Linking FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreements to Jobs and Growth
Potential Challenges and Benefits for Small and Medium Sized Forest Enterprises
By Dominic Elson - DFID, Forest TrendsThis brief report discusses the potential impact of the European Commission’s Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) on the extent to which improved investment and business climates supported by VPA programs can support the small and medium forest enterprise (SMFE) sector. Recognizing the important roles that SMFEs play in rural development and the alleviation of rural poverty, […]
Forest Products Trade Between China & Africa
An Analysis of Imports & Exports
By Kerstin Canby, James Hewitt, Luke Bailey, Eugenia Katsigris, Xiufang Sun - Forest Trends, Forest Trends, Forest Trends, Forest Trends, Global TimberRecent reports of China’s efforts to secure access to natural resources in Africa suggest that timber has already become an important traded commodity between China and the African continent. Many hold a general impression that Africa exports a significant and growing amount of timber to China. However, the true magnitude of the China-Africa forest product […]
Forest Governance in Federal Systems
An Overview of Experiences and Implications for Decentralization
By Hans Gregersen, Arnoldo Contreras-Hermosilla, Andy White, Lauren Phillips - CGIAR, Forest Trends, Forest Trends, Forest Trends, United Nations Forum on Forests, CIFOR, Inter Cooperation, SDCInternationally recognized problems such as illegal logging and uncontrolled deforestation, as well as the broader political trends, are driving many countries to reconsider centralized systems of decision-making and direct government implementation of forest programs. The paper assesses the experiences of eight countries with federal systems including Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Malaysia, Nigeria, Russia, and the […]
Email Signup
Subscribe to any of Forest Trends’ mailing lists to keep up with the news, publications, and events that interest you.
Having Trouble?
If you experience any technical difficulties on our site, please contact Genevieve Bennett, Communications Manager.
Logging, Legality and Livelihoods in Papua New Guinea
Synthesis of Official Assessments of the Large-Scale Logging Industry Volume II
By Forest TrendsBetween 2000 and 2005, in response to a widely held view that forest management in Papua New Guinea was not providing long-term benefits to the country or its citizens, and to assess the implementation and effectiveness of the new governance regime introduced in the PNG Forestry Act of 1991, the Papua New Guinea government commissioned […]
Developing Future Ecosystem Service Payments In China
Lessons Learned from International Experience
By Sara J. Scherr, Michael T. Bennett, Molly Loughney, Kerstin Canby - Ecoagriculture Partners, Peking University College of Environmental Sciences, Forest Trends, Forest Trends, PROFORAcross the world, the growing scarcity of ecosystem services has led to a flurry of conservation innovations over the past decade in the form of payment schemes and nascent markets for these services. The global economic value of ecosystem services is estimated in the trillions of dollars, though actual payments for protecting these services are […]
Developing Markets for Water Services from Forests
Issues and Lessons for Innovators
Of the many services that forests provide, hydrological services, such as water quality and water flow, are among the most valuable. As we look ahead into the next decade, water will become an increasingly critical issue as it becomes an increasingly scarce resource. The value of these hydrological services will only grow over time. Policy […]
Beyond Timber
Certification of Non-Timber Forest Products
By Patrica Shanley, Alan Pierce , Sarah Laird - Forest Trends, CIFOR, People and Plants InternationalNon-timber forest products (NTFPs) are critical to rural livelihoods in both temperate and tropical areas. They provide communities with important subsistence resources like medicine, food and shelter, as well as a source of cash income. NTFPs are also part of large regional and international markets, and for centuries products such as spices, medicinal plants, fragrances […]
Customs, Concessionaires and Conflict
Tracking Cambodia's Forestry Commodity Chains and Export Links to China
By Keith Barney - YCAR, Forest Trends, CIFOR, DIFID, Asia Pro Eco ProgrammeCambodia has obviously experienced some difficulty in implementing an effective framework of sustainable forest management. Indeed, the Cambodian forest sector can be considered a paradigmatic example of the close links between vast resource wealth on the one hand, and structural conflict and rural violence on the other. From the early to the mid-1990s, Cambodia’s illegal […]
For Services Rendered
The Current Status and Future Potential of Markets for the Ecosystem Services Provided by Tropical Forests
By Sara Scherr, Andy White, Arvind Khare - Forest Trends, Forest Trends, International Tropical Timber AssociationThe past decade has seen the widespread emergence of markets and other payment schemes for forest ecosystem services – such as watershed protection, biodiversity protection and carbon sequestration -around the world. At a global scale, several recent reviews indicate that these activities are nascent and still limited in scope and scale, but that they may […]
China’s Forest Product Exports
An Overview of Trends by Segment and Destinations
By Xiufang Sun, Nian Cheng, Kerstin Canby - Forest Trends, Forest Trends, Chinese Center for Agricultural Policy, Center for International Forestry Research, DFIDIn only 7 years, China’s timber product exports have tripled in volume and increased fourfold in value. The total volume of all forest product exports – including both timber and pulp and paper products – is now one-third of China’s total forest product import volume. The total volume of only primary timber products (excluding pulp […]