The FAO Forestry Sector Outlook Study of the Asia Pacific region represents the first unified look at the forestry sector, its status, trends and prospects, since the previous FAO outlook study for the region carried out in 1976.
Core elements of the study will include status, trends and future prospects scenarios on:
· forest resources and wood resources outside forests
· consumption and trade in industrial wood products and wood energy
· forest industries and non-wood products and services
· environment, protected areas and conservation
· implications for future industrial raw material supplies
· sustainability dimensions of forestry development
· implications for policy, institutions and action, including investment
The wood based panel study is one of the key core components of the complete Outlook Study, and is the subject of this report, in which we have attempted:
· to measure the status and trends in the production, consumption and trade of wood based panels in the Asia Pacific region over the period 1990 to 1995.· to describe the main determining factors driving the consumption and trade in wood based panel products within the Asia Pacific region.
· to study the continued availability of raw materials for wood based panels within the region, including large and small diameter roundwood, forest and mill residues, and residues from plantations and agricultural plants.
· To suggest various scenarios for the future growth in consumption and trade in wood based panels within the region up to the year 2010.
