Pulp and paper is made all over the world. Predominately in countries such as US, China, Japan and Canada. The production in these countries make up more than half of the world’s 400 million ton yearly paper production.
Paper is critical to modern society as it has allowed literacy and cultural growth. Although many forests are sustainably managed, there are still places like Borneo, New Guinea and the Russian Far East where the remaining forests continue to be endangered because of growing demand for pulpwood. They have not been managed correctly therefore, the pulp activities threaten the habitats of several rare wildlife species.
Fortunately, there is a growing concern about sustainability and a large number of organisations and charities want to ensure that timber is produced in well-managed forests. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is one organisation committed to encouraging paper production without destroying or degrading forests.
WWF also promotes responsible pulpwood sourcing, clean pulp and paper production, responsible paper use, and transparency across the pulp and paper sector. Through the Pulp and Paper initiative, WWF engages with partners to encourage responsible paper utilisation.
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is another international organisation committed to encouraging responsible management of the world’s forests. The FSC’s stated mission is to “promote environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world’s forests”.
If organisations like these continue to dedicate time for the forest management and effort to helping our environment, we will hopefully see an increase in well-managed forests and less destruction of wildlife habitats.