Lung of the planet, the forest shelters many animals and plants. Did you know that a handful of forest soil contains more living organisms than there are inhabitants on Earth? Faced with the progression of deforestation, the sustainable forest management is a necessity. The NGO PEFC has been working since 1999 for to preserve the forests of France and the world.
What is sustainable forest management?
Developed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the sustainable forest management is inspired by the concept of sustainable development , widely spread by the Brundtland report. The Rio Forest Declaration gathers international wishes and recommendations for sustainable forest management.
This concept of sustainable forest management implements a vision for our forests, likely to to provide humans with goods and services they expect without impacting their future. Thanks to these conditions, we can hope to pass on to future generations an environment they can also enjoy.
In Europe, sustainable forest management must comply with five criteria defined at the Helsinki conference (1993):
- Conservation and improvement of forest resources (maintaining production capacities)
- Maintaining forest health, of their good sanitary condition
- Satisfaction of the production function (wood and non-timber products)
- Respect for biodiversity in forest ecosystems
- Soil and water protection
Sustainable forest management is a global ambition, although it is not implemented by all countries. In France, the Ministry of Agriculture, Agri-food and Forestry oversees its good application.
Why is sustainable forest management necessary?
A handful of forest soil contains more living organisms than there are inhabitants on Earth. This gives an idea of the biodiversity we need to protect.
Worldwide, forests cover more of 1/4 of the planet's land surface.
Two-thirds of the recorded terrestrial animal and plant species live in forests.
On Earth, 300 million people live in forests and 1.8 billion depend on it directly for their livelihood. A forest where several species coexist is more resistant to diseases and climate hazards.
A true carbon sink, forests store 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Diversity is also beneficial to living organisms, under the tree cover and in the soil. To protect or develop this biodiversity , it is important to take care of the soils ensuring their organic matter supply.
Forest biodiversity threatened!
Despite their crucial role, forests continue to lose ground : while in 1990 they covered about 4.128 billion hectares, in 2015 they covered only 3.999 billion hectares or 30.6% of the land. Some 129 million hectares of forests - an area almost equivalent in size to South Africa - have been lost since 1990.
According to satellite data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, an area of Amazon forest the size of a football field is now cleared every minute . Deforestation can happen quickly, for example when a fire sweeps through the landscape (as was the case in Brazil) or when the forest is clear-cut to make way for an oil palm plantation.
While deforestation seems to be declining in some countries, remains at a worrying level in others - including Brazil and Indonesia - and is a serious threat to the most precious forests of our planet remains according to WWF.
Specifically, what actions are taken to achieve this?
The general idea is to preserve the existing capital of our forests while respecting two main rules:
- Do not cut more than the natural growth of forests;
- Replace the adult generations of trees by young generations.
This requires a whole long-term planning system to know what to harvest, where, and when.
We can take the example of France: Each of the 17,000 forests French public is equipped with a management plan lasting 15 to 20 years. It sets the guidelines, forest by forest, for actions to be taken to respect these rules over time.
More concretely, if we do not have no certainty of recreating an adult forest behind the one we want to cut, it cannot be cut down!
In France, little is plantedWe prioritize natural regeneration which involves supporting natural seeding by seeds fallen from trees to the ground. When there is a sufficiently dense carpet of young shoots on the ground, the trees above are then cut to start a new cycle. In some cases, artificial planting is necessary: first, all large trees are cut before planting young nursery-raised seedlings.
Aire is committed to the development of sustainable forests
At Aire we are committed to sustainable solutions. Our strategy of local and sustainable production are at the heart of creating our Pegboards. At Aire, our development strategy contributes to creating an environmentally respectful and inclusive company.
We source only wood from sustainably managed forests. Our production line is not PEFC certified due to the cost of obtaining the certificate. Nevertheless, we place the utmost importance on the origin of our raw materials. We are exploring all possibilities available to us to integrate circular economy materials into our production line.
As you might expect, at Aire, sustainable development is a priority! We commit ourselves to local actors . Aire contributes to operational solutions to accelerate the implementation of the ecological transition at the scale of its territory and showing that national goals are achievable.
It is about committed companies, to integrate all dimensions of sustainable production in their professions and daily practices. Let's bet that this type of company will become tomorrow’s standard.
A great bet… Choosing a responsible growth.
At Aire, we are committed to a model of sustainable creation. We feel the world changing and we want to support it in a viable model for for future generations.
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