Can rising demand for timber in construction accelerate deforestation?

Abstract

Timber, and increasingly Mass Engineered Timber (MET), plays a key role in green building programmes around the world. Its use addresses the UN Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 13-Climate action, SDG 15-Life on Land and many others that are directly or indirectly linked to forests and construction. Many Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) recognize the environmental benefits of Mass Engineered Timber in comparison to traditional construction materials such as steel and concrete. The importance of timber in the construction industry has led asset specialists to estimate that over the next 30 years, timber consumption could rise by over 140%. In the EU alone, wood consumption is estimated to be 3.5 times higher than the global average. Sustainable Forest Management has been fundamental in ensuring both forest resource preservation with the highest possible sustainable supply of forest products and environmental services. 233 million ha of forests globally were under management plans in 2000, increasing to 2.05 billion ha in 2020. Nevertheless, between 1990 and 2020, both growing stock and forest carbon stock at the global scale have fallen, though the rate of loss has declined significantly over the same period. In 2020, the forest and carbon stocks reached an even balance due to reduced tropical deforestation and significant forest recovery in Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America. Research into forest management (FM) practices has shown that producing the same volume of wood in different ways, may result in substantially different performance regarding biodiversity and other environmental services, including carbon sequestration or rural livelihoods. Therefore, while continuous improvement in FM is beneficial to the timber industry, it is also vital for biodiversity, environmental services, and rural livelihoods. Finding the balance between demand for forest products and preserving forests through FM will ultimately rely on robust Chain of Custody (CoC) data-informing policy; purchasing strategy; and due diligence, especially if aligned with consistent domestic policies in the areas of tenure, land use and forestry. PEFC s role is to ensure, through certification, that built environment professionals can be confident that they are sourcing timber responsibly and avoiding unsustainable and/or illegal timber or wood products. Technology and specifically blockchain (including the PEFC sponsored Woodchain Project), will have an important role to play in not only facilitating traceability operations, but also in providing visibility, accountability, and the ability to extend to other enhancements such as carbon credit systems or related to other environmental services.