Forests in the Asia-Pacific region cover approximately 699 million hectares (FAO 2001). Of this area, some 113.2 million hectares are forest plantations, or 16 percent of the total forest resource. This is considerably higher than the global average of plantations, which stands at around 5 percent. The Asia-Pacific region accounts for some 61 percent of the world’s plantation forests (Figure 1).
Source: FAO 2001.
Figure 1: Global distribution of forest plantations by region in 2000
The majority of the global forest plantation resource is been established in a small group of countries. Five countries from Asia rank among the top ten plantation countries in the world: China (46.7 million hectares); India (32.6 million hectares); Japan (10.7 million hectares); Indonesia (9.9 million hectares); and Thailand (4.9 million hectares).[3] Together, these five countries account for 55 percent of the global forest plantation resource, and 91 percent of Asia-Pacific plantations.
Five countries from Asia rank among the top ten plantation countries in the world
Between 1990 and 2000, forest plantions were established on around 34 million hectares in the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan, Australia and New Zealand). This is a marked increase on the 27 million hectares established during the 1980s. India (1.5 million hectares per annum) and China (1.2 million hectares per annum) currently have the highest plantation establishment rates (Brown and Durst 2003). During the 1990s, plantation establishment in the region increased significantly (FAO 2003). This trend is likely to continue in the coming years, due to an increasing demand for wood and wood products, although in recent years planting rates in some countries have declined for a variety of reasons.
There has been a very rapid acceleration in plantation establishment in China during the past 20 years. China’s forest plantations comprise mainly Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata), poplars and a variety of pines. In Japan, 45 percent of forests are classified as plantations, almost all of which were planted during the postwar reconstruction. The main species are sugi (Cryptomeria japonica), hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa), pine and Japanese larch (Larix leptolepis).
Forests plantations in India have, generally, had a markedly different focus, with more than two-thirds designated as non-industrial plantations. Although many of the plantations were established to produce fuelwood, a large percentage have subsequently been harvested for construction purposes and pulp. In recent times, there has been a shift in planting towards industrial purposes. India’s plantations are dominated by fast-growing hardwood species, particularly, acacias and eucalyptus. Teak (Tectona grandis) is commercially the most important timber species planted, totalling around 1 million hectares.
Indonesia has 9.8 million hectares of predominantly industrial plantations. Rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) is the most widely planted species, followed by teak, pines and Acacia mangium.
Thailand’s plantations are similarly dominated by rubber, with teak being the second most important plantation species.
Overall, pine, eucalyptus and rubber are the most import plantation species grown in the region (Figure 2).
Source: FRA (2000).
Figure 2: Distribution of species in Asia and the Pacific
The dominant plantation species in Oceania is Pinus radiata. It accounts for 89 percent (MAF 2004) of the plantation area in New Zealand, and 59 percent in Australia (NPI 2004). Other pine species, most notably Pinus caribaea in Fiji, and P. caribaea and P. oocarpa in northern Australia make up the bulk of the softwood plantations. Eucalyptus species in Australia predominate in hardwood plantations although Fiji also has significant areas of mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla).
Both New Zealand and Australia commenced plantation programmes prior to 1930. Significant areas of plantations have now reached maturity and are being harvested. Substantial plantation areas in New Zealand and Australia are in second rotation, with a few in a third rotation. New Zealand, Australia and Fiji all anticipate significant increases in their plantation wood production during the next decade.
Wood production has shifted from the natural forests of the traditional
Southeast Asian producers to southern plantation countries
New Zealand, Australia, Chile and South Africa comprise a group commonly known as the southern plantation countries. These four countries are characterized by large, mainly Pinus radiata, plantation estates, with significant export potential and age-class profiles that imply rapid increases in production over the next 15 to 20 years. These new plantation supplies seem likely to significantly alter the composition of Asia-Pacific wood and fibre markets.
During the past 40 years, wood production has shifted from the natural forests of the traditional Southeast Asian producers to southern plantation countries (Figure 3). Large tracts of natural forests are likely to confer an advantage in the short-run, but that advantage will eventually diminish owing to advantages that plantations offer, that is, the ability to grow uniform trees quickly in accessible areas. Hence, the Philippines, having exhausted its natural forests during the 1960s and 1970s has become a minor player in forest product markets. Malaysia and Indonesia commenced logging in natural forests later and have exploited their natural advantage through the 1970s and 1980s. During the 1990s, the fast-growing plantations of the southern plantation countries began capturing the market share from Indonesia and Malaysia. At present the southern plantation countries account for more than 60 percent of roundwood production share of the seven countries, up from about 40 percent in the mid-1980s.
Source: FAOSTAT (2004).
Figure 3: Comparative shares of wood production: Southeast Asian countries versus southern plantation countries
The future production of wood from plantations is of great interest to both the public and private sectors. Brown (1999) modelled three scenarios for future wood supply from forest plantations, as part of the plantation component of the Global forest products outlook study.
Scenario 1 provided a baseline forecast, by assuming that forest plantations are not expanded beyond their 1999 area and that all areas are replanted after harvesting.
Scenario 2 assumed that new planting would increase the forest plantation area at a constant rate of 1.2 million hectares per annum in total (equal to one percent of the area of forest plantations in 1999).
Scenario 3 assumed that the annual rate of new planting estimated in 1995 (4.71 million hectares in total) is maintained until 2010, after which it is reduced by 940 000 hectares at the start of each of the following decades (that is, until it declines to zero in 2050).
Figure 4 compares future wood production from industrial plantations under each of the three scenarios, with a forecast of total industrial roundwood consumption derived using long-term trend analysis, to 2050.
Source: Brown (1999).
Figure 4: Comparison of projections for industrial roundwood production with three plantation scenarios
Several points of interest can be noted from Figure 4.
1. The difference between the three forest plantation scenarios until 2010 is not significant. This is because trees already in the ground will determine production over the current decade.
2. The heavy weighting towards the youngest age-classes in the global distribution means that even Scenario 1 (zero new planting) shows a significant increase in wood production from forest plantations. Scenario 1 shows an increase in production from 331 million to 712 million m3. Note, however, this growth production would be insufficient to keep pace with the forecast growth in roundwood consumption, and additional new sources of wood or fibre would need to be found to meet further new demand.
3. Scenario 2 increases at approximately the same rate as projected new demand for roundwood. It shows an increase in plantation wood production to 906 million m3. Note, however, that under this scenario - to meet demands for industrial wood - current levels of harvesting in natural forests, recycling, etc. need to be maintained if no other new fibre sources are found, or efficiency is not significantly improved. This is, however, unlikely as the levels of harvesting in natural forest are decreasing and are likely to continue decreasing in the future due to the smaller area of available forest resources, increasing inaccessibility of the remaining forests and an increasing number of policies such as logging bans that have been imposed to protect the remaining natural forest resources.
4. Only Scenario 3, with its relatively large land-use implications, would enable forest plantations to substitute for wood production from natural forests. Scenario 3 expands plantation production to 1.5 billion m3, approximately equal to current levels of global industrial roundwood consumption. Under Scenario 3, the forest plantation share of industrial roundwood production is estimated to increase from the current 22 percent, to 64 percent in 2050.
The long-term production forecast from forest plantations is very sensitive to the assumptions made about future forest establishment rates. The future rate of plantation establishment will be determined to a considerable extent by the availability of suitable and affordable land, policies, incentives, profitability of alternative crops, the opportunities that the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) may offer, and perceptions of supply-demand balances for wood and fibre. In general, it is expected that plantations will supply a high proportion of raw material to fibre-based industries and for the production of utility sawntimber. High-quality hardwood timbers are likely to continue being sourced from natural forests, although plantation-grown teak can be expected to become increasingly important.
As of 2001, there were about 4.8 million hectares of oil-palm plantations in the Asia-Pacific region
An increasing demand for wood and fibre has resulted in the identification of various alternative sources. There are a number of interesting sources in Asia and the Pacific including coconut palm, oil-palm, bamboo and agricultural residues. Although these sources cannot completely replace timber, they can supplement traditional wood resources, especially in the form of fibre.
Coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.) has a long history of cultivation in the tropics, spanning some 4 000 years. The main product of the palm is coconut oil. There are some 10 million hectares of coconut palm plantations in the Asia-Pacific region (Durst et al. 2004). Large quantities of stems become available at the end of a rotation (50-60 years depending on the variety). The anatomical properties of the stem make it difficult to process the stem using conventional tools. Despite the fact that the lumber is not very durable, the relatively low cost of the material makes it appealing. Another advantage of coconut is the green image of the product, as it is an agricultural by-product.
Oil-palm (Elaeis guineesis Jacq.) is a plantation species widely grown for its oil. The area under oil-palm is rapidly increasing and many rubber plantation owners are switching to oil-palm due to the higher profit margins. By 2001, there were approximately 6 million hectares of oil-palm plantations, of which 80 percent are located in the Asia-Pacific region (Killmann 2001). Unlike the coconut palm, the stem of the oil-palm is not suitable for direct use as a wood substitute. However, research on the use of the empty fruit bunches for the production of Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) has been carried out and subsequently, two plants have been established in Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia (Durst et al. 2004). Other potential uses for oil-palm residues include: moulded furniture, sawing and laminating palm stems, particleboard manufacture and the production of activated charcoal (Razak 2000).
Although bamboo has a long history of use in Asia, it is increasingly becoming an important source of raw material for further downstream processing, as new uses for it have emerged. Traditionally the culms were used as a wood substitute for construction and scaffolding and the shoots of certain species were eaten. New processes use bamboo as raw material for particleboard, fibreboard, plybamboo, laminated boards, bamboo flooring and pulp and paper (Ruiz-Perez et al. 2001). Bamboo furniture is also a rapidly growing market segment. China and India have the world’s largest bamboo resources, with 4 million hectares and 10 million hectares, respectively (Ruiz-Perez et al. 2001; Ganapathy 1997).
Agricultural residues are also becoming increasingly important sources of non-wood fibre. Straw, a by-product of grain production, is used extensively for the production of pulp and paper. It is also possible to produce a panel board, with similar characteristics to MDF, using straw. Bagasse, the fibrous residue that is left over after the extraction of juice from sugar cane, is used for producing paper in several countries, including India, the world’s largest sugar-cane producer. The use of rice husks for the production of reconstituted panel boards is being investigated in Malaysia.
Some 4 million hectares of plantations having been established for GHG mitigation
The Kyoto Protocol was negotiated in December 1997. It requires that developed countries as a group reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 5.2 percent compared to 1990 levels, between 2008 and 2012. The Kyoto Protocol recognizes forests, their soils and products in climate change mitigation. According to the protocol, reductions can be achieved by two means: (i) reducing the amount of emissions and (ii) increasing storage. Three so-called “flexibility mechanisms” were included in the Kyoto Protocol to help developed countries meet their reduction targets cost-effectively. These include Emission Trading, Joint Implementation and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The latter enables developed countries to achieve a portion of their emission reductions by implementing carbon sequestration projects in developing countries.
Afforestation and reforestation were recognized as the only eligible land uses under the CDM. This offers interesting opportunities for the establishment of plantation forests for sequestering carbon. It has led to a steep increase in the establishment of plantations in developing countries with some 4 million hectares of plantations having been established for GHG mitigation (Carle et al. 2002). Most of these plantations have been established by international investors and international development banks, such as the World Bank. Despite the fact that certain aspects of the CDM are still under negotiation and the technical instruments and standards for carbon accounting are still under development, forest plantations have interesting prospects to be utilized as carbon sinks. It is anticipated that forest plantations will play an increasingly important role in carbon sequestration and the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol.
The Asia-Pacific region has a large plantation resource, accounting for 61 percent of the global forest plantation area. Five of the top ten plantation countries are located in the region; together these countries account for 91 percent of the total plantation resource in the region.
The rate of plantation establishment has increased dramatically during the 1990s. There has been a shift in wood production in the region, from predominantly natural forest production to plantation forest production over the past 40 years.
The demand for plantation wood is likely to increase in the future. The wood from plantations will be used as feedstock for fibre-based industries and for the production of utility sawntimber. High-quality timbers are most likely to continue to be sourced from natural forests, with the possible exception of teak.
Other sources of wood and fibre are becoming increasingly important. Coconut palm, oil-palm and bamboo are a few of the promising alternatives. Although these sources cannot replace timber entirely, they can supplement traditional wood resources, especially in the form of basic fibre.
The inclusion of reforestation and afforestation activities in the Kyoto Protocol offers interesting possibilities for plantation forests. To date, some 4 million hectares of plantations have been established for GHG mitigation.
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[3] Most figures are drawn from
FAO (2001). These have been updated wherever possible. |
