VALUABLE PRODUCTS
Forests are an amazing source of valuable products including timber, reconstituted wood and wood chemical products. The less tangible social, economic and environmental benefits can also be classed as products of forests.
Fuel From Wood
Firewood and charcoal account for more than half of global wood consumption. These products are very important in developing countries where they are used mainly for domestic heating and cooking and for small industry.
Firewood and charcoal are the most common examples of bioenergy. Technologically advanced applications of bioenergy production are being used and refined in many parts of the world. These include synthetic fuels and fuel additives such as methanol and ethanol for use in cars and light trucks.
Non-Timber Products
Fruits, rubber, oils, resins and medicinal compounds are among the important non-timber forest products. Many of these involve ‘bleeding’ a tree for its sap or resin, or extracting products from the roots, trunk, bark or leaves. In South-East Asia alone, billions of dollars of foreign exchange are generated each year from such products.
Products from plants that live within forests are also a small but significant aspect of non-timber forest products. These plants require the shade and shelter that forests provide but are often classed as agricultural crops. Ginseng, used in herbal medicine and hair products, is an example.
Non-consumptive products such as tourism are growing in economic importance, both globally and in New Zealand. ‘Ecotourism’ is an expanding industry sector. | 
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Wood waste is an important fuel for generating process energy.
Fruits, rubber, oils, and medicines are among the non-timber products of the forest. |