Global Forest Sector Outlook 2050

October 8, 2022

The report titled “The global forest sector outlook 2050: Assessing future demand and sources of timber for a sustainable economy” was released recently by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) at the 26^th Session of the Food and Agriculture Organization Committee on Forestry in Rome.

Key facts

The newly released report estimates an increased demand for wood products like mass timber and manmade cellulose fibre that are used as alternatives to non-renewable materials.
Their demand may surge by up to 272 million cubic metres by 2050.
This is expected to create over 1 million jobs in developing countries.
The report forecasts that the consumption of primary processed wood products will increase to 3.1 billion cubic meters by 2050.
This estimation is based on the Global Forest Products Model, which uses historical patterns of the production and trade of wood products.
The report also forecasted that the industrial roundwood (IRW) will be vulnerable to uncertainties caused by climate-change influenced government interventions in naturally regenerated production forests and the expansion of planted forests. The future demands for IRW will be met by both planted forests mainly from Global South and naturally regenerated temperate and boreal forests.
In 2020, about 44 per cent of the IRW production was provided by regenerated temperate and boreal forests.
During the same year, the planted forests contributed to around 46 per cent of the IRW supply.
In the future, an additional 33 million hectares of “highly productive plantation forest” will be required to meet the demand in 2050, if the area of naturally regenerated forests remain intact.
A total annual investment of 40 billion USD will be required to maintain and expand the IRW production by 2050.
Another yearly funding of 25 million USD will be required for the modernization and establishment of industries.
In 2050, consumption of wood energy will be concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where fuelwood is traditionally used by communities.
Firewood will also be used in modern biomass to generate renewable energy.
In 2020, the global consumption of fuelwood was 1.9 billion cubic meters. In 2050, this figure is expected to increase 11 to 42 per cent by reaching 2.1 to 2.7 billion cubic meters.