Page 21 - Georgia Forestry - Issue 2 - Spring 2021

Andres Villegas says there is oppor- tunity for the industry to frame the conversation.
“Working forests and the people who steward them are uniquely posi- tioned today to drive real results at scale across a broad landscape,” Villegas said. “Cultural understanding of forest man- agement is shifting, but we must take advantage of this opportunity to frame working forests as a comprehensive solu- tion, with healthy markets for timber being inextricably tied to forest manage- ment and sustainability. GFA’s priorities are focused on strengthening the ability of each part of the supply chain to ensure that our forested landscape is resilient, our forestry businesses are efficient and our products continue to provide innova- tive and sustainable solutions.”
Through a strong advocacy program and the brand of the Georgia Forestry Foundation, GFA is working to advance a broad set of objectives that have a great potential for impact across the entire forestry supply chain.
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www.GeorgiaForestryMagazine.com | 19
BUILDING REAL VALUE
INCREASING AND PROTECTING THE VALUE OF PRIVATELY OWNED FORESTS
GFA has long been focused on increasing the value of working forests by protecting private
property rights, ensuring sensible regulations and driving modernization of the ad valorem tax code to recognize the long-term investment nature of owning timberland.
1DEVELOPING PREFERRED STRUCTURES FOR
ECOSYSTEM SERVICE MARKETS
As landowners continue to face pressure from increasing urbanization and decreasing timber prices, GFA is focused on identifying and developing emerging markets for a broad range of ecosystem services, including carbon, water and wildlife habitat. In February,
the Georgia Forestry Foundation organized nine forums with more than 150 attendees, focused on gathering feedback on the development of new market-based tools to connect water providers and landowners. Data from the forums will be used to inform
the development of preferred market structures that are focused on paying forest landowners for the clean water services their forests provide.
The effort was funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Endowment for Forests & Water and brought together
a diverse group of collaborators, including Keeping Forests, Dovetail Partners, the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources, the Georgia Sustainable Forestry Initiative, the Georgia Forestry Commission and the Southeastern Partnership for Forests & Water.