PEFC Week, Kuala Lumpur, November 2013

State of forestry in the Asia-Pacific Region

Bruno Cammaert
FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Bangkok

Structure of the presentation

Forest cover change Forest products Forest use and tenure

Drivers of change Progress towards SFM

Forests of Asia and the Pacific - 2010

26%
OF TOTAL LAND AREA

740,000,000 ha
But only 0.2 ha per person

Forest area by sub-region 2010 (million ha)

255
80 214

191

Forest Area Change 1990-2010

800 700

Area (million hectares).

600 500 400 300 200 100 0

1990

2000

2010

East Asia

South Asia

Southeast Asia

Oceania

Asia and the Pacific

Primary forests
19% OF ASIA-PACIFIC
FORESTS

30% OF SOUTH EAST ASIAS FORESTS 34% OF THE WORLDS FORESTS

Other naturally regenerated forests

65% OF ASIA-PACIFIC

FORESTS

63% OF SOUTHEAST ASIAS FOREST 60% OF THE WORLDS FORESTS

Planted forests
16% OF ASIA-PACIFIC
FORESTS

7% OF SOUTHEAST ASIAS FORESTS

7% OF THE WORLDS FORESTS

Wood products industrial round wood

Import & Export of Industrial Roundwood (Asia)
80

70
60 million m3

ASIA
Import Export

50
40

30
20

10
0

Import & Export of Industrial Roundwood (Oceania)

25 20
million m3 15 Import 10 5 0

Export

OCEANIA

Wood products sawn wood, panels, and paper

Sawnwood Production
120 100 million m3 million m3 180 160 140

Wood-based Panel Production

80
60 40

120 100 80
60 40 20

20 0

Paper and Paper Board Production

180 160 140 million tonnes
120 100 80 60 Asia Oceania

40 20 0

Wood products key trends

Significant decline in wood production in some countries

Exhaustion of forest resources Concerns about environmental protection

Regional focus focus

International Value-

Round wood exports added exports

Emergence as a major producer/exporter of wooden furniture

Forest Tenure
Forest ownership in Asia-Pacific
Private sector 4%

Owned or designated for use by communities 28%

Owned or administered by governments 68%

Forest Use

32% primarily for the

production of wood and NWFPs

20% multiple-use
management

14% Conservation of
biodiversity

Key drivers of change

What happens to forests and forestry is determined to a large extent by what happens outside the forestry sector and by larger societal changes.

Key drivers of change: Demographics

Asia-Pacific worlds most

densely populated region

Population increase
3.6 billion (2005) 4.2 billion (2020)

Greatest increases in
densely populated developing countries

Urban population
38% people in urban areas (2005) 47% people in urban areas (2020)

Key drivers of change: Economics

High growth rates increasing the
demand for food, fiber and fuel

Poverty rates will decline, but the

number of poor will remain high

Recent reductions, export orientated

countries hit hardest (e.g., Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand)

Swelling middle class Structural changes: Declining importance of agriculture in

income and employment Globalization Diminishing importance of the role of governments

Key drivers of change: Agriculture

Agricultural expansion is the

primary reason for forest conversion in many countries

A few agricultural crops

account for a large proportion of deforestation

Rubber plantations are

expanding in forest areas

Oil palm plantations set to

spread significantly

Key drivers of change: Infrastructure

Road network expansion

greatest in more developed countries Impacts greatest in less developed countries

Key drivers of change: Politics and policies

Greater democracy and political accountability Transparency in functioning and accountability
of public institutions and officials rights to information

Forest governance under increased public

scrutiny

Demands for participation in public policy

decision making

Shift from timber-focused management to

multiple-use management

Greater emphasis on ecosystem services and

sustainable development

Potential contributions of forestry to green

economy

Key drivers of change: Societal and Environmental concerns Local and national issues and
actions

Global and regional

environmental drivers:
International

commitments and the outcomes of climate change negotiations Pressure from stakeholders in the global forest resource

Progress toward Sustainable Forest Management

Improved stakeholder participation and

local forest tenure mainstreamed into National Forest Programmes Sustained efforts in REDD+ readiness FLEGT: demand and supply Third party certification of legality, SFM and Chain-of-Custody Payments for ecosystem services (PES)

Thank you