Germany consumes too much wood – that is the result of a study by the environmental protection organization WWF in cooperation with the University of Kassel, which is available to the SZ in advance. More than twice as much wood is consumed per capita in this country as the global average. However, from a global perspective, the strong demand for wood cannot be met in the long term, according to the WWF.
In the past 60 years, the global consumption of wood has increased by almost 60 percent. Between 4.3 and 5 billion cubic meters of wood were harvested from forests worldwide in 2020. According to the study, that is up to two billion cubic meters more than grows back in one year. Such a high demand cannot therefore be met in the long term, and the biodiversity of the forests is endangered. The authors of the study also warn of a widening gap between supply and demand for the coming decades, because the demand for wood is increasing rapidly worldwide.
About half of the raw material harvested in 2020 was used as energy wood for heating or cooking, the other half for the industrial production of paper, pulp and other materials. Wood also seems to be the answer to the question of sustainable solutions for many industries. Wood is increasingly used as an alternative to fossil raw materials, such as for wood-based bioplastics or cellulose fibers for textiles. The numerous possibilities for using wood ensure cross-industry competition for the versatile raw material and thus drive up prices. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the price for raw wood products in Germany in April was more than a third higher than twelve months ago.
The WWF demands that the decision on the most sensible use of wood should not be determined by the financial markets, but should be discussed and prioritized in politics and society. “In particular, the energetic use of wood, i.e. for heating and energy production, eats a massive hole in the forest,” says Susanne Winter, program manager forest at the WWF. If freshly harvested wood is burned for heating, the possibility of using the raw material more than once is no longer available.
It is therefore important to use wood for long-lasting purposes and to create a circular economy. Only at the end of the cycle, after reuse and recycling, should wood be used to generate energy. Gabriele Weber-Blaschke, professor in wood research at the Technical University of Munich, also sees the so-called cascade use of wood as an important step towards more efficient use of the raw material. In the construction industry in particular, wood is a sensible solution if, for example, after many years of use as beams or furniture, it is processed into chipboard in the next step and only used to generate energy in the last step. “The longer the useful life, the longer the carbon is fixed,” says the expert.
Despite large forest areas, Germany can no longer cover its needs with its own resources.
If more wood is harvested than grows back in the same period, there will be a long-term supply gap. The WWF specifies the annual removal of 50 to a maximum of 80 percent of the wood that can grow back over the same period as the limit for sustainable, global wood use. In some European countries in particular, this limit has already been exceeded. According to the WWF, despite large forest areas, Germany can no longer meet its per capita requirement for wood of around 0.5 cubic meters without bark with domestic resources.
In the long term, the high consumption of wood has dramatic consequences, because the loss of forest areas is also accompanied by the loss of habitats. In contrast, intensively managed timber plantations, which today already account for about three percent of the world’s forest area, hardly contribute to biodiversity. In addition, overexploitation of forests leads to reduced carbon storage capacity, further driving climate change.
In addition to people’s hunger for wood, increasing drought, heat and storms pose an additional threat to the forests. Extreme weather, forest fires or pest infestation mean that less wood is available. “Due to extreme drought, spruce in particular has been badly affected in certain areas of Germany,” explains Weber-Blaschke. To better adapt the forests to higher temperatures, there are ways to combine different tree species or to introduce trees from other climate zones into the native forests. However, there are risks here, such as those caused by imported pests.
Based on consumption trends over the past few years, the WWF scientists are assuming that demand for wood will increase by up to 28 percent by 2050. At the same time, the effects of climate change could result in the amount of available wood falling by up to 35 percent. Different scenarios of the study show that it is hardly possible to cover the demand until 2050. “It’s a vicious circle that ends in the destruction of irreplaceable forests like the Amazon,” says Susanne Winter of the WWF. Without political control, the already overexploited forests are threatened with even faster degradation.