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] 17

Henk Bleker, Minister for Agriculture and Foreign Trade, the Netherlands

Forests have always played an important role in the Netherlands. In the seventeenth century they provided

timber for the construction of the Dutch merchant fleet. Today they serve an important recreational

function in this densely populated country.

The ecological value ​of forests and nature has in the past rightly received much attention. Now there is a

growing awareness of the need to involve people, especially the young, in the conservation and development

of forests and nature. This can be achieved by ensuring the functions of forests and nature are more closely

aligned to the wishes of the public, and that they are easily accessible. Forests are not only there for people,

but people are there for forests. This means that forests and nature are protected, managed, maintained and

developed by people. The Government is responsible for protecting and enhancing nature. At the same time it

believes responsibility for nature and forests should be shouldered across society as a whole. As well as having

rights to a public amenity, people also have responsibilities.

That is why I support International Year of Forests, 2011, and its ‘Forests for People’ theme. The initiative

will raise awareness of the role forests can play in sustainable development and a green economy, issues that

are central to the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012. But International Year of

Forests, 2011 also emphasizes the importance of forests for people. This book shows what people can do to

keep forests sustainable. In the Netherlands we also make use of forests outside our national boundaries: over

90 per cent of our annual timber consumption is imported. I therefore believe it is important that the wood

we use comes from sustainably managed forests. This is why we are working towards more sustainable supply

chains, both for those products which may require forest clearance to provide space for their production,

as well for timber. Lastly, many forests disappear because their potential economic value is underestimated.

This is why sound and sustainable financing of forest management is important, so their economic value can

stimulate their conservation. I hope this book will contribute to the revaluation and therefore the conservation

of our forests.

Henk Bleker

Minister for Agriculture and Foreign Trade

The Netherlands

Image: Bob Friedlander