Last Tuesday, January 30, the House of Representatives was presented with a petition against large-scale felling of trees. This petition received support from 30 different action groups and was signed more than 36.000 times. Cutting down a tree hurts many people. This can be deduced, among other things, from the resistance and opposition to the felling of trees that has undeniably grown in recent years.
The petition “Stop large-scale felling of trees” suggests that more trees are now being felled in the Netherlands than before. Whether this is correct remains to be seen. So let's take a look at where and why trees are being cut down. In the Netherlands, trees are cut down for various reasons. I mention wood production, landscape management, road management (safety) and nature development. But there are more, trees are also sometimes cut down to widen roads and built-up areas. However, most trees in forests are cut down. In the Netherlands we have roughly two types of forest, natural forest and multifunctional forest. In natural forests, no timber harvesting takes place at all. In multifunctional forests, in addition to nature and recreation, wood production is also an objective.
In the discussion about timber harvesting, it is sometimes suggested that trees are cut down for economic motives. The forest owner can (partially) finance management and maintenance with the wood proceeds. If we look at the financial return of forest management, you do not have to be jealous of the forest owner, because forest management is not very lucrative. In a report from Wageningen University, business results in 2021 for forest companies of 50 ha and larger have been published. This shows that the average forest owner had an average operating result of less than €2015 per ha in the period from 2019 to 15. The operating result fluctuated between +38 and -10 euros per hectare.
Managers are also sometimes accused of cutting down trees because biomass is needed as fuel for coal-fired power stations or other biomass installations. When a tree is cut down, the trunk can be sold as raw material for making products. What remains are the branches and tops of the trees. These are sometimes shredded because they need to be removed. They are residual flows. The round wood is used to make beams, planks, plates (OSB or MDF) or paper. The yields of this so-called round wood are higher and the cost price is lower than that of wood chips (biomass). This does not mean that branches and tops of trees are not used for bioenergy, but trees are not cut down solely for that reason.
The aforementioned multifunctional forests in the Netherlands are managed in a nature-based and sustainable manner. This means that natural regeneration is used and that forests are managed in such a way that future generations can also use the forests for future needs. That is why forests are managed in such a way that wood will continue to be available in the future. This is necessary because we want to use fossil and other non-renewable raw materials, and more renewable raw materials, such as wood. The forest should therefore not be depleted when it comes to wood production. That is why less wood is harvested in a forest area than is grown.
If we compare the 2021 harvest level (785.000 m3) with the harvest in the years 2013-2017 (average approx. 1.100.000 m3), it can be concluded that the current harvest level is lower than in the past. The summary is that the amount of wood (the standing wood stock) in the Dutch forest is increasing and less is being harvested than before. By this I mean that the image conjured up about massive logging in the forest does not match the reality when we look at the Dutch forest.
However, not only wood is harvested within the context of multifunctional forests. Trees, groves and trees are also managed in nature reserves and the landscape. Where Natura 2000 areas are concerned, trees are sometimes removed for the sake of biodiversity development. This sometimes involves clearing areas with trees. Although the absolute size of the conversions expressed in hectares is in principle not too bad and must be compensated with the creation of new forest elsewhere, the clearing of larger areas of forest does create a devastating picture. In my experience, when planning and implementing transformation measures, insufficient attention is paid to the fact that people feel connected to 'their' trees.
We have reached a point where conversion measures (of forests for other nature) have fueled resistance to all timber harvesting. Also in forests where timber harvesting takes place in a sustainable way. The need for wood is increasing, for construction, but for bio-based materials. So not less but more wood must be produced. In a sustainable way and with support. From a sustainable management perspective, citizens' interests must be taken into account, especially when forest conversion is involved. We must no longer regard forests as a form of nature that can simply be exchanged for other nature.
We need wood. And for that we will have to cut down trees. Now and in the future. That hurts people and let's take that into account. I call for the conversion of forests to be drastically limited, so that support for valuable sustainable forestry with timber production and timber harvesting is maintained in the future.
About the author
Henk Wanningen
Forestry Commission
Henk Wanningen has a forest and nature management background and works at Staatsbosbeheer on high-quality use of green raw materials from the green environment. He works closely with land management organizations and with companies that realize innovations and development, aiming to ensure that the use of these bio-raw materials through sustainable applications leads to a high climate impact. This includes timber construction, insulation materials, bio-based materials, green chemistry and renewable energy.
