Sustainable forest management
We are all familiar with the exploitation of natural resources, which is leading to global warming and climate change, causing serious damage and a climate crisis. The sea level is constantly rising, temperatures are getting high, with everything resulting in occasional fires that are damaging the global forest system.
We all know the positive effects trees have on our lives. A tree absorbs carbon dioxide from the air and, turning it into cellulose, it stores it into trunks, branches and leaves. One mature tree can absorb up to 21.6 kilograms of carbon dioxide per year and release oxygen that is enough for two people throughout the year. It also has an impact when it comes to people’s health. Trees reduce the probability of skin cancer, stress-related diseases and hypertension. They also reduce noise in cities since they are effective barrier that soak up sounds. Among many different pros, they participate in the reduction of smog, being a filter for air pollution. These and many more facts are the reason why timber should be used more in construction industry.
One of the main questions that comes up when talking about timber construction is its sustainability, and the way we treat the forests.
Sustainable forest management is one of the key factors for a successful future when it comes to life on Earth, connecting nature and sustainability, which is the most important link nowadays. Sustainability is securing the needs of present to future outcomes, while using current knowledge for next generations to have better results. Three aspects of sustainability are environmental, social and economic. These pillars, in informal speech, are called planet, people and profit. As their names, they refer to what comes down to the essence of every maneuver taken by a person or a company. Establish an action that will make you profit, while keeping people satisfied and the planet safe. The Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe set up a definition and it was accepted by The Food and Agriculture Organization, describing sustainable forest management as follows – “The stewardship and use of forests and forest lands in a way, and at a rate, that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and their potential to fulfill, now and in the future, relevant ecological, economic and social functions, at local, national, and global levels, and that does not cause damage to other ecosystems.”
To understand the ongoing affairs that are impacting the upcoming events, we need to know the history and facts that remained after the following events. The year 1992 brought us the “Forest Principles” adopted at the Earth Summit, United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, in Rio de Janeiro. These principles captured the general international understanding of sustainable forest management at that time. The number of sets of criteria and indicators were developed to measure the success of SFM on the management, country, regional and global level.
These were all attempts to estimate the degree of which objectives of sustainable forest management are being achieved in practice. In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Non-Legally Binding Instrument on All Types of Forests. The instrument was the first of its kind, and reflected the strong international commitment to promote implementation of sustainable forest management through a new approach that brings all stakeholders together.
Sustainable forest management: When you take - you should give
If we plan to use and process wood in order to make timber for construction, we have to think about the way to create a circle where we give back to nature and not exploit it to its limits. That is when sustainable forest management comes too light. Planting trees remains one of the cheapest, most cost- effective ways to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Successfully achieving sustainable forest management causes a chain reaction, affecting local livelihoods, climate change and entire ecosystems. Many of the endangered species are forced to leave their dwelling place in order to find better terms for life. Their natural habitats are changed, therefore some of them cannot survive. Little do we know that pollinators participate in 75 percent of the world’s leading food crops, that represent 35 percent of global food production. Forest supply water and provide habitats for those pollinators. Indicators used nowadays to keep track of achieved objectives are shared worldwide, giving feedback about possible improvements and current state.
We need to take actions that are going to increase the values of three pillars of sustainability, putting more effort into creating and implementing new ways to prevent the destroying of forests, landscapes, ecosystems and our lives on earth. To use and to give back even more to nature.
Isn’t it better to provide a greener neighborhood for everyone?
Milica Nikolic
Business Developer
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