The multiple-use concept has been adopted as a key forest management strategy by forest managers in the last few decades. Earlier concepts involved compatibility of various forest uses for a given forestland. The concept of multiple-use as applied to forests is based on provision of various forest ecosystem services that can be produced from the same forestland, either simultaneously or serially. This will increase the value of the forestland. In the case of tropical countries, forests are always managed for timber, and other values are rarely comprehensively and systematically considered. In order to further enhance the multiple-use forest management that will increase the net value of forest ecosystem services, a systematic approach for evaluating alternative options is required. A quantitative analysis is needed which will provide the best solution so that trade-offs among competing uses can be fully assessed and evaluated. Various policies must be designed using various market-based instruments in order to finance multiple-use forest management activities. One promising mechanism that is increasingly significant is the use of payment for ecosystem services (PES). This mechanism provides an innovative financing mechanism and can often stimulate and enhance the sustainable use of forest ecosystem services.
