FAO’s Zhimin Wu: Forest vitality can be secured through efficient wood use

Demand for climate-friendly materials, such as sustainably produced wood, is growing rapidly. According to FAO’s Assistant Director-General and Director of Forestry Zhimin Wu, sustainable forest use and governance must be strengthened to meet rising demand without compromising forest vitality.

Climate‑friendly materials are an important part of climate mitigation. This, however, raises a central question: how can countries balance rising demand for wood with the need to protect and conserve forests?

Dr Wu says the balance is achievable when wood use becomes more efficient and waste is reduced across the entire value chain. Thanks to innovation, a wider range of tree species and lower‑grade wood can now be used, increasing productivity per hectare.

He also points to cascading use – a concept increasingly central to the forest bioeconomy. In practice, it means putting wood to its highest‑value uses first and only directing it to energy at the very end of its life cycle. The same material can therefore serve several purposes before it is finally burned for heat or power.

“Sustainability requires responsibly managed forests, functioning and legal supply chains, and coherent policies across forest, climate, biodiversity, construction and trade sectors,” Wu says.

Policy coherence across these sectors, along with incentives that favour responsibly produced forest‑based materials, are essential for finding the right balance between conservation and production.

Incentives Guide Forest Owners Toward Sustainable Management

Wu emphasises that encouraging forest owners to manage forests sustainably requires a diverse set of policy tools. These include payments for ecosystem services, access to climate and green finance, risk‑sharing instruments and market‑based incentives that reward responsible practices.

For smallholders, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, secure tenure rights, fair benefit‑sharing and improved market access are particularly important, Dr Wu says.

Scaling up incentives also requires public and private procurement policies that favour sustainably produced forest products, as well as strong knowledge exchange and capacity building, he notes.

A Forest‑Based Bioeconomy Can Grow Only Within Ecological Limits

When asked how the bioeconomy can expand without exceeding nature’s carrying capacity, Dr Wu stresses the importance of respecting ecological limits. High‑value products, efficient resource use and reliable sustainability metrics are essential.

“We need coherent policies, reliable data, innovation tailored to local conditions and inclusive governance that ensures fair distribution of benefits,” Dr Wu says.

“When these conditions are met, forest‑based solutions can support climate action and economic development without degrading forest ecosystems.”