Topic 3: Global Forest Management Policies

Introduction

SFM enables the creation of synergies, at the local and national levels, among policies for all forest goods and services including conservation and enhancement of biodiversity, carbon storage, soil and water productivity, livelihoods, and other benefits provided by forests. SFM can also capture multiple benefits in a multi-purpose approach spanning different sectors of national and local economies and achieving results that are greater than the sum of its parts. Under SFM, economic, ecological, and social functions of forests can be realized and simultaneously pursued by setting a hierarchy of objectives at different spatial scales – from the landscape to the forest stand to single ecosystem components. The Forest Management Unit is usually the basic site for implementing national forest policies and SFM. However, there are organic links among local, national, and international forest concerns. The interdependencies of policies governing all the three levels of management have been demonstrated over many years.