STATE OF THE WORLDS FORESTS 2003
Foreword he State of the World s Forests reports every two years on the status of forests,recent major policy and institutional developments and key issues concerning the forest sector. This is the fifth edition of the publication, the purpose of which is to provide current and reliable information to policy-makers, foresters and other natural resource managers, academics, forest industry and civil society Development(WSSD), the last two years saw rich and stimulating discusson In line with the extensive preparations for the World Summit on Sustainable unfold in the international arena. The recent global economic downturn has contributed its own set of dynamics, and the forest and other sectors are struggling to absorb the impacts Choosing the topics for this edition of the State of the World 's Forests from among the many options was a difficult task. In the spirit of collaboration, we took a slightly different approach from in the past and asked external authors to contribute whole chapters on major issues. The result is contributions from key intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and from individuals contributing in their persona capacity, in addition to pieces researched and written by FAO staff. Such a mix is entirely consistent with the theme of the State of the World's Forests 2003-"partnerships in action"-and reflects how the forest sector must operate in todays environment. An effort has been made to cover many subjects that are especially relevant to discussions taking place in international fora today. Part I presents recent developments and areas of current attention in forest resources; the management, conservation and sustainable development of forests; the institutional framework; and the international forest policy dialogue. Part II contains five chapters, each addressing a particular subject in more detail. The first examines the links between forests and poverty alleviation, a topic now being widely discussed in response to renewed interest in exploring the full potential of forests to bring about positive change. The second chapter notes the importance of forests in managing freshwater resources, the scarcity of which is becoming an urgent issue, as recognized by the United Nations designation of 2003 as the International Year of freshwater. How the sustainable use of forests contributes to the conservation of biological diversity is dealt with in the third chapter as a supplement to ongoing and, at times, controversial deliberations. The fourth chapter examines issues related to imbalances in science and technology capacity between developing and developed countries and among different segments of the forest sector. The plight of Africa is given special attention in the last chapter, which describes trends in fiscal policies in forestry. The devastating impact of HIV/AIDS is also highlighted, as are recently published findings of the FAO Forestry Outlook Study for Africa
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rying to strike a balance between including a sufficient number of key topics and doing them justice within the constraints dictated by length meant that coverage of some topics had to be general rather than exhaustive. In this regard, we would like to think that they provide grist for the mill for future editions of the State of the Worlds Forests The FAO Forestry Department is pleased to release the State of the Worlds Forests 2003 and hopes that readers will find it informative and thought provoking. Comments are most welcome, as are suggestions for the next edition. M. Hosny El-Lakan Assistant director -general FAO Forestry Department
iv doing and topics key of number sufficient a including between balance a strike to Trying topics some of coverage that meant length by dictated constraints the within justice them they that think to like would we, regard this In. exhaustive than rather general be to had .Forests s’World the of State the of editions future for mill the for grist provide 2003 Forests s’World the of State the release to pleased is Department Forestry FAO The are Comments. provoking thought and informative it find will readers that hopes and .edition next the for suggestions are as, welcome most Lakany-El Hosny. M General-Director Assistant Department Forestry FAO
Contents 111 Acknowledgements Summary PART THE SITUATION AND DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FOREST SECTO Forest resources Global forest resources assessment gricultural expansion and deforestation Mangrove conversion and conservation Management, conservation and sustainable development of forests Role of planted trees in developing countries with low forest cover findings from six case studies Mountain forests and sustainable mountain development Forests and wooded lands in the mediterranean basin Coordinated responses to fighting forest fires Hunting wild animals for meat: a threat to sustainability Recent developments in forests and climate change Institutional framework Forestry education: coping with new demands 32 Decentralization of public administration of forests Sharing benefits from forests The fight against illegal logging and illegal trade Improving cross-sectoral linkages with regard to forests International policy dialogue Collaborative Partnership on Forests International policy debate on forests and forest biological Update on forest-related international conventions and National Forest Programme Facility World Summit on Sustainable Development
v iii Foreword vii Acknowledgements viii Summary _______________________________ I PART_______________________________ SECTOR FOREST THE IN DEVELOPMENTS AND SITUATION THE 1 resources Forest 1 Assessment Resources Forest Global 3 deforestation and expansion Agricultural 4 conservation and conversion Mangrove 12 forests of development sustainable and conservation, Management :cover forest low with countries developing in trees planted of Role 12 studies case six from findings 20 development mountain sustainable and forests Mountain 22 basin Mediterranean the in lands wooded and Forests 23 fires forest fighting to responses Coordinated 24 sustainability to threat a: meat for animals wild Hunting 25 change climate and forests in developments Recent 32 framework Institutional 32 demands new with coping: education Forestry 33 forests of administration public of Decentralization 34 forests from benefits Sharing 36 trade illegal and logging illegal against fight The 38 forests to regard with linkages sectoral-cross Improving 42 dialogue policy International 42 Forests on Forum Nations United 44 Forests on Partnership Collaborative biological forest and forests on debate policy International 45 diversity and conventions international related-forest on Update 49 agreements 55 Facility Programme Forest National 56 Development Sustainable on Summit World Contents
PART‖ SELECTED CURRENT ISSUES IN THE FOREST SECTOR Forests and poverty alleviation Definition of terms Opportunities and obstacles in forest-based poverty alleviation Enabling conditions and strategies 127 ummary and conclusion Sustainable use and management of freshwater resources the role of forests Forests,atmospheric water and wateryield Forests, floods and debris flows Forests and sedimentation Forests and water quality Watersheds: recognizing upstream-downstream linkages Conclusions and recommendations How sustainable use of forests can contribute to conserving biological diversity Some key concepts in biological diversity conservation in relation to forests Critical issues in conserving forest biological diversity Interface between biological diversity and sustainable forest Criteria and indicators for conservation of biological diversity Science and technology in the forest sector: widening gaps and narrowing options 96 Changing forest sector priorities Widening gaps Narrowing options Concluding observations Recent trends in fiscal policies in the forest sector in Africa 108 New fiscal arrangements 112 Recommendations for improving fiscal policies 118 Broader implications for financing of sustainable forest management 119 ANNEXES Annex 1: Acronyms Annex 2: Data tables 126
vi _______________________________ II PART______________________________ SECTOR FOREST THE IN ISSUES CURRENT SELECTED 61 alleviation poverty and Forests 61 terms of Definition 62 alleviation poverty based-forest in obstacles and Opportunities 67 strategies and conditions Enabling 70 conclusion and Summary :resources freshwater of management and use Sustainable 74 forests of role the 75 yield water and water atmospheric, Forests 76 flows debris and floods, Forests 78 sedimentation and Forests 79 quality water and Forests 79 linkages downstream–upstream recognizing: Watersheds 81 recommendations and Conclusions conserving to contribute can forests of use sustainable How 86 diversity biological relation in conservation diversity biological in concepts key Some 86 forests to 88 diversity biological forest conserving in issues Critical forest sustainable and diversity biological between Interface 90 management 93 diversity biological of conservation for indicators and Criteria 94 Conclusions and gaps widening: sector forest the in technology and Science 96 options narrowing 96 priorities sector forest Changing 97 gaps Widening 101 options Narrowing 106 observations Concluding 108 Africa in sector forest the in policies fiscal in trends Recent 108 forestry on expenditure Public 112 arrangements fiscal New 118 policies fiscal improving for Recommendations 119 management forest sustainable of financing for implications Broader ANNEXES 122 Acronyms: 1 Annex 126 tables Data: 2 Annex