Bosberichten 2017- 2021

Together with its partners, Stichting Probos has been working on the selection, technical research and introduction of a number of lesser known timber species from Suriname. The project aimed to improve the business case for sustainable forest management in Suriname by creating a market for lesser known species and thus increase the economic value of the forest. During the implementation of the project, Probos learned valuable lessons. In this Forest Report (Probos’ article series ‘Bosberichten’) we share the most important ones.

Growth in Dutch market share of sustainably sourced sawn wood and wood-based panels flattened in 2017, according to the latest study by forest and timber sustainability advisors and analysts Probos, and this trend is seen continuing in later data. But the report, its sixth of the sector, undertaken in 2018 for the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV), still showed the share of both sustainably sourced sawn wood and wood-based panels and paper and cardboard placed on the Dutch market reaching 85%.

Significant effort has been applied since the 1990s to make sustainably sourced material a dominant factor in the Dutch timber market. But the hard work of many dedicated people has paid off. Latest data from 2015 show sustainably sourced timber’s share of Dutch sawn goods and wood based panels consumption at 83.3% and 65.4% in the paper and paperboard business. That compares to just 13.3% and 0.5% a decade earlier.