:Forest management

{{Main|Forest}}

The forest is a natural system that can supply different products and services. Forests supply water, mitigate climate change, provide habitats for wildlife including many pollinators which are essential for sustainable food production, provide timber and fuelwood, serve as a source of non-wood forest products including food and medicine, and contribute to rural livelihoods.

Forests include market and non-market products. Marketable products include goods that have a market price. Timber is the main one, with prices that range from a few hundred dollars per thousand board feet (MBF) to several thousand dollars for a veneer log. Others include grazing and fodder, specialty crops such as mushrooms or berries, usage fees for recreation or hunting, and biomass for bioenergy production. Forests also provide some non-market values which have no current market price. Examples of non-market goods would be improving water quality, air quality, aesthetics, and carbon sequestration.

The working of this system is influenced by the natural environment: climate, topography, soil, etc., and also by human activity. The actions of humans in forests constitute forest management.{{Cite web |title=Natural Forest Management |url=https://www.fao.org/forestry/sfm/85084/en/ |access-date=2022-10-24 |website=www.fao.org |archive-date=2022-12-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226123935/https://www.fao.org/forestry/sfm/85084/en/ |url-status=dead }} In developed societies, this management tends to be elaborated and planned in order to achieve the objectives that are considered desirable.{{citation needed|date=May 2016}}

Some forests have been and are managed to obtain traditional forest products such as firewood, fiber for paper, and timber, with little thinking for other products and services. Nevertheless, as a result of the progression of environmental awareness, management of forests for multiple use is becoming more common.{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=Raymond |title=Introduction to Forest Science |date=1982 |publisher=John Wiley & sons |isbn=978-0471064381|page=207}}

Forests provide a variety of ecosystem services: cleaning the air, accumulating carbon, filtering water, and reducing flooding and erosion.{{cite web |title=Ecosystem Services |url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/ccrc/topics/ecosystem-services |access-date=21 April 2021 |website=Climate Change Resource Center |publisher=USDA and US Forest Service}} Forests are the most biodiverse land-based ecosystem, and provide habitat for a vast array of animals, birds, plants and other life. They can provide food and material and also opportunities for recreation and education. Research has found that forest plantations "may result in reduced diversity and abundance of pollinators compared with natural forests that have greater structural and plant species diversity."{{cite journal |last1=Brockerhoff |first1=Eckehard |last2=et |first2=al |date=4 November 2017 |title=Forest biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services |journal=Biodiversity and Conservation |volume=26 |issue=13 |pages=3005–3035 |bibcode=2017BiCon..26.3005B |doi=10.1007/s10531-017-1453-2 |doi-access=free}}

Foresters develop and implement forest management plans relying on mapped resources, inventories showing an area's topographical features as well as its distribution of trees (by species) and other plant covers. Plans also include landowner objectives, roads, culverts, proximity to human habitation, water features and hydrological conditions, and soil information. Forest management plans typically include recommended silvicultural treatments and a timetable for their implementation. Application of digital maps in Geographic Information systems (GIS) that extracts and integrates different information about forest terrains, soil type and tree covers, etc. using, e.g. laser scanning enhances forest management plans in modern systems.{{Cite web |last=eugene |date=2022-09-20 |title=What is Geographic Information System Analysis In Forestry? |url=https://tallpinesforestmanagement.com/2022/09/20/what-is-gis-analysis-and-whats-its-role-in-forest-management/ |access-date=2023-01-23 |website=Tall Pines Forest Management |language=en-US}}

Forest management plans include recommendations to achieve the landowner's objectives and desired future conditions for the property subject to ecological, financial, logistical (e.g. access to resources), and other constraints. On some properties, plans focus on producing quality wood products for processing or sale. Hence, tree species, quantity, and form, all central to the value of harvested products quality and quantity, tend to be important components of silvicultural plans.

Good management plans include consideration of future conditions of the stand after any recommended harvests treatments, including future treatments (particularly in intermediate stand treatments), and plans for natural or artificial regeneration after final harvests.

The objectives of landowners and leaseholders influence plans for harvest and subsequent site treatment. In Britain, plans featuring "good forestry practice" must always consider the needs of other stakeholders such as nearby communities or rural residents living within or adjacent to woodland areas. Foresters consider tree felling and environmental legislation when developing plans. Plans instruct the sustainable harvesting and replacement of trees.{{Cite web |last=Garcia-Grant |first=Ian |date=Dec 20, 2021 |title=Planning For Long Term Forest Management |url=https://tallpinesforestmanagement.com/2021/12/20/planning-for-long-term-forest-management/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202232002/https://tallpinesforestmanagement.com/2021/12/20/planning-for-long-term-forest-management/ |archive-date=Dec 2, 2022 |access-date=Jan 23, 2023 |website=Tall Pines Forest Management}} They indicate whether road building or other forest engineering operations are required.

Agriculture and forest leaders are also trying to understand how the climate change legislation will affect what they do. The information gathered will provide the data that will determine the role of agriculture and forestry in a new climate change regulatory system.{{cite web |url=http://find.galegroup.com/gps/start.do?prodId=IPS |title=PowerSearch Logout |publisher=Find.galegroup.com |access-date=2014-03-15 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510172355/http://find.galegroup.com/gps/start.do?prodId=IPS |archive-date=2013-05-10 }}

{{excerpt|Forest inventory}}

The abundance and diversity of birds, mammals, amphibians and other wildlife are affected by strategies and types of forest management.*Philip Joseph Burton. 2003. Towards sustainable management of the boreal forest 1039 pages Forests are important because they provide these species with food, space and water.{{Cite web |title=Home {{!}} Ohio Woodland Stewards Program |url=https://woodlandstewards.osu.edu/ |access-date=2022-10-24 |website=woodlandstewards.osu.edu}} Forest management is also important as it helps in conservation and utilization of the forest resources.Forest clearing to aid specific species of wildlife has been criticized because it can fragment forests leading to deleterious effects.{{Cite journal |last1=Kellett |first1=Michael J. |last2=Maloof |first2=Joan E. |last3=Masino |first3=Susan A. |last4=Frelich |first4=Lee E. |last5=Faison |first5=Edward K. |last6=Brosi |first6=Sunshine L. |last7=Foster |first7=David R. |date=2023-01-09 |title=Forest-clearing to create early-successional habitats: Questionable benefits, significant costs |journal=Frontiers in Forests and Global Change |language=English |volume=5 |doi=10.3389/ffgc.2022.1073677 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2023FrFGC...573677K |issn=2624-893X}}{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

Approximately 50 million hectares (or 24%) of European forest land is protected for biodiversity and landscape protection. Forests allocated for soil, water, and other ecosystem services encompass around 72 million hectares (32% of European forest area).{{Cite book |last=Bank |first=European Investment |url=https://www.eib.org/en/publications/20220173-forests-at-the-heart-of-sustainable-development |title=Forests at the heart of sustainable development: Investing in forests to meet biodiversity and climate goals |date=2022-12-08 |publisher=European Investment Bank |isbn=978-92-861-5403-4 |language=EN}}{{Cite web |title=Forests - Environment - European Commission |url=https://ec.europa.eu/environment/forests/policy_en.htm |access-date=2023-01-30 |website=ec.europa.eu}}{{Cite web|url=https://foresteurope.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/protected-forests-in-europe.pdf|title=Protected Forests in Europe}} Over 90% of the world's forests regenerate organically, and more than half are covered by forest management plans or equivalents.

File:Proportion of forest area with long-term management plans, by region, 2020.svg

Forest management varies in intensity from a leave alone, natural situation to a highly intensive regime with silvicultural interventions. Forest Management is generally increased in intensity to achieve either economic criteria (increased timber yields, non-timber forest products, ecosystem services) or ecological criteria (species recovery, fostering of rare species, carbon sequestration).Classification of Forest Management Approaches: A New Conceptual Framework and Its Applicability to European Forestry

Philipp S. Duncker 1, Susana M. Barreiro 2, Geerten M. Hengeveld 3, Torgny Lind 4, William L. Mason 5, Slawomir Ambrozy 6 and Heinrich Spiecker 1|http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol17/iss4/art51/

Most of the forests in Europe have management plans; on the other hand, management plans exist for less than 25 percent of forests in Africa and less than 20 percent in South America. The area of forest under management plans is increasing in all regions – globally, it has increased by 233 million ha since 2000, reaching 2.05 billion ha in 2020.

Long-term monitoring studies are conducted to track forest dynamics over extended periods. These studies involve monitoring factors such as tree growth, mortality rates, and species composition. By observing forest changes over time, scientists can assess the health of forests and their responses to environmental shifts. Long-term monitoring is invaluable for informing sustainable forest management practices.

Scientific research employs remote sensing technologies and geographic information systems (GIS) to monitor changes in forest cover, deforestation rates, and forest health over time. These tools provide valuable data for forest assessments and support evidence-based decision making in forest management and conservation. By remotely monitoring forest changes, scientists can respond more effectively to threats and challenges facing forests.

Researchers conduct biodiversity assessments to gain insights into the diversity and distribution of plant and animal species in various forest ecosystems. These studies are essential for identifying areas of high conservation value and understanding the ecological importance of different habitats. By studying biodiversity patterns, scientists can recommend targeted approaches to forest management that protect and promote the richness of forest life.

{{Further|Effects of climate change on biomes}}

Research explores the specific impacts of climate change on forest ecosystems, including extreme heat and drought events. Understanding these effects is vital for developing adaptive strategies to mitigate climate change impacts on forests. By recognizing the vulnerabilities of forests to changing climatic conditions, scientists can implement conservation methods that enhance their resilience.

Scientific research plays a crucial role in forest management by utilizing climate modeling to project future climate scenarios. These models help scientists understand potential changes in temperature, precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events, enabling them to assess the impact of these changes on forest ecosystems. By predicting climate trends, researchers can develop more effective strategies for forest management and conservation.

The term forestation is sometimes used as an umbrella term to include afforestation and reforestation. Both of those are processes for establishing and nurturing forests on lands that either previously had forest cover or were subjected to deforestation or degradation.

{{excerpt|Tree breeding}}

{{excerpt|Tree planting|paragraphs=1,3|files=2,3}}

{{excerpt|Reforestation}}

{{excerpt|Forest restoration}}

{{excerpt|Afforestation}}

{{excerpt|Plantation forestry}}

{{excerpt|Silviculture}}

{{excerpt|Bamboo cultivation}}

Hardwood timber production is the process of managing stands of deciduous trees to maximize woody output. The production process is not linear because other factors must be considered, including marketable and non-marketable goods, financial benefits, management practices, and the environmental implications, of those management practices.{{Cite book |last=Nyland |first=Ralph D. |title=Silviculture: concepts and applications |date=2002 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=978-0-07-366190-2 |edition=2nd |series=McGraw-Hill series in forest resources |location=Boston}}

The more biodiverse the hardwood-forest ecosystem, the more challenges and opportunities its managers face. Managers aim for sustainable forest management to keep their cash crop renewing itself, using silvicultural practices that include growing, selling, controlling insects and most diseases, providing manure, applying herbicide treatments, and thinning.

But management can also harm the ecosystem; for example, machinery used in a timber harvest can compact the soil, stress the root system, reduce tree growth, lengthen the time needed for a stand to mature to harvestability. Machinery can also damage the understory, disturbing wildlife habitat and prevent regeneration.

{{excerpt|Energy forestry}}

{{excerpt|Agroforestry}}

Sustainable forest management (SFM) is the management of forests according to the principles of sustainable development. Sustainable forest management must keep a balance between the three main pillars: ecological, economic and socio-cultural. The goal of sustainable forestry is to allow for a balance to be found between making use of trees while maintaining natural patterns of disturbance and regeneration.{{Cite web |date=2016-07-28 |title=What is Sustainable Forestry? |url=https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/insights/what-is-sustainable-forestry/ |access-date=2022-03-31 |website=Rainforest Alliance |language=en-US}} The forestry industry mitigates climate change by boosting carbon storage in growing trees and soils and improving the sustainable supply of renewable raw materials via sustainable forest management.{{Cite web |last=MÜLLER |first=Ulrike |title=REPORT on a new EU Forest Strategy for 2030 – Sustainable Forest Management in Europe {{!}} A9-0225/2022 {{!}} European Parliament |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2022-0225_EN.html |access-date=2023-01-30 |website=www.europarl.europa.eu |language=en}}

Successfully achieving sustainable forest management will provide integrated benefits to all, ranging from safeguarding local livelihoods to protecting biodiversity and ecosystems provided by forests, reducing rural poverty and mitigating some of the effects of climate change.{{cite web|url=http://ledsgp.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/CDKN_LEDS_Forestry_WG_factsheet.pdf|title=LEDS GP Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use Working Group factsheet|publisher=Low Emission Development Strategies Global Partnership (LEDS GP)|access-date=23 March 2016}} Forest conservation is essential to stop climate change.{{cite news |last1=Law |first1=Beverly |last2=Moomaw |first2=William |title=Keeping Trees in the Ground: An Effective Low-Tech Way to Slow Climate Change |url=https://www.ecowatch.com/forest-conservation-climate-change-2650741678.html |access-date=28 February 2021 |agency=Ecowatch |date=24 February 2021}}{{cite web |last1=Dennehymarch |first1=Kevin |title=Using more wood for construction can slash global reliance on fossil fuels |url=https://news.yale.edu/2014/03/31/using-more-wood-construction-can-slash-global-reliance-fossil-fuels |website=Yale News |date=31 March 2014 |publisher=Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES), University of Washington's College of the Environment |access-date=15 August 2021}}

Sustainable forest management also helps with climate change adaptation by increasing forest ecosystems' resistance to future climatic hazards and lowering the danger of additional land degradation by repairing and stabilizing soils and boosting their water-retention capacity.{{Cite web |title=Climate Challenge |url=https://forests.org/climate/ |access-date=2024-04-06 |website=forests.org |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Martin |title=Forests, desertification and biodiversity |url=https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/biodiversity/ |access-date=2024-04-06 |website=United Nations Sustainable Development |language=en-US}} It contributes to the provision of a wide range of vital ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation, such as wildlife habitats, recreational amenity values, and a variety of non-timber forest products.{{Cite web |date=17 December 2021 |title=FOREST EUROPE {{!}} Sustainable Forest Management |url=https://foresteurope.org/workstreams/sustainable-forest-management/ |access-date=2023-01-30 |website=foresteurope.org}} Conservation of biodiversity is the major management aim in around 13% of the world's forests, while preservation of soil and water resources is the primary management goal in more than 30%.{{Cite web |last=Martin |title=Forests, desertification and biodiversity |url=https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/biodiversity/ |access-date=2023-01-30 |website=United Nations Sustainable Development |language=en-US}}

Feeding humanity and conserving and sustainably using ecosystems are complementary and closely interdependent goals. Forests supply water, mitigate climate change and provide habitats for many pollinators, which are essential for sustainable food production. It is estimated that 75 percent of the world's leading food crops, representing 35 percent of global food production, benefit from animal pollination for fruit, vegetable or seed production.{{Cite book|url=https://doi.org/10.4060/ca8985en|title=The State of the World's Forests 2020. Forests, biodiversity and people – In brief|chapter=The State of the World's Forests 2020. In brief |publisher=FAO & UNEP|year=2020|isbn=978-92-5-132707-4|location=Rome|doi=10.4060/ca8985en|s2cid=241416114}}

The "Forest Principles" adopted at the Earth Summit (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development) in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 captured the general international understanding of sustainable forest management at that time. A number of sets of criteria and indicators have since been developed to evaluate the achievement of SFM at the global, regional, country and management unit level. These were all attempts to codify and provide for assessment of the degree to which the broader objectives of sustainable forest management are being achieved in practice. In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Non-Legally Binding Instrument on All Types of Forests. The instrument was the first of its kind that reflected the strong international commitment to promote implementation of sustainable forest management through a new approach bringing all stakeholders together.{{Cite book|title=Forestry Principles And Applications|last=Antony, J R., Lal, S.B.|year=2013|pages=166}}

The Sustainable Development Goal 15 is also a global initiative aimed at promoting the implementation of sustainable forest management.{{Cite web|title=Goal 15 targets|url=https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-15-life-on-land/targets.html|access-date=2020-09-24|website=UNDP|language=en|archive-date=4 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904001634/https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-15-life-on-land/targets.html|url-status=dead}}

A definition of SFM was developed by the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (FOREST EUROPE) and has since been adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).{{cite web|url=http://www.mcpfe.org |title=Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe |publisher=Mcpfe.org |access-date=30 November 2011}} It defines sustainable forest management as:

The stewardship and use of forests and forest lands in a way, and at a rate, that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and their potential to fulfill, now and in the future, relevant ecological, economic and social functions, at local, national, and global levels, and that does not cause damage to other ecosystems.

In simpler terms, the concept can be described as the attainment of balance: balance between society's increasing demands for forest products and benefits, and the preservation of forest health and diversity. This balance is critical to the survival of forests, and to the prosperity of forest-dependent communities.{{Cite web |title=sustainable forest management — European Environment Agency |url=https://www.eea.europa.eu/help/glossary/eea-glossary/sustainable-forest-management |access-date=2023-01-30 |website=www.eea.europa.eu |language=en}}

For forest managers, sustainably managing a particular forest tract means determining, in a tangible way, how to use it today to ensure similar benefits, health and productivity in the future. Forest managers must assess and integrate a wide array of sometimes conflicting factors: commercial and non-commercial values, environmental considerations, community needs,{{cite journal|url=http://sapiens.revues.org/index209.html |last1=Evans |first1=K. |last2=De Jong |first2=W. |last3=Cronkleton |first3=P. |title=Future Scenarios as a Tool for Collaboration in Forest Communities |journal=S.A.P.I.EN.S |date=1 October 2008 |volume=1 |issue=2 |access-date=30 November 2011}} even global impact to produce sound forest plans. In most cases, forest managers develop their forest plans in consultation with citizens, businesses, organizations and other interested parties in and around the forest tract being managed. The tools and visualization have been recently evolving for better management practices.{{cite journal|url=http://sapiens.revues.org/index734.html |last=Mozgeris |first=G. |title=The continuous field view of representing forest geographically: from cartographic representation towards improved management planning |journal=S.A.P.I.EN.S |date=30 May 2009 |volume=2 |issue=2 |access-date=30 November 2011}}

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, at the request of Member States, developed and launched the [http://www.fao.org/sustainable-forest-management/toolbox/sfm-home/en/ Sustainable Forest Management Toolbox] in 2014, an online collection of tools, best practices and examples of their application to support countries implementing sustainable forest management.{{cite web|title=Sustainable Forest Management Toolbox|url=http://www.fao.org/3/a-mk154e.pdf|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations|access-date=24 June 2014}}

Because forests and societies are in constant flux, the desired outcome of sustainable forest management is not a fixed one. What constitutes a sustainably managed forest will change over time as values held by the public change.{{cite journal |last1=Rametsteiner |first1=Ewald |last2=Simula |first2=Markku |title=Forest certification—an instrument to promote sustainable forest management? |journal=Journal of Environmental Management |year=2003 |volume=67 |issue=1 |pages=87–98 |doi=10.1016/S0301-4797(02)00191-3 |pmid=12659807 |bibcode=2003JEnvM..67...87R |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479702001913 |access-date=20 April 2020}}

File:Deforestation central Europe - Rodungen Mitteleuropa.jpg in Europe, 2020. France is the most deforested country in Europe, with only 15% of the native vegetation remaining.]]

File:Sugarcane Deforestation, Bolivia, 2016-06-15 by Planet Labs.jpg in Bolivia.]]

{{Main|Criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management}}

Criteria and indicators are tools which can be used to conceptualise, evaluate and implement sustainable forest management.[http://www.cifor.cgiar.org/acm/methods/toolbox1.html Guidelines for Developing, Testing and Selecting Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management] Ravi Prabhu, Carol J. P. Colfer and Richard G. Dudley. 1999. CIFOR. The Criteria & Indicators Toolbox Series. Criteria define and characterize the essential elements, as well as a set of conditions or processes, by which sustainable forest management may be assessed. Periodically measured indicators reveal the direction of change with respect to each criterion.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

Criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management are widely used and many countries produce national reports that assess their progress toward sustainable forest management. There are nine international and regional criteria and indicators initiatives, which collectively involve more than 150 countries.[http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/004/AC135E/AC135E00.HTM Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management: A Compendium]. Paper compiled by Froylán Castañeda, Christel Palmberg-Lerche and Petteri Vuorinen, May 2001. Forest Management Working Papers, Working Paper 5. Forest Resources Development Service, Forest Resources Division. FAO, Rome (unpublished). Three of the more advanced initiatives are those of the Working Group on Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forests (also called the Montréal Process),{{Cite web|url=http://www.rinya.maff.go.jp/mpci/2009p_1.pdf|title=Montréal Process Indicators|accessdate=3 March 2024|archive-date=20 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420075341/http://www.rinya.maff.go.jp/mpci/2009p_1.pdf|url-status=dead}} Forest Europe,{{Cite web|url=http://www.foresteurope.org/filestore/foresteurope/Publications/pdf/improved_indicators.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100614035658/http://www.foresteurope.org/filestore/foresteurope/Publications/pdf/improved_indicators.pdf|url-status=dead|title=MCPFE indicators|archivedate=14 June 2010}} and the International Tropical Timber Organization.{{Cite web|url=http://www.itto.int/direct/topics/topics_pdf_download/topics_id=9630000&no=1&disp=inline|title=ITTO}} Countries who are members of the same initiative usually agree to produce reports at the same time and using the same indicators. Within countries, at the management unit level, efforts have also been directed at developing local level criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management. The Center for International Forestry Research, the International Model Forest Network{{cite web|url=http://www.imfn.net |title=International Model Forest Network |publisher=Imfn.net |access-date=30 November 2011}} and researchers at the University of British Columbia have developed a number of tools and techniques to help forest-dependent communities develop their own local level criteria and indicators.{{cite web|url=http://www.cifor.cgiar.org/acm/pub/toolbox.html |title=CIFOR Criteria and Indicators Toolbox Series |publisher=Cifor.cgiar.org |access-date=30 November 2011}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-54246-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061023185421/http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-54246-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html|url-status=dead|title=International Model Forest Network Criteria and Indicators|archivedate=23 October 2006}} Criteria and Indicators also form the basis of third-party forest certification programs such as the Canadian Standards Association's{{cite web |url=http://www.csa-international.org/product_areas/forest_products_marking/Default.asp?language=english |title=Canadian Standards Association |publisher=Csa-international.org |access-date=30 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111118085104/http://www.csa-international.org/product_areas/forest_products_marking/default.asp?language=english |archive-date=18 November 2011}} Sustainable Forest Management Standards and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.{{cite web |url=http://www.sfiprogram.org/files/pdf/Section1_sfi_requirements_2010-2014.pdf |title=Sustainable Forestry Initiative Introduction Page 1 |access-date=30 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125143402/http://www.sfiprogram.org/files/pdf/Section1_sfi_requirements_2010-2014.pdf |archive-date=25 January 2012}}

There appears to be growing international consensus on the key elements of sustainable forest management. Seven common thematic areas of sustainable forest management have emerged based on the criteria of the nine ongoing regional and international criteria and indicators initiatives. The seven thematic areas are:

• Extent of forest resources
• Biological diversity
• Forest health and vitality
• Productive functions of forest resources
• Protective functions of forest resources
• Socio-economic functions
• Legal, policy and institutional framework.

This consensus on common thematic areas (or criteria) effectively provides a common and implicit definition of sustainable forest management. The seven thematic areas were acknowledged by the international forest community at the fourth session of the United Nations Forum on Forests and the 16th session of the Committee on Forestry.{{Cite web|title=United Nations Forum on Forests|url=https://www.un.org/esa/forests/|access-date=2023-03-16|website=www.un.org}}{{Cite web|title=FAO PROGRAMMES IN FORESTRY|url=https://www.fao.org/3/Y9203e/y9203e09.htm|access-date=2023-03-16|website=www.fao.org}} These thematic areas have since been enshrined in the Non-Legally Binding Instrument on All Types of Forests as a reference framework for sustainable forest management to help achieve the purpose of the instrument.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

In 2012, the Montréal Process, Forest Europe, the International Tropical Timber Organization, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, acknowledging the seven thematic areas, endorsed a joint statement of collaboration to improve global forest-related data collection and reporting and avoiding the proliferation of monitoring requirements and associated reporting burdens.{{Cite web|url=https://ostr-backend-prod.azurewebsites.net/server/api/core/bitstreams/b0fc270d-cab5-47d5-a115-b4e59f5a5810/content|title=Joint statement}}

Sustainable forestry operations must also adhere to the International Labour Organization's 18 criteria on human and social rights. Gender equality, health and well-being and community consultation are examples of such rights.{{Cite web |title=What is sustainable forest management? |url=https://www.pefc.org/what-we-do/our-approach/what-is-sustainable-forest-management |access-date=2023-01-30 |website=www.pefc.org |language=en}}

The ecosystem approach has been prominent on the agenda of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) since 1995. The CBD definition of the Ecosystem Approach and a set of principles for its application were developed at an expert meeting in Malawi in 1995, known as the Malawi Principles.{{Cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=/DOCREP/006/Y4773E/y4773e0e.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071223012737/http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=%2FDOCREP%2F006%2FY4773E%2Fy4773e0e.htm|url-status=dead|title=Malawi Principles|archivedate=23 December 2007|accessdate=3 March 2024}} The definition, 12 principles and 5 points of "operational guidance" were adopted by the fifth Conference of Parties (COP5) in 2000. The CBD definition is as follows:

The ecosystem approach is a strategy for the integrated management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way. Application of the ecosystem approach will help to reach a balance of the three objectives of the Convention. An ecosystem approach is based on the application of appropriate scientific methodologies focused on levels of biological organization, which encompasses the essential structures, processes, functions and interactions among organisms and their environment. It recognizes that humans, with their cultural diversity, are an integral component of many ecosystems.

Sustainable forest management was recognized by parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2004 (Decision VII/11 of COP7) to be a concrete means of applying the Ecosystem Approach to forest ecosystems. The two concepts, sustainable forest management and the ecosystem approach, aim at promoting conservation and management practices which are environmentally, socially and economically sustainable, and which generate and maintain benefits for both present and future generations. In Europe, the MCPFE and the Council for the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy (PEBLDS) jointly recognized sustainable forest management to be consistent with the Ecosystem Approach in 2006.{{cite web|url=http://www.mcpfe.org/ |title=MCPFE |publisher=MCPFE |access-date=30 November 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://www.strategyguide.org/stracont.html |title=Council |publisher=Strategyguide.org |access-date=30 November 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://www.strategyguide.org/straabou.html |title=Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy |publisher=Strategyguide.org |access-date=30 November 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://www.strategyguide.org/200602/Documents/STRA-CO%202006%202%20_EA%20SFM%20JT%20STMT__E_final.pdf |title=PEBLD Strategy |publisher=Strategyguide.org |access-date=30 November 2011}}

{{excerpt|Ecoforestry}}

{{excerpt|Continuous cover forestry}}

{{excerpt|Mycoforestry}}

{{excerpt|Assisted natural regeneration}}

Reduced impact logging (RIL) is a sustainable forestry method as it decreases the forest and canopy damages by approximately 75% compared to the conventional logging methods.{{Cite journal |last1=Pereira |first1=Rodrigo |last2=Zweede |first2=Johan |last3=Asner |first3=Gregory P. |last4=Keller |first4=Michael |date=2001 |title=Forest canopy damage and recovery in reduced-impact and conventional selective logging in eastern Para, Brazil |journal=Forest Ecology and Management |volume=168 |issue=1–3 |pages=77–89 |doi=10.1016/s0378-1127(01)00732-0 |issn=0378-1127 |s2cid=85014787}} Additionally, a 120-year regression model found that RIL would have a significantly higher reforestation in 30 years ("18.3 m³ ha⁻¹") in relation to conventional logging ("14.0 m³ ha⁻¹").{{Cite journal |last1=Macpherson |first1=Alexander J. |last2=Schulze |first2=Mark D. |last3=Carter |first3=Douglas R. |last4=Vidal |first4=Edson |date=November 2010 |title=A Model for comparing reduced impact logging with conventional logging for an Eastern Amazonian Forest |journal=Forest Ecology and Management |volume=260 |issue=11 |pages=2010 |doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2010.08.050 |bibcode=2010ForEM.260.2002M |issn=0378-1127}} Furthermore, it is essential that RIL should be practiced as soon as possible to improve reforestation in the future. For instance, a study concluded that logging would have to reduce by 40% in Brazil if the current logging measures stay of "6 trees/hectare with a 30-year cutting cycle" stay in place. This would be to ensure that future ground biomass to have regeneration of the original ground biomass prior to harvesting.{{Cite journal |last1=Mazzei |first1=Lucas |last2=Sist |first2=Plinio |last3=Ruschel |first3=Ademir |last4=Putz |first4=Francis E. |last5=Marco |first5=Phidias |last6=Pena |first6=Wagner |last7=Ferreira |first7=Josué Evandro Ribeiro |date=2010 |title=Above-ground biomass dynamics after reduced-impact logging in the Eastern Amazon |journal=Forest Ecology and Management |volume=259 |issue=3 |pages=367–373 |doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2009.10.031 |bibcode=2010ForEM.259..367M |issn=0378-1127}}

{{See also|Deforestation and climate change}}

Appropriate use and long-term conservation of forest genetic resources (FGR) is a part of sustainable forest management.{{cite journal|last1=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)|title=The State of the World's Forest Genetic Resources|journal=Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture|year=2014|url=http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3825e.pdf}} In particular when it comes to the adaptation of forests and forest management to climate change.{{cite journal|last1=Koskela, J., Buck, A. and Teissier du Cros, E. (eds)|title=Climate change and forest genetic diversity: Implications for sustainable forest management in Europe|journal=European Forest Genetic Resources Programme|year=2007|volume=Bioversity International, Rome, Italy.|url=http://www.euforgen.org/fileadmin/bioversity/publications/pdfs/1216.pdf}} Genetic diversity ensures that forest trees can survive, adapt and evolve under changing environmental conditions. Genetic diversity in forests also contributes to tree vitality and to the resilience towards pests and diseases. Furthermore, FGR has a crucial role in maintaining forest biological diversity at both species and ecosystem levels.{{cite journal|last1=de Vries, S.M.G., Alan, M., Bozzano, M., Burianek, V., Collin, E., Cottrell, J., Ivankovic, M., Kelleher, C.T., Koskela, J., Rotach, P., Vietto, L. and Yrjänä, L|title=Pan-European strategy for genetic conservation of forest trees and establishment of a core network of dynamic conservation units|journal=European Forest Genetic Resources Programme, Bioversity International|year=2015|volume=Rome, Italy|url=http://www.euforgen.org/fileadmin/templates/euforgen.org/upload/Publications/Thematic_publications/EUFORGEN_FGR_conservation_strategy.pdf}}

Selecting carefully the forest reproductive material with emphasis on getting a high genetic diversity rather than aiming at producing a uniform stand of trees, is essential for sustainable use of FGR. Considering the provenance is crucial as well. For example, in relation to climate change, local material may not have the genetic diversity or phenotypic plasticity to guarantee good performance under changed conditions. A different population from further away, which may have experienced selection under conditions more like those forecast for the site to be reforested, might represent a more suitable seed source.{{cite journal|last1=Konnert, M., Fady, B., Gömöry, D., A'Hara, S., Wolter, F., Ducci, F., Koskela, J., Bozzano, M., Maaten, T. and Kowalczyk, J.|title=Use and transfer of forest reproductive material in Europe in the context of climate change|journal=European Forest Genetic Resources Programme, Bioversity International, Rome, Italy.|year=2015|page=xvi and 75 p|url=http://www.euforgen.org/fileadmin/templates/euforgen.org/upload/Publications/Thematic_publications/EUFORGEN_FRM_use_transfer.pdf}}

{{excerpt|Wildfire|paragraphs=5|files=1}}

{{excerpt|Forest degradation}}

{{excerpt|Deforestation}}

{{excerpt|Deforestation and climate change}}

{{excerpt|Checkerboarding (land)}}

File:Checkerboard forest in Idaho.jpg

Checkerboarding can create problems for access and ecological management. It is one of the major causes of inholdings within the boundaries of national forests. As is the case in northwestern California, checkerboarding has resulted in issues with managing national forest land.{{cite journal |jstor=3159757 |title=Ownership and Use of Forest Land in Northwestern California |last=Poli |first=Adon |journal=Land Economics |year=1956 |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |pages=144–151 |volume=32|issue=2 |doi=10.2307/3159757 |bibcode=1956LandE..32..144P }} Checkerboarding was previously applied to these areas during the period of western expansion, and they are now commercial forest land. Conflicting policies establishing the rights of the private owners of this land have caused some difficulties in the local hardwood timber production economy.

While relieving this land from its checkerboard ownership structure could benefit the timber production economy of the region, checkerboards can allow government to extend good forestry practices over intermingled private lands, by demonstration or applying pressure via economy of scale or the right of access.{{cite journal |jstor=3144830 |title=The Revested Oregon and California Railroad Grand Lands: A Problem in Land Management |last=Ballaine |first=Wesley C. |journal=Land Economics |year=1953 |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |pages=219–232 |volume=29|issue=3 |doi=10.2307/3144830 |bibcode=1953LandE..29..219B }}

{{excerpt|Clear-cutting}}

{{excerpt|Even-aged timber management|Wildlife considerations|paragraphs=1}}

{{excerpt|Illegal logging|only=paragraphs}}

{{Main|Certified wood}}

Forest certification is a globally recognized system for encouraging sustainable forest management and assuring that forest-based goods are derived from sustainably managed forests.{{Cite web |title=What is certification? |url=https://pefc.org/what-we-do/our-approach/what-is-certification |access-date=2023-01-30 |website=pefc.org |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=An Introduction to Forest Certification {{!}} NC State Extension Publications |url=https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/an-introduction-to-forest-certification |access-date=2023-01-30 |website=content.ces.ncsu.edu |language=en-US}} This is a voluntary procedure in which an impartial third-party organization evaluates the quality of forest management and output against a set of criteria established by a governmental or commercial certification agency.

Growing environmental awareness and consumer demand for more socially responsible businesses helped third-party forest certification emerge in the 1990s as a credible tool for communicating the environmental and social performance of forest operations.

There are many potential users of certification, including: forest managers, scientists, policy makers, investors, environmental advocates, business consumers of wood and paper, and individuals.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

With third-party forest certification, an independent standards setting organization (SSO) develops standards of good forest management, and independent auditors issue certificates to forest operations that comply with those standards. Forest certification verifies that forests are well-managed – as defined by a particular standard – and chain-of-custody certification tracks wood and paper products from the certified forest through processing to the point of sale.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

This rise of certification led to the emergence of several different systems throughout the world. As a result, there is no single accepted forest management international standard worldwide. ISO members{{cite web |date=20 October 2022 |title=Members |url=https://www.iso.org/members.html |website=so.org |publisher=International Organization for Standardization}} rejected a proposal for a forestry management system as requirements standard, with a consensus that a management system for certification would not be effective. Instead ISO members voted for a chain of custody of wood and wood-based products with ISO 38200 published in 2018. Without an international standard each system takes a somewhat different approach with scheme owners defining private standards for sustainable forest management.

In its 2009–2010 Forest Products Annual Market Review United Nations Economic Commission for Europe/Food and Agriculture Organization stated: "Over the years, many of the issues that previously divided the (certification) systems have become much less distinct. The largest certification systems now generally have the same structural programmatic requirements."{{cite web |title=2009–2010 Forest Products Annual Market Review Page 121 |url=http://timber.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/publications/sp-25.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820151542/http://timber.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/publications/sp-25.pdf |archive-date=20 August 2010 |access-date=30 November 2011}}

Third-party forest certification is an important tool for those seeking to ensure that the paper and wood products they purchase and use come from forests that are well-managed and legally harvested. Incorporating third-party certification into forest product procurement practices can be a centerpiece for comprehensive wood and paper policies that include factors such as the protection of sensitive forest values, thoughtful material selection and efficient use of products.{{cite web |author=Erin Malec |date=5 October 2011 |title=Forest Certification Resource Center |url=http://www.metafore.org/?s=147 |access-date=30 November 2011 |publisher=Metafore.org}}

File:Forest Stewardship Council Logo.svg is one of many forest certification programs.]]

Without a single international standard, there are a proliferation of private standards,{{cite book |url=https://docplayer.net/23885374-International-standards-and-private-standards.html |title=International standards and private standards |date=2010 |publisher=International Organization for Standardization |isbn=978-92-67-10518-5}} with more than fifty scheme owners offering certification worldwide, addressing the diversity of forest types and tenures. Globally, the two largest umbrella certification programs are:

• Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)
• Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)

The Forest Stewardship Council's Policy on Conversion states that land areas converted from natural forests to round wood production after November 1994 are ineligible for Forest Stewardship Council certification.{{Cite web |title=FSC Policy on Conversion |url=https://fsc.org/sites/default/files/2020-03/FSC-POL-01-007%20Policy%20on%20Conversion%20V1-0%20D1-0_EN.pdf |website=FSC}}

The area of forest certified worldwide is growing slowly. PEFC is the world's largest forest certification system, with more than two-thirds of the total global certified area certified to its Sustainability Benchmarks.{{Cite web |title=Sorry, We didn't find what you were looking for | UNECE |url=https://unece.org/page404/timber%20docs%20fpama%202008%20FPAMR2008%20pdf |accessdate=3 March 2024 |website=unece.org}}{{cite web |title=PEFC |url=http://www.pefc.org/about-pefc/who-we-are/facts-a-figures |access-date=30 November 2011 |publisher=PEFC}} In 2021, PEFC issued a position statement{{cite web |date=11 March 2021 |title=PEFC response to the Greenpeace report, "Destruction: Certified" |url=https://pefc.org/news/pefc-response-to-greenpeace-report-destruction-certified |website=pefc.org |publisher=PEFC}} defending their use of private standards in response to the Destruction: Certified report from Greenpeace.{{cite web |date=10 March 2021 |title=Destruction: Certified |url=https://www.greenpeace.org/international/publication/46812/destruction-certified/ |website=greenpeace.org |publisher=Greenpeace International}}

In North America, there are three certification standards endorsed by PEFC – the Sustainable Forestry Initiative,{{cite web |title=Sustainable Forest Initiative |url=http://www.sfiprogram.org |access-date=30 November 2011 |publisher=Sfiprogram.org}} the Canadian Standards Association's Sustainable Forest Management Standard, and the American Tree Farm System.{{cite web |date=22 November 2011 |title=American Tree Farm System |url=http://www.treefarmsystem.org/ |access-date=30 November 2011 |publisher=Treefarmsystem.org}} SFI is the world's largest single forest certification standard by area."SFI Inc. Launches New Standard, Leads Forest Certification Forward" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-18. Retrieved 2013-02-19 FSC has five standards in North America – one in the United States{{cite web |title=Forest Stewardship Council (US) |url=http://www.fscus.org/ |access-date=30 November 2011 |publisher=Fscus.org}} and four in Canada.{{cite web |title=Forest Stewardship Council (Canada) |url=http://www.fsccanada.org |access-date=30 November 2011 |publisher=Fsccanada.org}}

While certification is intended as a tool to enhance forest management practices throughout the world, to date most certified forestry operations are located in Europe and North America. A significant barrier for many forest managers in developing countries is that they lack the capacity to undergo a certification audit and maintain operations to a certification standard.Auer, M. (2012). 'Group forest certification for smallholders in Vietnam: An early test and future prospects'. Human ecology 40(1): 5–14.

File:Richea_pandanifolia.jpg) near Lake Dobson, Mount Field National Park, Tasmania, Australia]]

Although a majority of forests continue to be owned formally by government, the effectiveness of forest governance is increasingly independent of formal ownership.Agrawal, A., Chhatre, A, and Hardin, R. (2008). 'Changing Governance of the World's Forest'. Science 320: 1460–1462 Since neo-liberal ideology in the 1980s and the emanation of the climate change challenges, evidence that the state is failing to effectively manage environmental resources has emerged.Lutz, E, and Caldecott, J. (1996). Decentralization and biodiversity: a world bank symposium. Washington: The World Bank. Under neo-liberal regimes in the developing countries, the role of the state has diminished and the market forces have increasingly taken over the dominant socio-economic role.Hague, M. (1999). 'The Fate of sustainable development under neo-liberal regime in developing countries', International political review 20(2): 197–218.

The shifting of natural resource management responsibilities from central to state and local governments, where this is occurring, is usually a part of broader decentralization process.Margulis, S. {{date?}}. 'Decentralized environmental management', Annual World Bank Report.

The development of National Forest Funds is one way to address the issue of financing sustainable forest management.{{cite book |url=https://www.un.org/esa/forests/pdf/AGF_Study_July_2012.pdf |title=2012 STUDY ON FOREST FINANCING |date=June 2012 |publisher=Advisory Group on Finance Collaborative Partnership on Forests}} National forest funds (NFFs) are dedicated financing mechanisms managed by public institutions designed to support the conservation and sustainable use of forest resources.{{cite book |last1=Matta |first1=Rao |url=http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4359e.pdf |title=Towards effective national forest funds, FAO Forestry Paper 174 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |year=2015 |isbn=978-92-5-108706-0 |location=Rome, Italy}} As of 2014, there are 70 NFFs operating globally.

Community-based forest management (CBFM) is a scheme that links governmental forest agencies and the local community in efforts to regenerate degraded forests, reforest deforested areas, and decrease carbon emissions that contribute to climate change. This partnership is done with the intent of not only repairing damage to the environment but also providing economic and social benefits to the affected area.{{Cite journal |last=Singh |first=P |date=August 2008 |title=Exploring biodiversity and climate change benefits of community-based forest management |journal=Global Environmental Change |language=en |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=468–478 |bibcode=2008GEC....18..468S |doi=10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2008.04.006}}{{Cite journal |last1=Mahanty |first1=Sango |last2=Gronow |first2=Jane |last3=Nurse |first3=Mike |last4=Malla |first4=Yam |date=2009-06-24 |title=Reducing Poverty through Community Based Forest Management in Asia |url=https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/JFL/article/view/1983 |journal=Journal of Forest and Livelihood |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=78–89 |doi=10.3126/jfl.v5i1.1983 |issn=1684-0186 |hdl-access=free |hdl=10535/8464}}

In principle, the benefits for the local community involvement in the management and protection of their forests would be to provide employment and to supplement income from both the wage labor and additional agriculture which would then strength the entire local economy while improving environmental conditions and mitigating climate change. Therefore, implementing a CBFM system can provide rural development while mitigating climate change and sustaining biodiversity within the region. It is important to engage the local community members, many of which are indigenous since presumably, they would have a deeper knowledge of the local ecosystems as well as the life cycles of those ecosystems over time. Their involvement also helps to ensure that their cultural practices remain intact.

{{excerpt|Community forestry#History}}

{{excerpt|Forestry law |links=no |only=paragraphs}}

[[File:UNREDDandFCPFcountries.svg|400px|thumb|right| Countries participating in the UNREDD program and/or Forest Carbon Partnership Facility.

{{Legend|#A6D785|UN-REDD participants}}

{{Legend|#003300|Forest Carbon Partnership Facility participants}}

{{Legend|#346733|participants in both}}

]]{{See also|Deforestation and climate change}}Scientific studies investigate the ability of forests to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (carbon sequestration). Through such analysis, researchers can quantify the carbon stocks present in different types of forests and assess their effectiveness as carbon sinks. Understanding the capacity of forests to sequester carbon is crucial for climate change mitigation efforts.

{{excerpt|Forest protection}}

{{excerpt|Tropical rainforest conservation}}

Proforestation is the practice of protecting existing natural forests to foster continuous growth, carbon accumulation, and structural complexity.{{Cite journal |doi=10.3389/ffgc.2019.00027 |title=Intact Forests in the United States: Proforestation Mitigates Climate Change and Serves the Greatest Good |journal=Frontiers in Forests and Global Change|volume=2|year=2019|last1=Moomaw|first1=William R. |last2=Masino|first2=Susan A. |last3=Faison|first3=Edward K.|page=27 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2019FrFGC...2...27M }}{{cite journal |last1=Di Sacco |first1=Alice |last2=Hardwick |first2=Kate A. |last3=Blakesley |first3=David |last4=Brancalion |first4=Pedro H. S. |last5=Breman |first5=Elinor |last6=Cecilio Rebola |first6=Loic |last7=Chomba |first7=Susan |last8=Dixon |first8=Kingsley |last9=Elliott |first9=Stephen |last10=Ruyonga |first10=Godfrey |last11=Shaw |first11=Kirsty |last12=Smith |first12=Paul |last13=Smith |first13=Rhian J. |last14=Antonelli |first14=Alexandre |title=Ten golden rules for reforestation to optimize carbon sequestration, biodiversity recovery and livelihood benefits |journal=Global Change Biology |date=25 January 2021 |volume=27 |issue=7 |pages=1328–1348 |doi=10.1111/gcb.15498 |pmid=33494123 |s2cid=225324365 |issn=1354-1013|doi-access=free |bibcode=2021GCBio..27.1328D |hdl=20.500.11937/88524 |hdl-access=free }} It is recognized as an important forest based strategy for addressing the global crises in climate and biodiversity.{{cite journal |last1=Mackey |first1=Brendan |last2=Kormos |first2=Cyril F. |last3=Keith |first3=Heather |last4=Moomaw |first4=William R. |last5=Houghton |first5=Richard A. |last6=Mittermeier |first6=Russell A. |last7=Hole |first7=David |last8=Hugh |first8=Sonia |title=Understanding the importance of primary tropical forest protection as a mitigation strategy |journal=Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change |date=1 May 2020 |volume=25 |issue=5 |pages=763–787 |doi=10.1007/s11027-019-09891-4 |s2cid=212681305 |language=en |issn=1573-1596|doi-access=free |bibcode=2020MASGC..25..763M |hdl=10072/394944 |hdl-access=free }} Forest restoration can be a strategy for climate change mitigation.IPCC (2022) [https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_SPM.pdf Summary for policy makers] in [https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/ Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change], Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA{{rp|37}} Proforestation complements other forest-based solutions like afforestation, reforestation and improved forest management.

Allowing proforestation in some secondary forests will increase their accumulated carbon and biodiversity over time. Strategies for proforestation include rewilding,{{Cite web |title=Protecting 50% of our Lands and Oceans |url=https://www.oneearth.org/protecting-50-of-our-lands-and-oceans/ |website=One Earth|date=23 May 2024 }} such as reintroducing apex predators and keystone species as, for example, predators keep the population of herbivores in check (which reduce the biomass of vegetation). Another strategy is establishing wildlife corridors connecting isolated protected areas.{{Cite web |date=3 April 2019 |title=The natural world can help save us from climate catastrophe | George Monbiot |url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/03/natural-world-climate-catastrophe-rewilding |website=The Guardian}}{{Cite journal |last1=Wilmers |first1=Christopher C. |last2=Schmitz |first2=Oswald J. |date=October 19, 2016 |title=Effects of gray wolf-induced trophic cascades on ecosystem carbon cycling |journal=Ecosphere |volume=7 |issue=10 |doi=10.1002/ecs2.1501|doi-access=free |bibcode=2016Ecosp...7E1501W }}

Proforestation refers specifically to enabling continuous forest growth uninterrupted by active management or timber harvesting, a term coined by scientists William Moomaw, Susan Masino, and Edward Faison.Fen Montaigne, [https://e360.yale.edu/features/why-keeping-mature-forests-intact-is-key-to-the-climate-fight Why Keeping Mature Forests Intact Is Key to the Climate Fight], Yale Environment 360, 15 October 2019.

Proforestation differs from agroforestry or the cultivation of forest plantations, the latter consisting of similarly aged trees of just one or two species. Plantations can be an efficient source of wood but often come at the expense of natural forests and cultivate little habitat for biodiversity, such as dead and fallen trees or understory plants. Further, once factoring in emissions from clearing the land and the decay of plantation waste and products at the end of their often brief lifecycles (e.g. paper products), plantations sequester 40 times less carbon than natural forests.{{cite journal |last1=Lewis |first1=Simon |last2=Wheeler |first2=Charlotte |last3=Mitchard |first3=Edward |last4=Koch |first4=Alexander |title=Restoring natural forests is the best way to remove atmospheric carbon |journal=Nature |date=4 April 2019 |volume=568 |issue=7750 |pages=25–28 |doi=10.1038/d41586-019-01026-8 |pmid=30940972 |s2cid=91190309 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2019Natur.568...25L }}

Proforestation is specifically recommended in “World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency, as a means to “quickly curtail habitat and biodiversity loss” and protect "high carbon stores" and areas "with the capacity to rapidly sequester carbon."{{cite journal |last1=Ripple |first1=William |last2=Wolf |first2=Christopher |last3=Newsome |first3=Thomas |last4=Barnard |first4=Phoebe |last5=Moomaw |first5=William |title=World Scientists' Warning of a Climate Emergency |journal=BioScience |date=January 2020 |volume=70 |issue=1 |pages=8–12 |doi=10.1093/biosci/biz088 |url=https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/70/1/8/5610806 |access-date=12 November 2020|doi-access=free |hdl=2445/151800 |hdl-access=free }}

1.6 billion people worldwide depend on forests for their livelihoods, including 300–350 million (half of whom are Indigenous peoples) who live near or within "dense forests" and depend almost entirely on these ecosystems for their survival.{{cite book |last1=Jenkins |first1=Michael |last2=Schaap |first2=Brian |title=Background Analytical Study 1: Forest Ecosystem Services |date=April 2018 |publisher=United Nations Forum on Forests |url=https://www.un.org/esa/forests/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/UNFF13_BkgdStudy_ForestsEcoServices.pdf |access-date=21 April 2021}} Rural households in Asia, Africa, and Latin America also depend on forests for about a quarter of their total incomes, with about half of this in the form of food, fodder, energy, building materials and medicine.

Proforestation can protect full native biodiversity and support the forests and other land types that provide resources we need. For example, research has found that old growth and complex forests are more resistant to the effects of climate change. One study found that taller trees had increased drought resistance, being able to capture and retain water better, due to their deeper root system and larger biomass. This means that even in dry conditions, these trees continued to photosynthesize at a higher rate than smaller trees.{{cite journal |last1=Giardina |first1=Francesco |last2=et |first2=al |title=Tall Amazonian forests are less sensitive to precipitation variability |journal=Nature Geoscience |date=28 May 2018 |volume=11 |issue=6 |pages=405–409 |doi=10.1038/s41561-018-0133-5 |bibcode=2018NatGe..11..405G |s2cid=47004415 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-018-0133-5 |access-date=21 April 2021}}

Further, old-growth forests have been shown to be more resistant to fires compared to young forests with trees that have thinner bark and with more fuel available for increasing temperatures and fire damage.{{cite journal |last1=Binkley |first1=Daniel |last2=Sisk |first2=Tom |last3=Chambers |first3=Carol |last4=Springer |first4=Judy |last5=Block |first5=William |title=The Role of Old-growth Forests in Frequent-fire Landscapes |journal=Ecology and Society |date=2007 |volume=12 |issue=2 |page=18 |doi=10.5751/ES-02170-120218 |url=https://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_other/rmrs_2007_binkley_d001.pdf|doi-access=free }} Proforestation can help to reduce fire risks to forests and the surrounding communities. They can also help absorb water and prevent flooding to surrounding communities. Considering the variety of ecosystem services complex forests provide, sustaining healthy forests means adjacent communities will be better off as well.

{{excerpt|Forester|paragraphs=1-3}}

The preindustrial age has been dubbed by Werner Sombart and others as the 'wooden age', as timber and firewood were the basic resources for energy, construction and housing. The development of modern forestry is closely connected with the rise of capitalism, the economy as a science and varying notions of land use and property.compare Joachim Radkau Wood: A History, 2011 Roman Latifundiae, large agricultural estates, were quite successful in maintaining the large supply of wood that was necessary for the Roman Empire.The Nature of Mediterranean Europe: An Ecological History, by Alfred Thomas Grove, Oliver Rackham, Yale University Press, 2003, [http://yalepress.yale.edu/book.asp?isbn=9780300100556 review at Yale university press] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006140735/http://yalepress.yale.edu/book.asp?isbn=9780300100556|date=2014-10-06}} [https://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/journal_of_interdisciplinary_history/v032/32.3fagan.pdfThe Nature of Mediterranean Europe: An Ecological History (review) ]Brian M. Fagan, Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Volume 32, Number 3, Winter 2002, pp. 454-455 | {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006073018/https://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=%2Fjournals%2Fjournal_of_interdisciplinary_history%2Fv032%2F32.3fagan.pdfThe|date=2014-10-06}} Large deforestations came with the decline of the Romans. However already in the 5th century, monks in the then Byzantine Romagna on the Adriatic coast, were able to establish stone pine plantations to provide fuelwood and food.{{cite book |last1=T. Mirov |first1=Nicholas |title=The story of pines |last2=Hasbrouck |first2=Jean |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=1976 |isbn=978-0-253-35462-4 |location=Bloomington and London |page=[https://archive.org/details/storyofpines00ntmi/page/111 111] |chapter=6 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/storyofpines00ntmi/page/111 |chapter-url-access=registration}} This was the beginning of the massive forest mentioned by Dante Alighieri in his 1308 poem Divine Comedy.

Similar sustainable formal forestry practices were developed by the Visigoths in the 7th century when, faced with the ever-increasing shortage of wood, they instituted a code concerned with the preservation of oak and pine forests. The use and management of many forest resources has a long history in China as well, dating back to the Han dynasty and taking place under the landowning gentry. A similar approach was used in Japan. It was also later written about by the Ming dynasty Chinese scholar Xu Guangqi (1562–1633).

In Europe, land usage rights in medieval and early modern times allowed different users to access forests and pastures. Plant litter and resin extraction were important, as pitch (resin) was essential for the caulking of ships, falking and hunting rights, firewood and building, timber gathering in wood pastures, and grazing animals in forests. The notion of "commons" (German "Allmende") refers to the underlying traditional legal term of common land. The idea of enclosed private property came about during modern times. However, most hunting rights were retained by members of the nobility which preserved the right of the nobility to access and use common land for recreation, like fox hunting.

File:Forstarbeiten_in_Österreich.JPG

File:Gewinnung_von_Schnittreisig.jpg, Vogelsberg]]

File:Hans_Carl_von_Carlowitz.jpg, German miner]]

Systematic management of forests for a sustainable yield of timber began in Portugal in the 13th century when King Afonso III planted the Pinhal do Rei (King's Pine Forest) near Leiria to prevent coastal erosion and soil degradation, and as a sustainable source for timber used in naval construction.{{cite book |author=H. V. Livermore |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Cd0bKhByz8C&pg=PA15 |title=Portugal: A Traveller's History |publisher=Boydell Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-84383-063-4 |page=15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211144023/https://books.google.com/books?id=7Cd0bKhByz8C&pg=PA15&lpg=PA15 |archive-date=2017-12-11 |url-status=live}} His successor King Denis of Portugal continued the practice and the forest exists still today.{{cite web |title=PGF - Mata Nacional de Leiria — ICNF |url=http://www.icnf.pt/portal/florestas/gf/pgf/publicitacoes/drf-centro/2011/pgf-mn-leiria |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210135748/http://www2.icnf.pt/portal/florestas/gf/pgf/publicitacoes/encerradas/dcnf-centr/pgf-mn-leiria |archive-date=2019-12-10 |access-date=2017-10-17 |website=www.icnf.pt}}

Forest management also flourished in the German states in the 14th century, e.g. in Nuremberg,{{Cite journal |last=Buttinger |first=Sabine |year=2013 |title=Idee der Nachhaltigkeit |trans-title=The Idea of Sustainability |journal=Damals |language=de |volume=45 |issue=4 |page=8}} and in 16th-century Japan.{{cite web |title=Forestry in Yashino |url=http://www.pref.nara.jp/nara/kaido/eg/syugen/d5_trad/trad1.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628224026/http://www.pref.nara.jp/nara/kaido/eg/syugen/d5_trad/trad1.htm |archive-date=2011-06-28 |access-date=2010-10-12 |publisher=City of Nara, Nara}} Typically, a forest was divided into specific sections and mapped; the harvest of timber was planned with an eye to regeneration. As timber rafting allowed for connecting large continental forests, as in south western Germany, via Main, Neckar, Danube and Rhine with the coastal cities and states, early modern forestry and remote trading were closely connected. Large firs in the black forest were called „Holländer“, as they were traded to the Dutch ship yards. Large timber rafts on the Rhine were 200 to 400m in length, 40m in width and consisted of several thousand logs. The crew consisted of 400 to 500 men, including shelter, bakeries, ovens and livestock stables.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dilibri.de/rlb/content/pageview/607408/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129034645/http://www.dilibri.de/rlb/content/pageview/607408/|url-status=dead|title=Abbildungen der verschiedenen Gattungen von Fahrzeugen, wie man sie auf dem Rheine sieht / von H. Herman|date=October 3, 1820|archivedate=November 29, 2014|website=www.dilibri.de}} Timber rafting infrastructure allowed for large interconnected networks all over continental Europe and is still of importance in Finland.

Starting with the 16th century, enhanced world maritime trade, a boom in housing construction in Europe, and the success and further Berggeschrey (rushes) of the mining industry increased timber consumption sharply. The notion of 'Nachhaltigkeit', sustainability in forestry, is closely connected to the work of Hans Carl von Carlowitz (1645–1714), a mining administrator in Saxony. His book Sylvicultura oeconomica, oder haußwirthliche Nachricht und Naturmäßige Anweisung zur wilden Baum-Zucht (1713) was the first comprehensive treatise about sustainable yield forestry.{{Cite book |last=Dangel |first=Ulrich |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dP-xDQAAQBAJ&q=first+comprehensive+treatise+about+forestry&pg=PA30 |title=Turning Point in Timber Construction: A New Economy |date=2016-12-05 |publisher=Birkhäuser |isbn=978-3-0356-0863-2 |language=en}} In the UK, and, to an extent, in continental Europe, the enclosure movement and the Clearances favored strictly enclosed private property.Radkau, Joachim. Nature and Power. A Global History of the Environment. Cambridge University Press. 2008. The Agrarian reformers, early economic writers and scientists tried to get rid of the traditional commons.Nature and Power, A Global History of the Environment, by Joachim Radkau, 2008, p. 72 At the time, an alleged tragedy of the commons together with fears of a Holznot, an imminent wood shortage played a watershed role in the controversies about cooperative land use patterns.The end of the commons as a watershed' The Age of Ecology, Joachim Radkau, John Wiley & Sons, 03.04.2014,{{Clarify|reason=ambiguous date format|date=September 2017}} p. 15 ff

The practice of establishing tree plantations in the British Isles was promoted by John Evelyn, though it had already acquired some popularity. Louis XIV's minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert's oak Forest of Tronçais, planted for the future use of the French Navy, matured as expected in the mid-19th century: "Colbert had thought of everything except the steamship," Fernand Braudel observed.{{Cite book |last=Braudel |first=Fernand |title=The Wheels of Commerce: Civilization and Capitalism: 15th-18th Century (Volume II) |publisher=University of California Press |year=1979 |isbn=978-0-520-08115-4 |page=240}} Colbert's vision of forestry management was encoded in the French forestry Ordinance of 1669, which proved to be an influential management system throughout Europe.Kohler, Yann & Tissot, Wilfried. (2013). Integration of Nature Protection in Forest Policy in France - INTEGRATE Country Report. In parallel, schools of forestry were established beginning in the late 18th century in Hesse, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Sweden, France and elsewhere in Europe.

Forestry mechanization was always in close connection to metal working and the development of mechanical tools to cut and transport timber to its destination.{{Cite book |last1=Sundberg |first1=B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PiRffqqUcIQC&dq=Forestry+mechanization+was+always+in+close+connection+to+metal+working+and+the+development+of+mechanical+tools+to+cut+and+transport+timber+to+its+destination.&pg=PA1 |title=Operational Efficiency in Forestry: Vol. 1: Analysis |last2=Silversides |first2=C. R. |date=1988-04-30 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-90-247-3683-6 |language=en}} Rafting belongs to the earliest means of transport. Steel saws came up in the 15th century. The 19th century widely increased the availability of steel for whipsaws and introduced forest railways and railways in general for transport and as forestry customer. Further human induced changes, however, came since World War II, respectively in line with the "1950s syndrome".Christian Pfister (Hrsg.), Das 1950er Syndrom: Der Weg in die Konsumgesellschaft, Bern 1995 The first portable chainsaw was invented in 1918 in Canada, but large impact of mechanization in forestry started after World War II.{{Cite journal |last=Silversides |first=C. R. |date=1984-08-01 |title=Mechanized Forestry, World War II to the Present |journal=The Forestry Chronicle |language=en |volume=60 |issue=4 |pages=231–235 |doi=10.5558/tfc60231-4 |issn=0015-7546 |doi-access=free}} Forestry harvesters are among the most recent developments. Although drones, planes, laser scanning, satellites and robots also play a part in forestry.

{{further|forest conservation}}

Starting from the 1750s modern scientific forestry was developed in France and the German speaking countries in the context of natural history scholarship and state administration inspired by physiocracy and cameralism.{{Cite book |last1=Oosthoek |first1=K. Jan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6UItDwAAQBAJ&dq=Starting+from+the+1750s+modern+scientific+forestry+was+developed+in+France+and+the+German+speaking+countries+in+the+context+of+natural+history+scholarship+and+state+administration+inspired+by+physiocracy+and+cameralism.&pg=PA15 |title=Managing Northern Europe's Forests: Histories from the Age of Improvement to the Age of Ecology |last2=Hölzl |first2=Richard |date=2018-02-19 |publisher=Berghahn Books |isbn=978-1-78533-601-0 |language=en}} Its main traits were centralized management by professional foresters, the adherence to sustainable yield concepts with a bias towards fuelwood and timber production, artificial afforestation, and a critical view of pastoral and agricultural uses of forests.{{Cite journal |last=Hölzl |first=Richard |date=2010-12-01 |title=Historicizing Sustainability: German Scientific Forestry in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries |journal=Science as Culture |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=431–460 |doi=10.1080/09505431.2010.519866 |issn=0950-5431 |s2cid=143441568}}

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, forest preservation programs were established in British India, the United States, and Europe. Many foresters were either from continental Europe (like Sir Dietrich Brandis), or educated there (like Gifford Pinchot). Sir Dietrich Brandis is considered the father of tropical forestry, European concepts and practices had to be adapted in tropical and semi-arid climate zones. The development of plantation forestry was one of the (controversial) answers to the specific challenges in the tropical colonies. The enactment and evolution of forest laws and binding regulations occurred in most Western nations in the 20th century in response to growing conservation concerns and the increasing technological capacity of logging companies. Tropical forestry is a separate branch of forestry which deals mainly with equatorial forests that yield woods such as teak and mahogany.

A strong body of research exists regarding the management of forest ecosystems and the genetic improvement of tree species and varieties. Forestry studies also include the development of better methods for the planting, protecting, thinning, controlled burning, felling, extracting, and processing of timber. One of the applications of modern forestry is reforestation, in which trees are planted and tended in a given area.

File:A_deciduous_beech_forest_in_Slovenia.jpg|A deciduous beech forest in Slovenia

File:Laser_guided_cutting_of_wood_inside_modern_woodmill.jpg|A modern sawmill

File:Employment_In_Agriculture,_Forestry_And_Fishing_By_Region.svg|A comparison of employment In agriculture, forestry and fishing by region

Trees provide numerous environmental, social and economic benefits for people.{{cite web |title=Department of environmental conservation |url=http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/4957.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221114633/http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/4957.html |archive-date=2015-02-21 |access-date=2014-11-29 |publisher=New York State Department}} In many regions, the forest industry is of major ecological, economic, and social importance, with the United States producing more timber than any other country in the world.{{Cite journal |last1=Casanova |first1=Vanessa |last2=Hamilton |first2=James |date=2019-04-03 |title=Non-Timber Forest Products in the Southeastern United States: Implications for Worker Safety and Health |journal=Journal of Agromedicine |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=121–124 |doi=10.1080/1059924X.2019.1578141 |issn=1059-924X |pmid=30712502 |s2cid=73422895}} Third-party certification systems that provide independent verification of sound forest stewardship and sustainable forestry have become commonplace in many areas since the 1990s. These certification systems developed as a response to criticism of some forestry practices, particularly deforestation in less-developed regions along with concerns over resource management in the developed world. Sustainable forestry operations must also adhere to the International Labour Organization's 18 criteria on human and social rights. Gender equality, health and well-being and community consultation are examples of mentioned rights.

In topographically severe forested terrain, proper forestry is important for the prevention or minimization of serious soil erosion or even landslides. In areas with a high potential for landslides, forests can stabilize soils and prevent property damage or loss, human injury, or loss of life.

Global production of roundwood rose from 3.5 billion m³ in 2000 to 4 billion m³ in 2021. In 2021, wood fuel was the main product with a 49 percent share of the total (2 billion m³), followed by coniferous industrial roundwood with 30 percent (1.2 billion m³) and non-coniferous industrial roundwood with 21 percent (0.9 billion m³). Asia and the Americas are the two main producing regions, accounting for 29 and 28 percent of the total roundwood production, respectively; Africa and Europe have similar shares of 20–21 percent, while Oceania produces the remaining 2 percent.{{Cite book |url=http://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc8166en |title=World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2023 |date=2023-11-29 |publisher=FAO |isbn=978-92-5-138262-2 |language=en |doi=10.4060/cc8166en}}

Many lower- and middle-income countries rely on wood for energy purposes (notably cooking). The largest producers are all in these income groups and have large populations with a high reliance on wood for energy: in 2021, India ranked first with 300 million m³ (15 percent of total production), followed by China with 156 million m3 and Brazil with 129 million m³ (8 percent and 7 percent of global production).

• Sylwan first published in 1820{{cite journal |author=Petru-Ioan Becheru |author-link=Petru-Ioan Becheru |date=Aug 2012 |title=Revista pădurilor online |url=http://www.revistapadurilor.ro/(16819) |journal=Rev. pădur. |language=ro |volume=127 |issue=4 |pages=46–53 |issn=1583-7890 |id=16819 |access-date=2012-10-21}}{{dead link|date=December 2017|bot=KAP03|fix-attempted=yes}}(webpage has a translation button)
• Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Forstwesen first published in 1850.{{cite web |title=Swiss Forestry Society |url=http://www.szf-jfs.org/ |website=www.szf-jfs.org}}
• Erdészeti Lapok first published in 1862. (Hungary, 1862–present){{cite web |title=Hungarian Forestry Society |url=https://www.oee.hu/150_eves_jubileum |website=www.oee.hu}}
• The Indian Forester first published in 1875.{{cite web |title=indianforester.org |url=http://www.indianforester.org/about.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517100542/http://www.indianforester.org/about.html |archive-date=2013-05-17 |access-date=2014-03-15 |publisher=indianforester.org}}
• Šumarski list (Forestry Review, Croatia) was published in 1877 by Croatian Forestry Society.[https://archive.today/20120912004354/http://www.sumari.hr/sumlist/en Šumarski list] (Forestry Review), with full digital archive since 1877
• Montes (Forestry, Spain) first published in 1877.{{cite web |title=Revista Montes, with 12.944 free downloadable digital files from 1868 |url=http://www.revistamontes.net/Buscador.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131127012043/http://revistamontes.net/Buscador.aspx |archive-date=2013-11-27 |access-date=2014-03-15 |publisher=Revistamontes.net}}
• Revista pădurilor (Journal of Forests, Romania, 1881–1882; 1886–present), the oldest extant magazine in Romania{{cite journal |author=Victor Giurgiu |author-link=Victor Giurgiu |date=Nov 2011 |title=Revista pădurilor (Journal of forests) 125 years of existence |url=http://www.revistapadurilor.ro/(16758) |url-status=dead |journal=Rev. pădur. |volume=126 |issue=6 |pages=3–7 |issn=1583-7890 |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160517085058/http://www.revistapadurilor.ro/(16758) |archive-date=2016-05-17 |access-date=2012-04-06}}(webpage has a translation button)
• Forestry Quarterly, first published in 1902 by the New York State College of Forestry.
• Šumarstvo{{cite web |title=Časopis |url=http://scindeks.ceon.rs/journaldetails.aspx?issn=0350-1752&lang=en |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212050034/http://scindeks.ceon.rs/journaldetails.aspx?issn=0350-1752&lang=en |archive-date=2013-12-12 |access-date=2014-03-15 |publisher=SCIndeks}} (Forestry, Serbia) first published in 1948 by the Ministry of Forestry of Democratic Federal Yugoslavia, and since 1951 by Organ of Society of Forestry Engineers and Technicians of the Republic of Serbia (succeeding the former Šumarski glasnik published from 1907 to 1921){{cite web |title=Udruženje šumarskih inženjera i tehničara Srbije - Istorijat |url=http://www.srpskosumarskoudruzenje.org.rs/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=26&limit=1&limitstart=6 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212125644/http://www.srpskosumarskoudruzenje.org.rs/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=26&limit=1&limitstart=6 |archive-date=2013-12-12 |access-date=2014-03-15 |publisher=Srpskosumarskoudruzenje.org.rs}}

Image:Amazonie deforestation.jpg and increased road-building in the Amazon Rainforest are a significant concern because of increased human encroachment upon wild areas, increased resource extraction and further threats to biodiversity.]]

There has been increased public awareness of natural resource policy, including forest management.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}} Public concern regarding forest management may have shifted from the extraction of timber for economic development, to maintaining the flow of the range of ecosystem services provided by forests, including provision of habitat for wildlife, protecting biodiversity, watershed management, and opportunities for recreation. Increased environmental awareness may contribute to an increased public mistrust of forest management professionals.{{cite journal |last=Shindler |first=Bruce |author2=Lori A. Cramer |date=January 1999 |title=Shifting Public Values for Forest Management: Making Sense of Wicked Problems |url=http://www.fs.fed.us/eco/eco-watch/wickedpr.html |journal=Western Journal of Applied Forestry |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=28–34 |doi=10.1093/wjaf/14.1.28 |issn=0885-6095 |access-date=2008-08-25 |doi-access=free}} But it can also lead to greater understanding about what professionals do for forests for nature conservation and ecological services.

{{See also|Deforestation}}

In December 2007, at the Climate Change Conference in Bali, the issue of deforestation in the developing world in particular was raised and discussed. The foundations of a new incentive mechanism for encouraging sustainable forest management measures was therefore laid in hopes of reducing world deforestation rates. This mechanism was formalized and adopted as REDD in November 2010 at the Climate Change Conference in Cancun by UNFCCC COP 16. Developing countries who are signatories of the CBD were encouraged to take measure to implement REDD activities in the hope of becoming more active contributors of global efforts aimed at the mitigation greenhouse gas, as deforestation and forest degradation account for roughly 15% of total global greenhouse gas emissions.{{cite web |title=What is REDD+? |url=https://www.forestcarbonpartnership.org/what-redd |access-date=4 March 2020 |website=The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) |publisher=Forest Carbon Partnership Facility}} The REDD activities are formally tasked with "reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation; and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries". REDD+ works in 3 phases. The first phase consists of developing viable strategies, while the second phase begins work on technology development and technology transfer to the developing countries taking part in REDD+ activities. The last phase measures and reports the implementation of the action taken.{{cite web |date=15 June 2012 |title=REDD+ and Biodiversity Benefits |url=https://www.cbd.int/forest/redd-plus/ |access-date=4 March 2020 |website=Convention on Biological Diversity |publisher=United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity}} In 2021 the LEAF coalition was created, aiming to provide 1 billion dollars to countries that will protect their tropical and subtropical forests.{{cite web |last1=Marchant |first1=Natalie |date=21 May 2021 |title=Can this billion-dollar initiative save the world's tropical forests? |url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/05/amazon-coalition-finance-tropical-forests-protection/ |access-date=28 May 2021 |website=World Economic Forum}}

In 2022 the European parliament approved a bill aiming to stop the import linked with deforestation. The bill may cause to Brazil, for example, to stop deforestation for agricultural production and begun to "increase productivity on existing agricultural land".{{cite web |last1=Schröder |first1=André |date=15 September 2022 |title=European bill passes to ban imports of deforestation-linked commodities |url=https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/european-bill-passes-to-ban-imports-of-deforestation-linked-commodities/ |access-date=18 September 2022 |website=Mongabay}} The legislation was adopted with some changes by the European Council in May 2023 and is expected to enter into force several weeks after. The bill requires companies who want to import certain types of products to the European Union to prove the production of those commodities is not linked to areas deforested after 31 of December 2020. It prohibits also import of products linked with Human rights abuse. The list of products includes: palm oil, cattle, wood, coffee, cocoa, rubber and soy. Some derivatives of those products are also included: chocolate, furniture, printed paper and several palm oil based derivates.{{cite web |title=Council adopts new rules to cut deforestation worldwide |url=https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2023/05/16/council-adopts-new-rules-to-cut-deforestation-worldwide/ |access-date=22 May 2023 |website=European Counsil |publisher=European Union}}{{cite web |last1=Téllez Chávez |first1=Luciana |date=16 May 2023 |title=EU Approves Law for 'Deforestation-Free' Trade |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/05/16/eu-approves-law-deforestation-free-trade |access-date=22 May 2023 |website=Human Rights Watch}}

The Forestry Commission was founded in 1919 to restore forests to Great Britain after World War 1. The commission regulates both private and public forests, as well as manages private forests. Agricultural land was bought and transformed, totalling 35% of the British woodland area having been possessed at one point in time{{Cite journal |last1=Aldhous |first1=J. |year=1997 |title=British forestry: 70 years of achievement |journal=Forestry |volume=70 |issue=4 |pages=283–292 |doi=10.1093/forestry/70.4.283 |doi-access=free}}

Canada's significant contribution to global sustainable forest management with its 166 million hectares of forest land independently certified as sustainably managed, representing 40% of the world's certified forests, which is more than any other country.{{Cite web |url=https://ostrnrcan-dostrncan.canada.ca/handle/1845/250554 |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=ostrnrcan-dostrncan.canada.ca}} Approximately 94% of Canada's forest land is publicly owned. Sustainable forest management strategies aim to reconcile various immediate demands while ensuring that forests continue to provide benefits for future generations.{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=Natural Resources |date=2022-06-03 |title=Sustainable forest management in Canada |url=https://natural-resources.canada.ca/our-natural-resources/forests/sustainable-forest-management/sustainable-forest-management-canada/24361 |access-date=2024-04-12 |website=natural-resources.canada.ca}}

The province of Ontario has its own sustainable forest management measures in place. A little less than half of all the publicly owned forests of Ontario are managed forests, required by The Crown Forest Sustainability Act to be managed sustainably. Sustainable management is often done by forest companies who are granted Sustainable Forest Licenses which are valid for 20 years. The main goal of Ontario's sustainable forest management measures is to ensure that the forest are kept healthy and productive, conserving biodiversity, all whilst supporting communities and forest industry jobs. All management strategies and plans are highly regulated, arranged to last for a 10-year period, and follow the strict guidelines of the Forest Management Planning Manual. Alongside public sustainable forest management, the government of Ontario encourages sustainable forest management of Ontario's private forests as well through incentives.{{cite web |title=Sustainable forest management |url=https://www.ontario.ca/page/sustainable-forest-management |access-date=3 March 2020 |website=Ontario.ca |publisher=Government of Ontario}} So far, 44% of Ontario's crown forests are managed.

In order for logging to begin, the forestry companies must present a plan to the government who will then communicate to the public, First Nations and other industries in order to protect forest values. The plan must include strategies on how the forest values will be protected, assessing the state of the forest and whether it is capable of recovering from human activity, and presenting strategies on regeneration. After the harvest begins, the government monitors if the company is complying within the planned restrictions and also monitors the health of the ecosystem{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=Natural Resources |date=2015-05-25 |title=Canada's forest laws |url=https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/our-natural-resources/forests/sustainable-forest-management/canadas-forest-laws/17497 |access-date=2022-03-31 |website=www.nrcan.gc.ca}} (soil depletion and erosion, water contamination, wildlife...). Failure to comply may result in fines, suspensions, removal of harvesting rights, confiscation of harvested timber and possible imprisonment.

In the beginning of the year 2020 the "Save the Redwoods League" after a successful crowdfunding campaign bought " Alder Creek" a piece of land 583 acres large, with 483 big Sequoia trees including the 5th largest tree in the world. The organizations plan to make there forest thinning{{cite news |last1=Rosane |first1=Olivia |date=10 January 2020 |title=World's Fifth-Largest Tree Now Safe From Loggers in an 'Inspiring Outpouring of Generosity' |url=https://www.ecowatch.com/giant-sequoia-safe-from-loggers-2644664254.html |access-date=12 January 2020 |agency=Ecowatch}} that is a controversial operation{{cite web |title=Stop Thinning Forests |url=https://stopthinningforests.org/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200112090136/https://stopthinningforests.org/index.html |archive-date=12 January 2020 |access-date=12 January 2020 |website=Stop Thinning Forests}}{{excerpt|Forest conservation in the United States}}

In 2019 after severe wildfires and public pressure the Russian government decided to take a number of measures for more effective forest management, what is considered as a big victory for the Environmental movement{{cite news |last1=Vasilieva |first1=Tatiana |title=Life in the Siberian haze |url=https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/23919/russian-wildfires-blog-siberian-haze/ |access-date=3 September 2019 |website=Greenpeace International}}

In August 2019, a court in Indonesia stopped the construction of a dam that could heavily hurt forests and villagers in the area{{cite news |last1=Hanafiah |first1=Junaidi |date=2 September 2019 |title=Indonesian court cancels dam project in last stronghold of tigers, rhinos |url=https://news.mongabay.com/2019/09/indonesian-court-cancels-dam-project-in-last-stronghold-of-tigers-rhinos/ |access-date=9 September 2019 |agency=Mongabay}}

In 2020 the rate of deforestation in Indonesia was the slowest since 1990. It was 75% lower than in 2019. This is because the government stopped issuing new licences to cut forests, including for palm oil plantations. The falling price of palm oil facilitated making it. Very wet weather reduced wildfires what also contributed to the achievement.{{cite web |title=Deforestation In Indonesia Has Hit A Record Low |url=https://www.weforum.org/videos/23212-deforestation-in-indonesia-has-hit-a-record-low |access-date=16 July 2021 |website=World Economic Forum}}

In August 2021 UNESCO removed the Salonga National Park from its list of threatened sites. Forbidding oil drilling, reducing poaching played crucial role in the achievement. The event is considered as a big win to Democratic Republic of the Congo as the Salonga forest is the biggest protected rainforest in Africa.{{cite news |date=8 August 2021 |title=UNESCO Removes Salonga National Park From World Heritage 'Danger' List |url=https://voi.id/en/news/73533/unesco-hapus-taman-nasional-salonga-dari-daftar-bahaya-warisan-dunia |access-date=15 August 2021 |agency=VOI |archive-date=15 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815080917/https://voi.id/en/news/73533/unesco-hapus-taman-nasional-salonga-dari-daftar-bahaya-warisan-dunia |url-status=dead }}

In accordance with Article 10 of the Kenyan Constitution, which mandates the incorporation of sustainable development into all laws and decisions regarding public policy, including forest conservation and management. Kenya responds to continued deforestation, forest degradation, and forest encroachment, which results in conversion of land uses to settlement and agriculture, by taking action.{{cite web |title=EMC Forest Management and Tree Growing Policy |url=https://info.undp.org/docs/pdc/Documents/KEN/EMC%20Forest%20Management%20and%20Tree%20Growing%20Policy.pdf |access-date=3 March 2024 |website=UNDP}}

• Conservation biology
• Coppicing
• Environmental protection
• Forest farming
• Forest inventory
• Forest plans
• Outline of forestry
• Sustainable land management
• :Category:Forest conservation

{{Reflist}}

{{Free-content attribution

| title = Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 Key findings

| author = FAO

| publisher = FAO

| page numbers =

| source =

| documentURL = http://www.fao.org/3/CA8753EN/CA8753EN.pdf

| license statement URL = https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Global_Forest_Resources_Assessment_2020_%E2%80%93_Key_findings.pdf

| license = CC BY-SA 3.0

}}

{{Free-content attribution

| title = The State of the World’s Forests 2020. Forests, biodiversity and people – In brief

| author = FAO & UNEP

| publisher = FAO & UNEP

| page numbers =

| source =

| documentURL = https://doi.org/10.4060/ca8985en

| license statement URL = https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_State_of_the_World%E2%80%99s_Forests_2020._In_brief.pdf

| license = CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

}}

{{Scholia}}

• [https://www.vox.com/videos/24152620/uruguay-fingerprint-forestry Why does this forest look like a fingerprint? We set out to solve why a forest in the middle of Uruguay looked like that — and wound up discovering something much bigger.   Vox] – explores issues surrounding commercial monoculture forest management and its impact upon the economy, previously existing habitats, wildlife, and people.
• [https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-07-20/california-forests-are-vanishing-as-wildfires-worsen California fires are so severe some forests might vanish forever   LA Times] – a serious forest management issue, in which industrial forest management practices are increasing high-severity fire risk.
• [https://osupress.oregonstate.edu/blog/checkerboard-effect The checkerboard effect   OSU Press] – explores how the effects of forest management decisions can last for centuries, and the value of forest history in understanding current forest management problems.
• [https://regeneration.org/nexus/proforestation Proforestation] by Project Regeneration

{{Forestry}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Portal bar|Trees|Environment|Ecology|Earth sciences|Biology}}

• {{Commons category-inline|Sustainable forest management}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forest Management}}

Category:Ecological processes

Category:Habitat management equipment and methods

Category:Forest certification

Category:Forest governance

Category:Forest conservation