An attempt to create the holistic flow chart of forest resources

Abstract

The environmental development of a building has an important role to play in terms of the sustainable development of our society. Against this background, wood and wood-based products have lately attracted notable attention as promising construction materials due to then-unique environmental properties, such as renewability and carbon storage capacity. For the sustainable use of wood, a relevant balance between supply and demand of forest resources is significant. However, little work has been conducted on a comprehensive understanding of forest resources flow. The objective of this study was. therefore, to draw an integrated chart of forest resources flow including forest conditions, round wood production, wood product manufacturing, wood stock in buildings and waste management at the end of product life, mainly focusing on building material flow. The flow charts were drawn for five countries (Japan. Finland. Germany, Sweden and Canada) based on statistical data. Instead of directly showing numerical information, the chart is presented as an infographic in order to promote intuitive understanding of the contents. The chart is intended as a basis for the development of sustainable forest resource circulation. This paper focuses on introducing the chart as such ad briefly discusses how the chart can be utilized for further study in relation with SDGs.