|
New Zealand’s forests make significant economic and social contributions – particularly to rural communities. Commercial forestry provides jobs in the tending, harvesting and processing of forest products and through the various support services – for example, the supply and maintenance of machinery. Investment in forestry by overseas and local companies provides the capital for this activity.
Recreation attracts large numbers of people to the forests. Deer and pig hunting are popular sports, as are mountain biking, tramping, camping, bird-watching and horse trekking.
New Zealand’s cultural identity and heritage has been influenced by forests and forestry. Maori depended on forests as sources of shelter, food, medicine and building materials. European settlers also relied heavily on forests for economic support - trading in wood and kauri gum.
The Deforestation Issue
At a global level, deforestation is widely discussed by conservation and environmental groups, the media and the forestry industry. The issue often comes to prominence in the wake of natural disasters – such as devastating flash floods in deforested regions. Deforestation not only makes the floods worse – often adding massive amounts of debris and mud to the waters, but it is also argued that the worldwide levels of deforestation are accelerating climate change and making sudden and intense storms more common. For more information visit the Wood & Climate Change section of this site.
Deforestation usually describes the situation where forests are harvested at a rate that is not sustainable, i.e. where the trees are removed and not replanted, and/or harvested at a rate faster than the forest can recover from through growth.
Ultimately, if deforestation is allowed to continue, we may lose many of the world’s great forests. In Indonesia, for instance, where illegal logging of native forests has run out of control, it has been said that the forests are disappearing at the rate of three cricket field size areas every single minute of the day.
The consequences affect the entire world and include:
Intensification of the greenhouse effect leading to:
1. Global warming and climate change
2. Disturbance of the natural water cycle
3. Ecosystems threatened or destroyed
4. Economic deprivation
In 1950 to 2003, the world’s wood harvest was 1.5 billion m3 - by 2010 it is expected to be 3.8 billion m3
Between 1950 and 2005 the world population increased from 2.6 billion to around 6.5 billion. By putting the graph of world harvest together with one of population growth, it can be seen that the rate of increase in wood harvest is even greater than the rate of population growth.
This means that world usage of wood is increasing faster than population growth. Trends suggest that the global consumption of wood per person will continue to increase.
It simply means that our world usage of wood is increasing faster than our world population. Trends suggest that the global consumption of wood per person each year will continue to increase.
Fuel & Industrial
Wood is harvested for two purposes:
1. Fuel
2. Industrial use
Over a period of 50 years from 1950 to 2000, the amount of wood used for fuel and industrial purposes has been about even. Fuel use is generally for cooking, warmth, light and, in some cases, for the generation of electrical power.
Industrial use covers a broad spectrum but the largest application by far is construction.
A significant area of forest is still cleared by subsistence farmers who have little choice – it is the only way to feed their family. This practice is called ‘slash and burn’. The continued growth of the world’s population and high levels of poverty in some countries result in much greater losses of forest through ‘slash and burn’ than through commercial harvesting.
Originally, two-thirds of the Earth’s surface was covered with forests. Statistics show that 6 billion hectares of forest have been lost during the past three centuries. This compares with a peak at the beginning of the 1980s when the rate of loss was 15.5 million hectares per year.
In spite of the rapid rate of deforestation, one-third of the world’s land mass is still forested. The proportion of forest land varies widely between countries. Generally, in a country where there is a shortage of forests there is a large population – China is an excellent example.
It is encouraging that because of the publicity given to deforestation and associated issues, people worldwide are becoming more aware of the need to protect the remaining forests.
|