Sustainable forest management (SFM) has always been a goal of foresters. The trouble is, the concept of SFM has changed. Once, foresters learned mainly about sustained timber yield—how to calculate it, measure it and achieve it in the forest. Now, the profession has many more concerns: biodiversity conservation, community involvement, and a rapidly changing marketplace, to name only a few. In the tropics, the forestry profession is beset with problems ranging from illegal harvesting and disputed land tenure to the high profitability of alternative land-uses and competition in international timber markets. Given the changing nature of the challenges facing SFM in the tropics, international treaties set up to meet them must also evolve.
Full edition
15 No 4
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New forest treaty agreed
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Photo: M. Goldstick/ENB
The agreement under which ITTO operates is re-negotiated, with some new features added
What the negotiators think
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Photo: M. Goldstick/ENB
The TFU asked three key negotiators of the ITTA, 2006 to present their views on the new agreement
Brazil gets new forest law
The country has adopted a law designed to promote responsible timber harvesting in national forests
The logging of Tapajós
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Reduced impact logging is being applied in one of Brazil’s national forests
The people of Tapajós
Local communities in the Tapajós National Forest are positive about logging but should be more involved in both management and the sharing of benefits
Supplying France with value-added
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Photo: O. Pedersen
France is open to new tropical timber species. But producers need to get organised
The numbers game in Gabon
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Photo: I. Kouplevatskaya
A series of ITTO projects have helped strengthen forest statistics in Gabon, but the full implementation of a national system requires more support from government
Is teak improving?
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Photo: H. Nakata
A study finds that some basic work is being done in Asia to improve teak growing stock, but
not yet at a scale to impact timber production
ITTO's recently funded projects
The projects summarised here were financed at the 39th session of the International Tropical Timber Council in November 2005
Fellowship report
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How much carbon do Ghana’s teak plantations sequester?
On the conference circuit
Reports on the 39th Session of the International Tropical Timber Council and the 6th Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests
Topical and tropical
Reports recent developments in tropical forestry
Letters
Response to reported rates of illegal logging and feedback on TFU 15/3
Courses
Short training courses for professionals in forestry and related disciplines
Meetings
A comprehensive listing of coming conferences relevant to sustainable tropical forest management