ABSTRACT

Paper is made out of water and wood, and the pulp and paper industry, therefore, is an ideal example to illustrate the interconnectedness of industry and environment. Paper production has long been notorious for its intensive resource usage, high energy consumption, and dismal pollution record. 1 While water consumption has significant local effects on the natural water balance and water quality, the industry’s demand for wood resulted in a transnational trade system with far-reaching ecological effects. Today it is mainly the global impact of pulpwood production that is targeted by environmental activists. For example, German environmental organizations regularly publish an Alternativer Waldschadensbericht (Alternative Forest Damage Report) arguing that growth and recovery of forests in Germany are only possible at the expense of forests in other parts of the world. 2