Daily News for March 18, 2026

Today’s Takeaway

Canada holds interest rates steady, US Fed expected to follow suit

The Tree Frog Forestry News
March 18, 2026
Category: Today's Takeaway

Amid war-driven uncertainty, Canada holds interest rates steady and the US Fed is expected to follow suit. In related news: the gulf war is upsetting forestry supply chains and freight rates; and US lumber imports fell sharply in the last half of 2025. Meanwhile: naturally:wood released a new guide in support of mass timber buildings; Georgia Tech researchers developed a plant-based plastic substitute; and University of BC fire ecologist Kira Hoffman was named 2026 National Geographic 33 Honoree. 

In Forestry news: Canadian Forest Owners’ partnership creates new insurance options for private forest owners; Interfor and Osoyoos Indian Band partner on forest management; the mild winter is helping Oregon’s planting crews; Virginia Tech launched a Sustainable Forest Supply Chain Collaborative; and Maine’s woodlot owners face new pest problems. Meanwhile: COFI’s Forestry is a Solution platform gets some pushback; is Fix Our Forest a free pass for US loggers; and a book review on  Suzanne Simard’s When a Forest Breathes.

Finally, a new Vancouver exhibit follows the tugboats, beachcombers and arborists behind BC’s changing forest sector.

Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor

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Business & Politics

New Partnership Creates Brand New Insurance Options for Forest Owners

By Sandra Bishop
Canadian Forest Owners
March 18, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

Kemptville, ON — Under the leadership of Canadian Forest Owners (CFO), the Ontario Woodlot Association (OWA), along with partnering associations nationwide, has appointed BrokerLink as our exclusive insurance broker. This first-of-its-kind insurance program in Canada offers OWA members access to a comprehensive suite of insurance products tailored specifically to protect the assets of family and commercial forest owners. CFO represents 480,000 forest owners who collectively own about 10% of Canada’s forested land, but account for 20% of the country’s timber production. As a national advocate for sustainable private-land forestry, CFO takes pride in championing solutions that support and protect our communities. “Together with BrokerLink, we’re proud to offer innovative strategies to help our members proactively manage increasing climate-related events and other risks while protecting important assets,” says Andrew de Vries, CEO of CFO. …Access to this product is available to members of the OWA and other provincial associations affiliated with CFO.

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Hardwood supply chain at risk from soaring fuel prices

My All Coast News Australia
March 18, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International

AUSTRALIA — A fifth-generation family timber operation in Bulahdelah says it is absorbing an almost $8000 weekly fuel surge to keep hardwood moving to Australia’s cities. Anthony Dorney operates two hardwood sawmills continuing a timber cutting tradition which has lasted for more than a century. Last week, Anthony pulled up to the bowser (Australian word for gas pump) and paid $2.90 a litre. In a single week, the Dorneys say daily fuel costs across the two operations have climbed by more than $7,800. Every tonne of Tallowwood, Ironbark and Blackbutt that leaves Bulahdelah does so on a fuel-powered truck. The two mills employ more than ten percent of the local town’s population and supply a large share of north-east NSW’s hardwood – running supply chains south to Sydney and the Central Coast, west to Canberra, and north to Brisbane. “It’s all due to a critical shortage at the bowser and growing rationing between customers,” Dorney said.

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Finance & Economics

Bank of Canada holds key interest rate at 2.25 per cent

The Canadian Press in CityNews Toronto
March 18, 2026
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada

The Bank of Canada held its benchmark interest rate at 2.25% today as the economy performs below expectations, but war in the Middle East threatens higher inflation. The central bank’s decision to keep to the sidelines today was widely expected, but the future path for the policy rate is much less clear. Governor Tiff Macklem says in prepared remarks that the Bank of Canada is in a “dilemma” with U.S. trade uncertainty keeping the economy soft, but the Iran war sending global oil prices surging and likely spurring higher inflation in the months to come. Macklem says the central bank will look through the immediate inflationary hit from the war, but monetary policymakers will move to prevent persistent price hikes if the conflict persists or broadens. Statistics Canada reported an economic contraction in the fourth quarter of the year and sharp job losses in February.

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Mercer vs International Paper: Paper and Packaging Giants Go Head-to-Head

By William Temple
24/7 Wall St. in Yahoo Finance
March 17, 2026
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States, International

Mercer posted Q4 earnings per share (EPS) of -$4.61 against a consensus estimate of -$0.83, a miss that signals the commodity cycle has gone from painful to existential. The headline driver was a $238.7 million non-cash impairment charge, including a $203.5 million write-down on its Peace River hardwood pulp mill. …International Paper’s Q3 2025 losses look alarming on the surface, with a $1.01 billion impairment on its Global Cellulose Fibers business and $675 million in accelerated depreciation from mill closures. But adjusted EBITDA came in at $859 million, up 28% sequentially. IP is taking pain by choice. Mercer is absorbing pain it cannot control. …IP’s pivot to pure-play global packaging via DS Smith gives it pricing leverage and diversified end markets. Mercer’s mass timber order book, at roughly $163 million in contracts including data center projects, is a genuine bright spot, but it cannot offset a pulp business bleeding cash.

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US lumber imports fell in the third and fourth quarters of 2025

By Jesse Wade
NAHB Eye on Housing
March 17, 2026
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

US sawmill production was unchanged in the third quarter according to the Industrial Production report. Utilization rates for sawmills and wood preservation industries remained near 70% despite a weakened demand environment from lower levels of residential construction in the third quarter of 2025. …The sawmill utilization rate has trended downward since 2017 due to added capacity and stagnant output. However, in the third quarter of 2025, on a four-quarter moving average, the utilization rate rose, as it increased from 68.2% to 68.8%. …Employment in sawmill and wood preservation industries continued to fall, dropping to roughly 85,400 workers in the third quarter. …US softwood lumber imports faced rising duty rates throughout 2025. …These higher duties contributed to import declines in the third and fourth quarters. The fourth quarter import volume was the lowest amount since the first quarter of 2014. Higher duties were not the only market headwind for imports, as residential construction demand faded over the course of 2025.

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Fed likely to leave rates unchanged as Iran war shocks policy debate

By Howard Schneider
Reuters
March 18, 2026
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve officials, convening in a wartime setting that began less than three weeks ago, are expected to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday even as a fresh jump in oil prices and data showing a rise in some aspects of inflation even before ​the start of the war with Iran may prompt them to recast the outlook for the U.S. economy, inflation and monetary policy. New projections to be released by the U.S. central bank at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) ‌will show how policymakers assess the economic impact of President Donald Trump’s decision to launch an open-ended conflict in the Middle East, but the environment remained volatile even as they began the second day of their latest two-day policy meeting. …US producer prices rose in February by 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Rising producer prices can feed into retail ⁠costs and signal higher future inflation.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Your essential guides for construction using wood

naturally:wood
March 18, 2026
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada West

This edition spotlights the release of a new Industrial Guide advancing the use of mass timber in industrial and commercial buildings. Developed through broad industry collaboration, the guide provides practical direction for incorporating wood into manufacturing facilities, warehouses, and hybrid structures. A featured case study from the Woodrise Industrial Guide Alliance brings these concepts to life, demonstrating how mass timber can meet performance requirements while reducing carbon impacts. The project highlights the benefits of prefabrication, efficient design, and innovative engineering in delivering cost-effective and timely construction. The newsletter also points to the broader shift underway in the building sector, as evolving codes, research, and market demand open the door for wood in non-traditional applications. Together, these stories reinforce mass timber’s growing role as a scalable, low-carbon solution for industrial development.

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Researchers develop biodegradable, plant‑based packaging from natural fibers

By Carson Meredith, Georgia Institute of Technology
The Conversation
March 17, 2026
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

Jie Wu, an engineering graduate student, was studying a type of striking white beetle found in Southeast Asia and attempting to figure out how to mimic its brilliant color when an unexpected discovery upended the experiment. Jie and I had been hoping to identify naturally occurring whitening pigments that could be used in paper and paints. …But instead of creating a white material as intended, Jie produced dense, transparent films. The nanofibers more readily assembled in tightly packed films than in the porous structures Jie desired. That serendipitous finding in 2014 shifted my team of engineering students’ focus from color to packaging. …In the years since, our team has used this discovery to create biodegradable films that offer a more sustainable and effective alternative to plastic packaging. …The materials are renewable, biodegradable and compostable. Our team has filed several patent applications, and we are working with industry partners to develop specific packaging uses.

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Forestry

Forests Canada Creating National Working Group to Improve Post-Wildfire Forest Recovery

Forests Canada
March 18, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

TORONTO – National charity Forests Canada supported the planting of more than four million trees across Canada in 2025, with over two million being planted to restore forests ravaged by storms, invasive species, and wildfires. Canada’s forest landscapes are experiencing unprecedented impacts from wildfire, creating urgent and complex challenges for post-fire recovery, regeneration, and long-term forest resilience. To support coordinated national action, knowledge exchange, and the development of best practices for forest resilience, Forests Canada is establishing a National Working Group on Post-Fire Forest Recovery Practices. …”With this new National Working Group, we will be able to gain new insights from a diverse group of participants so that we can all work together to help create lasting and positive outcomes for Canada’s forests,” says Val Deziel, restoration ecologist and Director of Restoration Ecology and Research, Forests Canada.

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West Kootenay wildfire prevention projects receive $1.4M in funding

By Betsy Kline
Arrow Lakes News
March 18, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Columbia Basin organizations and residents are benefiting from $3 million in wildfire reduction funding through a partnership between the Province of British Columbia and Columbia Basin Trust, according to a March 17 funding announcement. The projects are guided by FireSmart principles and aim to reduce wildfire risk and strengthen local resilience. The practical projects range from managing wildfire fuels to educating residents. Actions include hiring FireSmart coordinators, preparing fuel-treatment plans, carrying out on-the-ground fuel management and providing FireSmart training. The program is tailored to the Columbia Basin and is part of B.C.’s Community Resiliency Investment Program. The Ministry of Forests, BC Wildfire Service and Columbia Basin Trust are partners in delivering this support.

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Prescribed Fire and Partnerships Help Restore Wildlife Habitat Throughout B.C.

The Forest Enhancement Society of B.C.
March 18, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

British Columbia — As the Forest Enhancement Society of BC marks its 10th anniversary, the Society is reflecting on the investments made and the meaningful impacts achieved, many in partnership with other organizations. …“As we reflect on ten years of FESBC investments, it is clear that sustained funding and strong partnerships are an essential part of how we restore ecosystems and improve wildlife habitat across our province,” said Jason Fisher, Executive Director of FESBC. “Moving forward, we need to look at how all forest management activities, from thinning to fuel management, can be planned and carried out in ways that support and improve wildlife habitat over the long term. Continuing this work will ensure these benefits extend to future generations, setting the table for more healthy and resilient forests.”

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Kira Hoffman Named a 2026 National Geographic 33 Honoree

UBC Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship
March 17, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Kira Hoffman

The Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship congratulates Dr. Kira Hoffman, a 2026 National Geographic 33 Honoree, for her groundbreaking work as a fire ecologist studying wildfire behavior, Indigenous-led fire stewardship, and resilience in northwest British Columbia. National Geographic 33 is a program inspired by the 33 founders of the National Geographic Society in 1888. It recognizes 33 individuals from around the world who are driving positive change through science, conservation, innovation, and storytelling, highlighting modern-day trailblazers whose work inspires solutions to global challenges. Dr. Kira Hoffman is a fire ecologist studying wildfire behavior and Indigenous-led fire stewardship. Through her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of British Columbia and the Centre for Wildfire Coexistence, she examines historic fire activity and wildfire resilience in northwest British Columbia.

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Forestry is a solution; just not the way BC forest industry suggests

By Eli Pivnick and Janet Parkins
Castanet
March 17, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

At the Natural Resources Forum in Prince George, the Council of Forest Industries announced its new platform entitled “Forestry is a Solution”. It is asking British Columbians to voice their support for forestry workers by pushing the BC government to speed permitting and access to timber but the main problem is that much of the timber needed does not exist because of decades of over-cutting. That is why more than 100 mills in BC have shut down since 2005. What COFI is really asking for is more access to protected areas, fire- and insect-damaged forests and the very modest and dwindling areas of remaining, unprotected old growth forests. …What is needed now are some major changes in how forests are monitored and trees allocated, with a lot less cutting and no cutting in primary forests whether old growth or fire or insect-damaged forests. …But what is allocated for cutting must make ecological sense.

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Inside B.C.’s Perilous Forestry Industry

By Jadine Ngan
Macleans Magazine
March 17, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

A tree felled in B.C.’s coastal rainforest, is towed by tugboat to lumber mills along waterways like the Fraser River. It’s difficult work. In the cold months, gales tear through inlets and the river ices over; tides and storms can yank logs out of formation all year round. For decades, beachcombers salvaged escaped logs and sold them back into use. But fuel and boat costs are rising, and beachcombers’ ranks are thinning. Reave Dennison is sometimes a tugboat worker, sometimes a beachcomber and sometimes even an arborist, doing maintenance work on trees. …Over the last 10 years, he’s assembled a collection of photographs that document the beauty he sees while toiling in the field. …As part of this year’s Capture Photography Festival in Vancouver, Dennison’s images will be displayed at the Pale Fire art gallery from March 19 to May 9. The exhibit, called Tree Work, folds three of his projects into one. 

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When the Forest Breathes by Suzanne Simard review – the Indiana Jones of trees returns

By Mythili Rao
The Guardian
March 18, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

…One part Indiana Jones, one part Mister Rogers, she is a Canadian national treasure and global environmental icon. …Simard’s new book, When the Forest Breathes, finds her back among the trees, furthering her research while also considering her legacy. …In this book it’s apparent Simard is a kind of mother tree, too – a giant, deeply rooted figure with a critical role to play in connecting and supporting the next generation of forest ecologists. …“Science is not enough,” she has concluded. Hence the search for other avenues for advancing conservation and restoration work: among them, books like this one, which allow her to step outside the linguistic constraints of peer-reviewed research and provide an “interpretation” of her findings and the philosophy behind it. There is poetry in this work deep in the forest, and she doesn’t shy away from it.

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Osoyoos Indian Band’s Siya Forestry works with Interfor on forest management

By Sarah Crookall
Castanet
March 17, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Osoyoos Indian Band’s Siya Forestry is working with logging and manufacturing company Interfor on collaborative forestry management. “The partnership reflects a shared commitment to long-term stewardship and responsible planning, ensuring forestry activities align with community values,” reads a Siya Forestry release. The two teams are working to review potential harvest areas, assess wildlife and riparian areas, and identify culturally important areas before they are developed. The approach aims to focus on the forest as a whole system, going beyond legal requirements. Timber values are considered but so is wildlife habitat, visual quality, traditional use areas, and long-term forest health. …Vern Louie, OIB forest operations lead said “Forestry is a living thing; it needs to be treated that way.” …“There’s been a lot of changes over the years,” said Ron Palmer, Interfor Indigenous engagement representative. “So, it’s important that we are in alignment with their values.”

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Is Fix Our Forest Act a fix or a free pass for loggers?

By Greta Solsaa
VTDigger
March 17, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Vermonters are weighing the impacts of a federal bill — the Fix Our Forest Act — that would dramatically change environmental review processes and bring a big shift in the government’s approach to forest management. Proponents of the bill, including foresters and loggers, say that this bill will streamline projects in fire-prone areas and protect forests from wildfire and disasters. Critics of the proposal, including some environmental lawyers and conservationists, say it could defang key environmental oversight laws. …The bill comes after President Donald Trump sent shockwaves through the environmentalist community in Vermont by declaring wildfires a national emergency and issuing executive orders directing a 25% increase in timber production on public lands. The Fix Our Forest Act passed the U.S. House, and goes before the U.S. Senate for a vote. …A key feature of the bill would more than triple the acreage cap for projects receiving so-called categorical exclusions, from up to 3,000 acres to 10,000 acres. 

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Mild winter helps Oregon forestry crews plant over two million seedlings ahead of schedule

KVAL 13 Oregon
March 17, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: US West

A mild winter and spring-like weather has helped the Oregon Department of Forestry stay ahead of schedule on replanting state forest timber harvest areas this year, with about two million seedlings already planted. “This has been a great planting season with no shutdowns due to weather,” said John Walter, ODF’s state forests silviculturist. “All our districts are done or will be this month. The only exception being Klamath Lake—they typically plant into May and have about 60,000 to get in.” Douglas fir remains the dominant species in most Western Oregon forests, but ODF said it builds diversity into its reforestation plans to promote resilience and provide additional types of timber products. “This year we planted about 74 percent Doug(las) Fir, 17 percent Hemlock, two percent each of Western Red Cedar and Noble Fir, one percent each of Grand Fir and Sitka Spruce with the remaining three percent Pondarosa Pine,” Walter said.

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Federal law doesn’t mandate minimum amounts of logging in Alaska’s Tongass rainforest, judge says

By James Brooks
News From The States
March 17, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: US West

A federal judge in Alaska has rejected a lawsuit that sought to reinstate a management plan that would allow heavier logging in the world’s largest temperate old-growth rainforest. The result leaves an Obama-era management plan in place, but it could be short-lived: The administration of President Donald Trump is already at work on a new plan that could allow more logging in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. …The three groups sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture — the parent organization of the U.S. Forest Service — last year, alleging in part that the federal Tongass Timber Reform Act of 1990 required the Forest Service to offer enough timber sales to meet market demand. Gleason ruled otherwise, finding that TTRA does not impose “a mandatory duty” on the Forest Service to ensure that market demand is met by Tongass timber sales.

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Sustainable Forest Supply Chain Collaborative launches

By Max Esterhuizen
Virginia Tech News
March 16, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

BLACKSBURG, Virginia — The College of Natural Resources and Environment has launched the Sustainable Forest Supply Chain Collaborative, a new interdisciplinary effort designed to strengthen one of the commonwealth’s most important natural resource systems, from working forests to the wood products used every day. The goal of the collaborative is to bring together faculty, students, industry partners, landowners, and communities to connect research, teaching, and Virginia Cooperative Extension in support of a forest supply chain that is sustainable, resilient, and prepared to meet the needs of future generations. …Scott Barrett, director of the Sustainable Forest Supply Chain Collaborative said “By working across disciplines and with partners on the ground, we can help ensure this supply chain remains strong, viable, and sustainable for the long term.” …Affiliated faculty represent multiple departments across the college, including the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation and Department of Sustainable Biomaterials.

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Pests and storms in changing forests bring new problems for Maine woodlot owners

By Elizabeth Walztoni
The Bangor Daily News in Digest Wire
March 17, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

Years after logging at his Mariaville woodlot, Bob Seymour expected to see new hardwood trees growing in the understory. In fact, he took it as a given after decades in the Maine woods that natural regrowth would crop up. Instead, almost all of the young trees in some sections are eastern white pines he had planted. He believes that’s largely because deer populations are growing and eating more hardwood saplings, which means fewer trees and less diversity in the future. …It’s one of the most concerning changes that Seymour, a retired UMaine silviculture professor, has seen in almost five decades of experience researching forest management. …Such challenges to understanding and managing the Maine woods have grown in recent years amid climate change, which has brought destructive new pests, fast-moving diseases, invasive plants that take over, and warmer winters that change growing, harvesting and wildlife conditions.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Direct Storage of Biomass Coalition Launches to Advance Carbon Removal Pathway

By Carbon Biomass Council
PR Newswire
March 17, 2026
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States

WASHINGTON — The Carbon Business Council announced the launch of the Direct Storage of Biomass (DSB) Coalition, a new industry working group bringing together leading companies to advance understanding, credibility, and responsible deployment of direct biomass storage as a carbon dioxide removal (CDR) pathway. Direct storage of biomass, also referred to as terrestrial storage of biomass, involves durably storing organic material such as waste wood from forests, agricultural residues like corn stover, biochar, or other plant and biological matter. Storing these organic residues allow the carbon previously absorbed by the biomass to be durably locked out of the active carbon cycle. The biomass can be safely buried, stored deep underground in sealed reservoirs, wells or other containers. DSB can deliver durable atmospheric carbon removal while leveraging existing forestry, agricultural, and biomass-handling infrastructure. …The DSB Coalition is part of the Carbon Business Council’s broader initiative to scale carbon removal across air, land, rock, and water. 

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Health & Safety

West Fraser charged in Alberta workplace death incident

By Tim Kalinowski
The Cochrane Eagle
March 16, 2026
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

COCHRANE, Alberta — West Fraser Mills has been charged in relation to a workplace death in Alberta two years ago. According to Alberta’s Operational Health And Safety (OHS), the workplace fatality took place at West Fraser’s Slave Lake Pulp on March 13, 2024. The charges stated that a worker servicing a CAT wheel loader “was positioned underneath the machine, which was elevated on wooden blocks. The equipment unexpectedly moved, resulting in a fatal injury to the worker.” The co-charged in the incident include West Fraser Mills, West Fraser Mills Slave Lake Pulp and Pacesetter Equipment. All three entities are facing five counts. …Pacesetter Equipment is also facing one additional count: Failure to ensure the worker was not under a suspended load unless the load was supported by a vehicle hoist designed for that purpose. …The charges were officially laid on March 5, 2026.

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Safety and health in forestry work in focus on International Day of Forests 2026

International Labour Organization
March 18, 2026
Category: Health & Safety
Region: International

GENEVA  – Forests are important sources of employment and livelihoods for millions worldwide, supporting sustainable forest management, timber production, and the protection of ecosystems and biodiversity. Yet forestry remains one of the world’s most hazardous sectors, where many workers face significant decent work deficits, particularly in relation to occupational safety and health. Climate change further intensifies these risks, making efforts to improve working conditions and practices more urgent than ever. Marking the International Day of Forests 2026, the International Labour Organization highlights ongoing initiatives to strengthen occupational safety and health, and social dialogue in the sector, with a spotlight on Brazil, one of the world’s leading forest economies.

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