Background information
Mask carving: living tradition from Sarganserland
by Carolin Teufelberger
Why Swiss wood resources are not being utilised
28.1.2019
Translation: machine translated
Wood is popular. The raw material is used in house and furniture construction, for energy production and for paper and cardboard. There are 3 million cubic metres of wood in Swiss forests that could be cut down - but are not. This is largely due to our purchasing behaviour.
Not seeing the wood for the trees. This can certainly happen to you in Switzerland, as over 500 million of them grow in our local forests. Not only dog walkers and hikers are happy about this, but also handymen and DIY enthusiasts. Because the forest is the breeding ground for one of our most important raw materials: Wood. It is versatile, durable and grows again. So it's no wonder that it is a favourite with consumers and industry alike. It is therefore surprising that we are still not utilising our resources to the full. This is not because supply exceeds demand, but because Switzerland imports too much wood.
That would never have occurred to me before. There are three different forests within walking distance of my home. They are omnipresent for me. In my personal list of Swiss keywords, they come right after mountains, lakes and chocolate. When buying wood, I therefore naively assumed that a large part of the selection would come from local forests. At least as much as Switzerland itself can bring to the market. I only found out by chance that this is not the case and that I influence this with my purchasing behaviour.
Switzerland cannot compete on price
According to the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), around 8 million cubic metres of wood can be harvested each year without overexploiting our forests. Consumption is a good 10 million cubic metres. However, only 5 million cubic metres are actually felled. As is so often the case, the price is to blame. Switzerland cannot keep up with other countries in this respect. Especially in the construction industry, but also in trade, price is often the decisive argument. This is why people import instead of focussing on domestic production. But there are good reasons to buy Swiss wood.
Imported wood has disadvantages for the climate and forests
As with imported fruit, ecology plays a major role. The longer transport route increases the CO2 value. At the same time, imports do little for the national economy: jobs are created abroad and the excess wood is not good for the forest itself. Underutilisation makes our forests older and more unstable, which makes them more susceptible to storms and beetle infestation. The protective function of the forest suffers as a result. This is because forests are intended to shield people and infrastructure in the event of a natural disaster. For example, in the event of an avalanche in the mountains.
"So why don't the forest managers cut the wood to keep the forest young?" you might be thinking. This is due to the structure of the system. Unlike agriculture, forestry is not subsidised. It operates entirely according to the rules of the free market economy. And although local timber prices are higher than abroad, they are not high enough to be truly profitable. Since the euro support was removed in 2015, the price of timber has fallen by 10 per cent. As a result, logging is often no longer worthwhile for forest owners and production is being cut back further. They are dependent on selling wood at fair prices and therefore on us consumers. If the demand for Swiss timber increases explicitly, it would also be made available.
I also always go for the cheap option without giving it too much thought. And you can also find a lot of timber from abroad on galaxus.ch. It's no different in most DIY stores. It's probably necessary in order to remain competitive, because we customers want good timber at a low price. It is often not clear to the end user exactly what they are buying, where the craftsman sources the wood from or where the wood for furniture and flooring comes from. This is partly due to a lack of transparency and a certain ignorance. This is also due to the fact that consumers are still too little sensitised. Like me, many consumers are not aware of what exactly happens in the value chain and what impact their purchasing behaviour has on domestic production. The issue is not firmly anchored in people's minds, although there are efforts on the part of the federal government.
Final consumers not sensitised enough
The federal government's Forest Policy 2020 aims to ensure sustainable, efficient and innovative forest management. One of its goals is to utilise the potential of sustainably usable wood. More than one measure is aimed at informing the end consumer. But the production side should also be provided with a technical basis for decision-making as well as new approaches and ideas. After all, those who cannot distinguish themselves through price must do so through innovation and expertise. The 2016 interim report makes it clear that the goal of realising potential has not yet been achieved. Similar conclusions can be drawn from the FOEN's environmental magazine two years later.
In order for this to change, consumers have a responsibility. If more Swiss timber reaches the market, but you and I are not prepared to pay a higher price, imports will only be strengthened and the price of Swiss timber will continue to fall. Forest managers and sawmills will hardly be happy about this, production will be reduced and in the end there will only be wood from abroad again. To break this vicious circle, we should all pay more attention to the country of origin when buying wood. Even if we have to spend a few francs more.
Information comes from the Federal Office for the Environment and Swiss Forests.
My life in a nutshell? On a quest to broaden my horizon. I love discovering and learning new skills and I see a chance to experience something new in everything – be it travelling, reading, cooking, movies or DIY.
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