Publications

Logging, Legality and Livelihoods in Papua New Guinea

Sythesis of Official Assessments of the Large-Scale Logging Industry Volume I

Between 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 […]

Capital Markets and Sustainable Forestry

Opportunities for Investment

In this report, we frame the differences in the business models of conventional forestry and sustainable forestry. We cover the sustainable forestry sector “from the forest to the floor”, along its value chain of business enterprises. We consider the varying situation in tropical, temperate and, to some degree, boreal forests. We endeavor to give a […]

Forest Company-Community Agreements in Mexico

Identifying Succesful Models

Agreements between the private sector and local forest communities have been increasingly recognized as a potential solution to problems related to poverty alleviation, the increasing demand for wood products, and the need to increase the part of global forest area that is under sustainable forest management. Mexico represents one of the few countries that have […]

China’s Forest Product Import Trends 1997-2002

Analysis of Customs Data with Emphasis on Asia-Pacific Supplying Countries

China plays a major, and growing, role in the global forest products market today. The largest importer of industrial roundwood in the world since 2001, China is now second only to the United States in total imports of forest products, rising from seventh in less than ten years. In recent years, over 40 percent of […]

Social, Environmental and Economic Dimensions of Forest Policy Reform in Bolivia

Bolivian forests cover some 53 million hectares – or almost half of the total area of the country – mainly in the departments of Santa Cruz, Beni, La Paz, Pando and Cochabamba. During the last decade or so, there was a growing concern that the nation’s forests were increasingly under threat and that there was […]

Rights and Resources Initiative

A New Global Initiative Advancing Forest Tenure, Policy and Market Reforms to Reduce Rural Poverty, Strengthen Forest Gove

Many communities are asserting their rights to manage their forests, and some governments and private sector leaders are introducing substantive changes to forest tenure, policies and markets. The forest sector is now undergoing important reforms.

Who Owns, Who Conserves and Why It Matters

When thinking about forest tenure and conservation, it is important to recall that there are somewhere between 1 and 1.5 billion of the world’s poorest people living in and around forests. Recent studies indicate that about 80 per cent of the extreme poor – those living on less than one dollar a day – depend […]

An Assessment of Indigenous Participation in Commercial Forestry Markets

The Case of Nicaragua's Northern Atlantic Autonomous Region

Nicaragua’s Northern Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN) contains a wealth of tropical forests and has a long history of forest exploitation. Nicaragua contains the largest tropical forest north of Amazonia with nearly 23,000 km2 of broadleaf and nearly 6,000 km2 of pine forest. Over three quarters of these forests are located in the Northern Atlantic Autonomous […]

To Johannesburg and Beyond

Strategic Options to Advance the Conservation of Natural Forests

As global concern for continuing deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries grows in intensity, there is also disenchantment – even weariness – with global agreements and international initiatives to address these issues. While they are broadly appreciated for raising awareness – the energy and effort that go into global institutions has not been matched […]

Strengthening Forest Management in Indonesia through Land Tenure Reform

Issues and Framework for Action

In Indonesia, as in many developing countries, the government is struggling to improve the management of their dwindling forest resources. Despite government efforts, Indonesia still has large tracts of primary and secondary forest ecosystems that are under intense threat from both industry and local people.