Timber in Nepal

 

Photo: Himalayan Times

 

a. Overview of the global scenario

Globally, production of all major products (industrial round wood, sawn wood, wood-based panels, pulp, and paper) has shown gradual recovery from 2012. China has grown in importance as both a producer and consumer of forest products and has recently overtaken a number of other big players in different product groups (e.g. Canada in sawn wood production and the United States of America in sawn wood consumption). In 2016, global industrial round wood production amounted to 1874 million m³. This is an increase of 2.6 percent compared to 2015 (1 826 million m³) and 5.9 percent compared to the level in 2012. In 2016, global trade in industrial round wood amounted to 125 million m³ (equal to about 7 percent of production). Trends in total trade and net trade over the observed period showed an increase of 13 and 5 percent in 2013 and 2014 respectively, a 9 percent decline in 2015, and a 3 percent increase in 2016. At the country level, the five largest producers of industrial round wood are the USA, the Russian Federation, China, Canada, and Brazil. Together, these countries produced 1 022 million m³ in 2016, or 55 percent of total global production.

In 2016, global sawn wood production totaled 468 million m³, which was 3.2 percent higher than in 2015 (453 million m³) and 16 percent higher than in 2012 (405 million m³).

Global trade in sawn wood amounted to 144 million m³ (equal to 31 percent of production) in 2016 and, like production, has been increasing since 2012. Most of this growth in trade occurred in Northern America, Asia and the Pacific, and Europe. Net trade between the five regions increased consistently during the observed period. The two main importing regions for sawn wood are Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, with net imports of 7 million m³ and 46 million m³ respectively in 2016. Europe and Northern America are the main exporting regions, with net exports of 46 million m³ and 9 million m³. At the country level, the five largest producers of sawn wood are the USA, China, Canada, the Russian Federation, and Germany. Together, these five countries produced over half (56 percent, or 264 million m³) of the world’s sawn wood in 2016. The USA is the largest producer; production has grown every year since 2012, reaching 78 million m³ in 2016.

Demand for wood products is one of the main drivers of investment in forest management. Although short-term market changes influence individual decision-making, long-term changes in demand have a greater influence on investments in forestry and the forest industry at the aggregate level.

The given data above indicates the projected demand for sawn wood.

 

Drivers of change: The main factors affecting long-term global demand for wood products include:

·       Demographic changes: the world’s population is projected to increase to 8.2 billion in 2030.

·       Continued economic growth: global GDP increased from about US$16 trillion in 1970 to US$47 trillion in 2005 and is projected to grow to almost US$100 trillion by 2030.

·       Regional shifts: developed economies accounted for most of the GDP in the period 1970–2005. The rapid growth of developing economies, especially in Asia, will swing the balance significantly in the next 25 years.

·       Environmental policies and regulations: more forests will be excluded from wood production.

·       Energy policies: the use of biomass, including wood, is increasingly encouraged.

b. Present status in Nepal

Nepal covers 44.74 percent of the total land of the country. In Nepal, there is about 2.3 million of cubic feet of timber in stock. Likewise, 9.26 million cubic feet of timber can be extracted from fallen, dead, and decaying trees in national forests. According to a study conducted by the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation in 2017, community-managed forests alone have 41.5 million cubic feet of timber in stock. Similarly, 718,000 cubic feet of timber can be extracted from different national forests.

In Nepal, there is the very low annual production of timber despite high possibilities of timber production. Timber is being decayed and wasted in forests owing to strict regulations against extracting trees and demand is being fulfilled through imports. A minister-level decision on May 7, 2015, further complicated the process of felling trees and removing dead trees from the forests.

According to the Federation of Forest-Based Industry and Trade Nepal, at least 29.4 million cubic feet of timber products worth around Rs 88 billion was imported from Malaysia, Indonesia, Burma, Vietnam, New Zealand, Denmark, Africa, and Australia in fiscal 2071/072. At least 37,654,295 cubic feet of timber from the forest has been decayed. Most of the furniture owners are using at least 80 percent of timber imported from abroad, as Nepalese timber has high prices and due to the cumbersome process to buy timber in Nepal.