Becoming a core organization for the achievement of a sustainable society through forests and forestry

Forests are not only places for growing renewable wood resources, they also serve to slacken the pace of climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide (mitigation), and to weaken the effects of climate change (adaptation). They also help to keep water resources, prevent disasters and provide places for recreation and education, among other things.
These multi-faceted functions help to make our lives richer and safer.
Therefore, among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) being advocated by the United Nations, forests are expected to play an important role not only in achieving Goal 15 (sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems), but also in achieving a sustainable society in terms of many other goals. However, forests around the world are still being reduced or degraded, and even in Japan, some artificial forests are threatened to reduce forest functionality by poor management.

The Forest Research and Management Organization is working to improve such forests by manifesting their multifaceted functions through a variety of means, such as through research and development related to forests, forestry, timber industry and forest tree breeding being conducted by the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute; through greater water resource recharge functions being developed by the Forest Management Center; and through supporting the stabilization of forestry operations by the Forest Insurance Center. We believe these efforts will help to shape a society with sustainability.

However, in order to achieve these goals, there must be a partnership among international organizations, relevant government agencies, industries, educational organizations, forest owners, and everyone in Japan and around the world who receive the benefits of forests. The Forest Research and Management Organization wants to play an important role as a core organization for creating such a partnership, and for that, we would be grateful if all of you could cooperate and support us.

Tohru Nakashizuka (Toru Asano)
President of the Forest Research and Management Organization