rainforest movement paper, it determined 90 per cent of deforestation is caused by unsustainable agricultural practices.

Almost a third of the earth’s surface is covered by forests. Of this approximately 13 million hectares of forest are destroyed each year through agricultural requirements (deforestation) or natural disasters, such as bushfires.

Unsustainable agricultural practices such as palm oil plantations, land cleared for cattle farming or other quick yielding and profitable crops such as soybean have a significant and negative impact on world forestry.

Palm oil plantations in Indonesia continue to operate due to the economic boost they deliver and unfortunately China continues to be linked to accepting and laundering illegal timbers from Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. Bad press often throws the good guys into the mixing pot when, in fact, the good guys should be applauded for their tenacious commitment to bringing change to their industry.

We know that the largest contributors to deforestation of native forests are these kinds of agricultural endeavours and illegal logging. We know we must challenge these practices and we do. But we also know they are not related to the paper and pulp industries, which are actively driving and participating in sustainable forest management programmes.
Natural disasters should also be recognised as having significant impact, particularly in Australia. Some 34 million hectares of Australian land have been devastated by bushfires since 1851. Big numbers, and we should all consider initiatives to reduce this. iI the paper industry to blame for bushfires? Or  for agricultural activities throug the world?  
The paper industry is actually a small user of wood extracted from the world’s forests with 53 per cent being used for energy production, 28 per cent for sawmills and only 11 per cent being used directly by the paper industry.

Paper manufacturers meet the market demand through encouraging forest sustainability when purchasing their wood fibre. They are certainly now demanding the use of certified wood fibre and thereby promoting environmentally sustainable forest management policies and practices at home and abroad. In providing a dependable market for responsibly grown fibre, the paper industry encourages landowners to continue managing their forestland instead of selling it for development or other non-forest uses.

The paper industry promotes and implements sustainable forestry programmes; no one can deny this. More and more certified paper ranges are available in the market each year. Sustainably managed forests, and the product ranges the mills offer merchants, is a market demand and it is continually increasing. The forestry and related services industries rely on sustainable forestry to provide a reliable supply of wood fibre. It is paper production that supports sustainable forest management. Without it we would have no industry driver to implement the standards, create the demand, or respond to the call.

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