Forest concessions have been an important element of forestry and forest management in many countries, including developing countries. However, if sustainable management of tropical forests is to be achieved and deforestation brought under control, the allocation, management, and supervision of forest concessions will need to be strengthened. This study examines the failures of forest concessions over the last 20 years, and highlights the potential gains resulting from concentrating on improving procedures, introducing performance incentives, and monitoring key performance elements.
The theme of this paper is that proper pricing supported by new concession policies can encourage and support sustainable management and conservation of the forests of West and Central Africa and finance forest management. Until the forestry departments, which are under-funded and under-equipped, can be strengthened, a simpler system of forest fees that emphasizes bidding and concession fees is recommended. The forest revenue and concession policies proposed involve the following components: annual concession rent, which should be the major revenue source, to replace the multiplicity of forest fees, that are often not collected; competitive bidding system; and replacement of logging concessions by forest management concessions.
Policy issues relating to forestry have been the subject of much debate in recent years, and many countries and international agencies have recently, or are currently in the process, of revising their policies for forestry. Much of this debate has implied that previous policies have failed or been much less successful than had been hoped. There is a tendency to think of policy as a matter for governments, but it is now more widely appreciated that all shareholders in the forestry sector have a legitimate interest in both the policy objectives and the means that will be used to implement it. This book is mainly concerned with the process of developing policy and the subsequent implementation, than in specific content, though many of the important issues which policies must address are discussed. It is based on a review of many case studies with which the author has been personally involved over the past 40 years.
This book addresses current global and regional issues concerning the world's forests, societies and the environment from an independent and non-governmental point of view. A main message is that cooperation on a global scale is not only commendable, but essential if solutions to the problems facing the world's forests are to be found. To achieve this, modern science needs to find a clearer picture of relationships between forests, human activity and the environment and of the consequences of environmental change for the ability of societies to survive. Part I, Editorial Perspectives, is analyzing the ongoing globalization processes of forests, societies and the environment. Part II, Society and Environment, reviews worldwide trends with significance for the future of forests and forestry. While the trends are influenced by forest sector issues, that sector is influenced to a much larger extent by external factors - such as demography, urbanization, or technological development. Part III, Importance of Forests, looks at the value of the goods and services of forests; tangible and intangible; market and non-market; and concludes that failure to recognize their full value is one of the crucial impediments to sustainable development. In Part IV, Global Forum, scientists take up global forestry themes - deforestation, trade and the environment, climate change, biodiversity - with the aim of stimulating wider discussion. Part V, Regional Forum, looks at major themes of particular relevance to Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, North America and Europe, such as farm and agroforestry, corruption and concessions, urban forestry and environmental conflicts. Part VI introduces the special theme - forest sectors in transition economies. Teams of scientists from Russia and China focus on the implications of the transition from plan to market economy, illuminating both the very different nature of the forest sector in the two countries and the different transition paths that they have adopted. In the past millennium the entire world has been discovered. In the past half century the contribution of forests to the economy worldwide has been perceived, while only recently have their societal and environmental benefits been globally recognized. Globalization is a demanding process requiring knowledge and information. This book offers knowledge, facts and information – but also values from diverse human and cultural perspectives – about world forests, society and environment to help us towards equity in our use of the global forest, to create a clearer vision on a unasylva.
Yet another book on the topic of ‘Sustainable Forest Management’ can only be justified by new information that is of direct relevance. The contents of this volume concentrate on the very latest factors and developments, thus, hopefully, contributing both to the book’s attractiveness and to closing gaps in the discipline’s database. This book is written for researchers in the field of forest management, international forestry, and climate change-related issues, legal and policy advisors, as well as for managers of private companies who deal with SFM. The authors of the various sections are scientists in the field of forestry and other environmental sciences. They represent different institutions, mainly universities and research agencies in Germany, but also high-level international institutions in development co-operation, such as the World Bank, FAO, and IIASA. The scope of the book is to refresh the meanings and perceptions of SFM against the background of the rapid changes in our natural and social environment. Climate change and the rapid increase of atmospheric CO concentration is a global process 2 with negative impacts of different kinds, among others on natural ecosystems such as forests. A crucial issue therefore is how forest management can contribute to forest conservation in light of changing climatic conditions. Moreover, policy changes such as the introduction of certification schemes and the new emphasis laid on Non-Wood Forest Products justify the re-evaluation of the role of SFM in delivering ecological goods and services from our forests.
This volume provides an up-to-the-minute review of the open economy approach to analyzing environmental problems and policies, which has produced a wealth of research over the past decade. It contains non-technical, issue-oriented, and comprehensive surveys written by specialists in international and environmental economics. The volume will appeal to scholars and students of economics and political science.
Originally published in 1994, The Economics of the Tropical Timber Trade provides a detailed analysis of the economic linkages between the trade and forest degradation. Based on a report prepared for the ITTO, it looks current and future market conditions at the time of publication, and assesses the impacts on current and future market conditions, and assesses the impacts on tropical forests of both the international timber trade and domestic demand. The authors examine the causes of deforestation and compare the environmental impacts of the timber trade with other factors, such as the conversion of the forests to agriculture. Finally, they assess the national and international trade policy options, and discuss the potential role of interventions in the international timber trade in promoting efficient and sustainable use of forest resources. The book will be of interest to those concerned with forest management and policy, trade and environment, and with the economics of conversation and resource use.
