7% OF GLOBAL FORESTS ARE INTENSIVELY MANAGED PLANTATIONS, PRIMARILY MONOCROPS THAT CANNOT SUPPORT NATIVE BIODIVERSITY.
NATURAL FORESTS ARE ALSO LOGGED EXTENSIVELY AND OFTEN ILLEGALLY. 15-30% OF ALL TIMBER TRADED INTERNATIONALLY IS THOUGHT TO BE ILLEGALLY LOGGED.
Sustainably managed plantations with more native species could reduce and absorb 5% of annual greenhouse gas emissions and increase biological diversity in commercial forests, while increased support and consumer demand for sustainably sourced forestry products can help reduce pressures of illegal logging on natural forests.
OLD GROWTH FORESTS | “Large tracts of old-growth forest are still found in a number of regions, including Russia and Canada, the Amazon Basin, and parts of other countries with tropical rainforest.”
PLANTATION FORESTS | They tend to have been established relatively recently and consist of fast-growing and often non-native species. “Nearly half the world’s plantations are found in Asia. The former Soviet Union, and North and Central America account for another 30%.”
SECONDARY GROWTH FORESTS | “Natural forests which have been cut but have regrown, or been partially replanted, and are now managed more or less intensively for wood production. [These] forests have replaced virtually all the original forests of eastern North America, Europe, and large parts of South America and Asia.” - FAO
SUPPORTING SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY PRACTICES CAN HELP PROTECT SPECIES AND PREVENT DESTRUCTION OF HABITATS.
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