Future Forest Needs Predicted

摘要

In an article "What will we want from the forests?" (Tropical Forest Update 15(1):14-16,2005) Alf Leslie makes predictions. Some of what he says follows: Current world demand for the products and services of forests is a mix of static or only slightlyincreasing demand for wood, a steady but slowly increasing demand for non-timber forest products (NTFPs), and a burgeoning but largely unmonetised demand for environmental services. Any estimate of future demand cannot safely be based on current and recent past demand. A large number of developments inside and outside the forest sector have to be incorporated and combined to produce a 'realistic' outlook. The estimate of future demand presented in this article does that and indicates, among other things, that the global economic importance of forests will increasingly lie in their non-timber products and especially in their environmental functions.