The New Generation Plantations Project aims to identify, promote and communicate better practices for plantation design and management.
New Generation Plantations Project
The New Generation Plantations project is managed by WWF who works together with the project participants including forest companies and governments from around the world.
The project aims for responsible plantation practices by learning from the experiences of participants in the field with support from research organizations, local people and other stakeholders, and sharing this information.
Why are New Generation Plantations needed?
Currently, plantation forestry accounts for 7 % of total forest cover, and already has the potential to provide two thirds of the global industrial round wood supply, according to FAO statistics. Also, forest plantations are needed for bioenergy and biomaterials production, and can serve as carbon storage.A proportion of plantations, often referred to as fast wood plantations, is more intensively managed. In Asia, Africa and Latin America, it is estimated that 40% of industrial wood supply originates from such sources.
Plantations generally use less land to produce a given volume of fibre than logging natural forests. They can make more room on the planet for conservation of remaining natural forests.
However, forest plantations can be controversial: some of their expansion has resulted from the conversion of natural forests and areas of high conservation values such as grasslands and wetlands.
If poorly managed, the establishment of forest plantations may also result in negative social consequences due to a disregard for the rights and interests of local communities.
Such impacts can be avoided
That is why WWF has initiated the New Generation Plantations Project, an initiative for developing better plantation practices around the Earth.The New Generation Plantations Project:
- Promotes a better understanding of the future role that plantations can play in forest landscapes and reducing pressure on natural forests by providing fibre for timber, paper and energy wood.
- Collects and shares information on plantation forestry practices that can help to achieve responsible plantations
- The NGP concept requires that plantations are compatible with both nature and human needs. The NGP calls for safeguarding biodiversity as well as the rights and livelihoods of local people.
- Consists of WWF and leaders of the plantations sector including forest plantations companies and government institutions.
- Goes beyond biodiversity, as it encompasses bio-energy considerations, the role of forest carbon markets, and responsible finance in plantation forestry.
WWF position paper
Plantation
