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The cutting edge of SFM

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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.

Contents

  • New forest treaty agreed

    Photo: M. Goldstick/ENB

    The agreement under which ITTO operates is re-negotiated, with some new features added

  • What the negotiators think

    Photo: M. Goldstick/ENB

    The TFU asked three key negotiators of the ITTA, 2006 to present their views on the new agreement

  • The logging of Tapajós

    Reduced impact logging is being applied in one of Brazil’s national forests

    By Rodrigo A. Pereira Jr and Deryck Pantoja Martins

  • 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

    By Carlos José Caetano Bacha and Luiz Carlos Estraviz Rodriguez

  • Supplying France with value-added

    Photo: O. Pedersen

    France is open to new tropical timber species. But producers need to get organised

    By Pierre M. Desclos and Ole Pedersen

  • The numbers game in Gabon

    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

    By Gérard Buttoud

  • Is teak improving?

    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

    By Hiroshi Nakata and Keiya Isoda

  • 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

    How much carbon do Ghana’s teak plantations sequester?

    By Samuel Asirifi Boateng

  • 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

  • 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

Full edition

The ITTO Tropical Forest Update is published quarterly in English, French and Spanish.
The French and Spanish editions are usually posted about one month after the English.

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Content does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of ITTO. ITTO holds the copyright to all photos unless otherwise stated. Articles may be reprinted without charge providing the Tropical Forest Update and author are credited and the editor notified (tfu@itto.int).