This ground-breaking book combines detailed analysis of the forest sector with modern strategic management principles to develop a vision for sustainable forest management which is both practical and theoretically robust. The book adopts a holistic approach to propose a new theoretical framework for this once traditional sector; one which reconciles current thinking in strategic management with natural resource management.

This report assesses progress since the World Bank first issued its comprehensive Forest Strategy in 1991. It finds that the effectiveness of the strategy has been modest, and the sustainability of its impact is uncertain. The Report identifies seven factors that would make the World Bank forest strategy more pertinent to current circumstances as well as strengthening its ability to achieve its strategic objectives in the forest sector. It recommends that the World Bank use its global reach to address mechanisms for mobilisation of concessional international resources outside its normal lending activities. It also advises the World Bank to be proactive in establishing partnerships with all relevant stakeholders, governments, the private sector, and civil society to meet both its country and global roles. The focus on primary tropical moist forests should be broadened to include all types of natural forests of national and global value. The report suggests that illegal logging needs to be reduced through the promotion of improved governance and enforcement. Other recommendations are to give consideration to forest issues in all relevant sector activity and macroeconomic work, address the employment needs of all poor people while continuing to protect the rights of indigenous people, and to realign the World Bank resources with their objectives in the forest sector.

How to use Systems Thinking to improve your business.

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.