India is likely to face severe shortage of supply of timber to meet its requirement from both domestic and international front. It is estimated that the demand for timber is likely to grow from 58 million cubic metres in 2005 to 153 million cubic meters in 2020. The supply of wood is projected to increase from 29 million cubic meters in 2000 to 60 million cubic meters in 2020. The productivity of timber in India is only 0.7 cu. m/ha/year whereas the world average is 2.1 cu.m/ha/year. The supply of timber is mainly from forest plantations and wood production is showing a negative growth rate. In the absence of adequate supply from domestic sources, the nation has to depend heavily on imports to meet its demand for timber. This will increase the nation’s forest footprint, particularly in South East Asia.
In order to minimize the forest footprint, we need to encourage sustainable consumption of timber by promoting forest certification. With the help of GFTN and WWF network, we have actively participated and provided technical inputs to Export Promotion Council of Handicrafts (EPCH) in conducting several supplier summits this year to promote forest certification in India.