Forests are not a “nice to have” — they are critical infrastructure underpinning economies, food systems and communities worldwide, with their economic contribution still dangerously invisible in the decisions that matter most.
That is according to Dr Henri Baillères, General Manager of Forests to Timber Products at the NZ Bioeconomy Science Institute and member of the $200m Australian Forest and Wood Innovations (AWFI) Research Advisory Committee, who spoke to Wood Central about the International Day of Forests, observed on Saturday, March 21, 2026.
Baillères stressed that forests generate prosperity far beyond timber — from protecting water supplies and stabilising soils to supporting agriculture, energy, tourism and millions of green jobs. Forested watersheds supply a significant share of the world’s accessible freshwater, he noted, underpinning rural livelihoods and national productivity across domestic, agricultural, industrial and ecological needs.
More than half of global GDP — an estimated $44 trillion — depends on nature, including forests, according to the FAO. Global demand for wood products has reached roughly 4 billion cubic metres per year, a figure the agency projects could rise to 5 billion cubic metres by 2050 as the world moves to replace carbon-intensive concrete, steel and plastics with renewables.
“The value forests create is still too often invisible in economic decisions,” Dr Baillères said. “Deforestation and degradation continue to erode natural capital, rural livelihoods and climate resilience at a time when investment in sustainable forest management, innovation and bio-based value chains has never been more urgent.”
Baillères pointed to the forest-based bioeconomy as proof of what integrated management can deliver. Forests can supply renewable materials, generate employment and anchor high-value product chains — without sacrificing the biodiversity, water security and cultural values that future generations depend on.
Long-term partnerships across science, industry, communities and policymakers are the prerequisite, he argued. Not optional extras. “This requires long-term partnerships across science, industry, communities and policymakers who recognise forests as strategic assets, not just sources of commodities,” he said.
Originally from Toulouse, France, Dr Baillères leads the institute’s Forests to Timber Products impact area, overseeing research from plantation management through to high-value manufactured products. He began his career with CIRAD — the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development — working on eucalyptus plantations in the Republic of the Congo, before moving through Queensland’s primary industries and forestry research programmes and spending more than 35 years across the forest products supply chain in Asia, the Pacific, Africa and Australasia.
