About Sustainable Forest Management

Sustainable forest management addresses forest degradation and deforestation while increasing direct benefits to people and the environment. At the social level, sustainable forest management contributes to livelihoods, income generation and employment. At the environmental level, it contributes to important services such as carbon sequestration and water, soil and biodiversity conservation. Many of the worlds forests and woodlands, especially in the tropics and subtropics, are still not managed sustainably. Some countries lack appropriate forest policies, legislation, institutional frameworks and incentives to promote sustainable forest management, while others may have inadequate funding and lack of technical capacity. Where forest management plans exist, they are sometimes limited to ensuring the sustained production of wood, without paying attention to the many other products and services that forests offer.