Published:
ECE/TIM/SP/11, the fifth study of European timber trends and prospects (ETTS V) was prepared for the Timber Committee of the UN Economic Commission for Europe and the European Forestry Commission of the FAO. The major objective is to review the outlook for the supply and demand of roundwood and forest products, and the balance between the two until 2020, while taking into account recycling, energy and trade issues. The work has been carried out by the ECE/FAO secretariat in Geneva on the basis of data supplied by national correspondents, and with the help of a core team and a number of consultants made available by their governments as a contribution to the study. The geographical scope of the study is Europe, including the market economies of western Europe, the transition economies of central and eastern Europe and the Baltic countries, but not Belarus, Russia or Ukraine. It covers the forest and forest products sector, including the forest itself, as well as production, trade and consumption of forest products and wood for energy, but not processed products like furniture. It does not cover the outlook for non-wood goods and services, which will be the subject of another study.Conclusions
The study shows that given continuing economic growth and competitivity on price and performance of forest products, European consumption and production of forest products will continue to grow steadily. Waste paper recycling will intensify and net imports grow. Nevertheless, the demand for European roundwood will increase. Europe's forests will, however, be able to meet this challenge by increasing harvest levels, while remaining within the limits of sustainable wood supply.
Background
The first ECE/FAO study of European timber trends and prospects was published in 1953 and had considerable influence on forest sector policy in the 1950s. The fourth study was published in 1986. Planning for the present study, known as ETTS V, started almost immediately after the completion of ETTS IV, when a small team of specialists started to consider data and methodology for outlook studies. ETTS V, like its predecessors, has been carried out under the joint auspices of the Timber Committee of the UN Economic Commission for Europe and the FAO European Forestry Commission, who defined its objectives and will consider its implications for forest sector policy at their joint session in September 1996. The Joint FAO/ECE Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics oversaw the work and monitored progress, notably by reviewing draft conclusions at its session in 1995.
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