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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