| |AUGUST 20228IN MY OPINIONTHE ROOT OF SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SOURCINGForests in the U.S. Southeast are vast and healthy. Despite rapid population growth and increased demand for timber worldwide, the number of trees in U.S. forests has increased every year for more than 50 years. In fact, forest inventory in the U.S. Southeast has increased more than 100 percent since 1953, and during the last 20 years (even after accounting for all of the forests uses by the forest products industry) forest growth has exceeded removals by nearly 50 percent. Currently, the growth to drain ratio in the U.S. Southeast is 1.7x, meaning for every one tree harvested, close to two trees are being replanted in its place across the region.Third-party data, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) demonstrate that an increased demand for forest products has resulted in more, not less, forest inventory in the U.S. Southeast. That's because approximately 86 percent of forests in the U.S. Southeast are owned by private landowners, according to the National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO). Timber markets, made stronger by the bioenergy market, provide economic incentives to ensure that landowners keep their forests well maintained and do not sell or convert their land to other uses.The U.S. is one of the world's most important timber baskets, and the U.S. Southeast produces about 1/6 of the wood that is used worldwide every year which is then used to produce a wide variety of forest products - everything from furniture, to diapers, toilet paper, etc. It's important to note, only ~2 percent of the working forests in the U.S. Southeast are harvested each year, while the remaining ~98 percent continue to grow and store carbon. Of that percentage, only By Justin Tait, Head of Sustainability in Europe, EnvivaJustin Tait
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