Forests and forest management have changed substantially over the past 25 years. Overall, this period has seen a series of positive results. Even though, globally, the extent of the world’s forest continues to decline as human populations continue to grow and demand for food and land increases, the rate of net forest loss has been cut by over 50 percent. At the same time, the attention paid to sustainable forest management has neverbeen higher: more land is designated as permanent forest, more measurement, monitoring, reporting, planning and stakeholder involvement is taking place, and the legal framework for sustaining forest management is nearly universal. Larger areas are being designated for conservation of biodiversity at the same time as forests are meeting increasing demand for forest products and services.

Download