On January 8 we posted a story entitled USDA to help industry promote increased use of paper. Now WWF has released a detailed report which states that, without major changes to the way we manage forests and forest resources, this is absolutely the wrong way to go. The report states that, by 2050, rising population and demand, as well as an increase in use of wood for bioenergy, could triple the amount of wood society takes from forests and plantations per year. Such a scenario will have a disastrous impact on the world’s forests and will hasten the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

World Wildlife Fund advocates Zero Net Deforestation and Forest Degradation (ZNDD) by 2020 as a goal that will stem the depletion of forest-based biodiversity and ecosystem services, and associated greenhouse gas emissions. Among the elements necessary to achieving this goal WWF proposes:

• More recycling in countries with low recovery rates
• More efficient processing and manufacturing
• Plantations to reduce pressure on natural forests
• Better management of bioenergy production

A summary and links to the four chapters of the 112 page report can be found at http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/how_we_work/conservation/forests/publications/living_forests_report/