Low-carbon economy promotes forestry development

　　How to establish an industrial system and consumption model characterized by low-carbon emissions is the core content of achieving low-carbon development. Many industries in my country need structural adjustments due to low resource utilization and large carbon emissions to meet the requirements for efficient use of resources and low emissions.

Regarding how to develop forestry and wood processing industries in the context of a low-carbon economy, Cheng Baodong, a professor of forestry economics and management at Beijing Forestry University, believes that low-carbon economy has brought powerful opportunities for forestry development.

    Can it ensure that the more and more forest resources are harvested, and the better they are harvested? In addition to higher requirements for the protection and rational use of forest resources, low-carbon economy also promotes the improvement of wood processing technology. Therefore, only by continuously improving processing technology and reducing carbon emissions during processing can wood be truly called a low-carbon material.

    Many people once believed that the development of the timber industry would cause damage to the forests, and the forest coverage would become less and less. In fact, as long as there is no excessive logging and sustainable use is achieved, the more and more forest resources are harvested, the better.

    For example, the two provinces of Jiangsu and Shandong were once Shaolin or forest-free provinces. Later, as the local area vigorously developed the timber industry, the local forest coverage rate increased instead of decreasing.

    Because of the development of the wood processing industry, the local demand for forest resources has increased, so some farmers have vigorously planted trees in their fields, and later formed an agroforestry model. As a result, the timber industry has developed and forest resources have continued to increase. However, when fast-growing forests are planted, the protection of natural forests must be sustainable, and natural forests cannot be sacrificed for the development of artificial forests due to small losses. The management philosophy of forest resources includes not only cultivation but also utilization.

    Many furniture manufacturing companies now have their own afforestation companies, in which logging and replanting are combined, and the total forest balance is maintained. Therefore, the low-carbon economy has promoted forestry development in terms of policies, and forestry development has also put forward higher requirements on the processing technology and resource utilization of subsequent products, so that carbon emissions and carbon sinks can be balanced, which is conducive to the benign carbon sink trading in China cycle. In the context of a low-carbon economy, my country's forestry and timber industry may usher in a new situation of rapid development.

(China Timber Network Editor: Huang Junfeng)