Japanese Forest Resources: Quantity Sufficient, Quality Deteriorating

The Government of Japan's Cabinet Council approved an "Annual Report on Trends in Forests and Forestry" for fiscal 2002. According to this report, the world's forest area has decreased by 94 million hectares - equal to 2.5 times of Japan's land area - during the decade from 1990 to 2000. Tropical forest loss in Africa and South America accounted for 96 percent of this total. The main causes are poverty, population growth, excessive harvest of fuelwood due to fuel shortages, excessive clearing to create agricultural land, and excessive and illegal deforestation for commercial exploitation in developing regions.

Meanwhile, in Japan, forests cover 67 percent of the entire land area; of this 40 percent is secondary forest, which increases by 70 million square meters every year. Thus, in terms of area Japan has sufficient forests, but production in the forestry industry is stagnant: Japan's rate of wood self-sufficiency was only 18.4 percent in 2001. Causes include a prolonged slump in wood prices; for example the price for Japanese cedar logs
has declined by 37 percent since 1993.

Although the world's forests are decreasing and deteriorating due to excessive use, it is feared that Japanese forests will deteriorate for the opposite reason – underutilization of forest resources and lack of maintenance. The annual report emphasizes Japan's responsibility as a member of the international community and as one of the world's leading wood importers to sufficiently utilize its own forest resources.



Posted: 2003/06/07 10:22:45 AM
Japanese version