Impacts of pulp and paper production

Some actors in the pulp and paper industry are leaving an unacceptably large ecological footprint on the planet. Irresponsible pulpwood harvesting and expanding pulpwood plantations can threaten fragile ecosystems and create social problems.

 

What is WWF doing to reduce the environmental impacts of the pulp and paper sector?

In some places, such as in Indonesia, deforestation caused by unsustainable pulpwood harvesting contributes to climate change.

The pulp and paper manufacturing industry is among the world’s largest users of energy and emitters of greenhouse gases, and a significant source of water pollution and landfill waste.

Find out more about the impacts of the pulp and paper industry on:

• Forests

  Impacts of the pulp and paper sector on forests

  Paper production is causing a large ecological footprint on forests, as around 40% of the world’s commercially cut timber is processed for paper.

   
  While some of this timber is grown in well-managed forests, too much of it is the result of illegal logging and the irresponsible destruction of old-growth and high conservation value forests.
  
  Some proposed new pulpwood plantations and mills threaten natural habitats in many places with high conservation values.
  
  For example, the remaining natural forests in Sumatra, Borneo, New Guinea, Russian Far East, Southern Chile and the Atlantic forest region in Brazil are endangered because of growing demand for pulpwood, among other threats.
  
  Forests also maintain the world’s abundant biodiversity, essential for life on Earth. The activities of the pulp and paper sector in these places threaten the habitats of several rare wildlife species such as Asian big cats (including tigers), Asian elephant, Asian rhinos, and orangutans.
• Water quality & quantity