This report focuses primarily on the forests and the paper product
marketplace in the United States and Canada, referred to in the
report collectively as “North America.” However, industrial-
scale paper production in the 21st century is multinational, and
the supply chain is interconnected around the globe. Areas such
as Indonesia, South America, southern Africa, and the Russian
Far East are experiencing unique social and environmental
challenges from paper industry fiber sourcing expansion, and
fiber sourcing in these areas is often having negative impacts on
biodiversity, ecological integrity, community rights and livelihoods
and is directly influencing the stability of the earth’s climate. In
China, production and consumption are expanding, leading to
sourcing of controversial fiber from controversial sources from the
aforementioned regions.