a0773e

2007STATE OF THE

Worlds Forests

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS

Rome, 2007

Produced by the

Electronic Publishing Policy and Support Branch

Communication Division

FAO

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

The designations employed and the presentation of material in the maps do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of FAOconcerning the legal or constitutional status of any country, territory or sea area, or concerning the delimitation of frontiers.

ISBN 978-92-5-105586-1

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or by e-mail to [email protected]

FAO 2007

Contents

Foreword v

Acknowledgements vi

Acronyms vii

Summary viii

Part IProgress towards sustainable forest management 1

8]i`ZX 48j`XXe[k_\GXZ`Z 14

iv

Contents

Annex 101TABLE 1

9Xj`Z[XkXfeZfleki`\jXe[Xi\Xj 102

TABLE 2=fi\jkXi\XXe[Xi\XZ_Xe^\ 109

TABLE 3=fi\jkîfnè^jkfZb#Y`fdXjjXe[ZXiYfe 116

TABLE 4Gif[lZk`fe#kiX[\Xe[Zfejldgk`fef]ifle[nff[Xe[jXnenff[ 123

TABLE 5Gif[lZk`fe#kiX[\Xe[Zfejldgk`fef]nff[$YXj\[gXe\cj#glcgXe[gXg\i 130

TABLE 6JkXkljf]iXk`ZXk`fef]èk\ieXk`feXcZfem\ek`fejXe[Xî\\d\ekj 137

References 141

vF FAOS BIENNIALJkXk\f]k_\Nfic[j=fi\jkjj\i`\jf]]\ijX^cfYXcg\ijg\Zk`m\fek_\]fi\jkj\Zkfi#èZcl[è^`kj\emìfed\ekXc#\Zfefd`ZXe[jfZ`Xc[`d\ej`fej%Knfp\Xij`jXj_fikk`d\èk_\c`]\f]X]fi\jk#Xe[èdfjkèk\ieXk`feXcgifZ\jj\j#kff%Jfn_Xk`je\nè]fi\jkipjèZ\k_\cXjk\[`k`fef]JkXk\f]k_\Nfic[j=fi\jkj6=ìjk#k_\i\c\Xj\f]k_\i\jlckjf]k_\>cfYXc=fi\jkI\jfliZ\j8jj\jjd\ek)'',=I8)'', _Xjgifm`[\[e\nè]fidXk`fe#dfi\Zfdgi\_\ej`m\k_Xe\m\i#]fi\mXclXkè^k_\jkXk\f]k_\]fi\jkj%K_\BpfkfGifkfZfc_XjZfd\èkf]fiZ\#n`k_j`ê`ZXek`dgc`ZXk`fej]fi]fi\jkip%E\nè`k`Xk`m\j_Xm\Y\\e[\m\cfg\[#jlZ_Xje\knfibj]fiè]fidXk`fej_Xiè^Xe[XZk`fefe]fi\jkèmXj`m\jg\Z`\j#\]]fikjkfcèbeXk`feXc]fi\jkgifîXdd\jXe[gfm\ikpi\[lZk`fejkiXk\^`\j#Xe[k_\[\m\cfgd\ekf]^l`[è^gièZ`gc\jfegcXek\[]fi\jkjXe[i\dXeX^\d\ek%

STATE OF THE WORLDS FORESTS 2007vi

T THE COMPILATION f]JkXk\f]k_\Nfic[j=fi\jkj)''.nXjZffi[èXk\[Yp;%Be\\cXe[%Jg\Z`Xck_Xebj^fkfC%9Xcc#n_f\[`k\[k_\glYc`ZXk`fe%K_\]fccfnè^=8FjkX]]nifk\fii\m`\n\[j\Zk`fejf]k_\i\gfikfiXjj`jk\[n`k_kXYc\j#dXgjfiîXg_`Zj1>%8ccXi[#8%9iXek_fdd\#A%:Xic\#:%:Xie\ìf#=%:XjkX\[X#G%;lijk#D%>Xlk_`\i#F%?Xj_ìXdfkf#K%?f]\i#G%?fcdî\e#F%Afejjfe#N%B`ccdXee#G%Bfe\#A%G%Bfpf#8%C\Y\[pj#A%CfiYXZ_#D%DXcXêflo#%DXibcle[#D%DXikè#I%DZ:fee\cc#

vii

8G=@JE 8j`XGXZ`Z=fi\jk@emXj`m\Jg\Z`\jE\knfib8I: 8cc`XeZ\f]I\c`^`fejXe[:fej\imXk`fe:@ Zi`k\i`XXe[è[`ZXkfij:9; :fem\ek`fefe9`fcf^`ZXc;`m\ij`kp:;D :c\Xe;\m\cfgd\ekD\Z_Xe`jd:@=FI :\ek\i]fi@ek\ieXk`feXc=fi\jkipI\j\XiZ_:@K;G îfjj[fd\jk`Zgif[lZk>@JG >cfYXc@emXj`m\Jg\Z`\jGifîXdd\@:@DF; @ek\ieXk`feXc:\eki\]fi@ek\îXk\[DflekXè;\m\cfgd\ek@:I8= Nfic[8îf]fi\jkip:\eki\@

STATE OF THE WORLDS FORESTS 2007viii

TSummary

THIS SEVENTH BIENNIAL`jjl\f]JkXk\f]k_\Nfic[j=fi\jkjZfej`[\ijgifî\jjkfnXi[jjljkXèXYc\]fi\jkdXeX^\d\ekXkk_\i\^`feXcXe[^cfYXcc\m\cj%K_\fm\iXccZfeZclj`fe`jk_Xkgifî\jj`jY\è^dX[\#Ylk`jm\iple\m\e%Jfd\i\^`fej#efkXYcpk_fj\èZcl[è^[\m\cfg\[Zfleki`\jXe[_Xmè^k\dg\iXk\Zc`dXk\j#_Xm\dX[\j`ê`ZXekgifî\jj2èjk`klk`fejXi\jkife^#Xe[]fi\jkXi\X`jjkXYc\fièZi\Xjè^%Fk_\ii\^`fej#\jg\Z`Xccpk_fj\n`k_[\m\cfgè^\Zfefd`\jXe[kifg`ZXc\Zfjpjk\dj#Zfekèl\kfcfj\]fi\jkXi\X#n_`c\cXZbè^X[\hlXk\èjk`klk`fejkfi\m\ij\k_`jki\e[%?fn\m\i#\m\eèi\^`fejk_XkXi\cfjè^]fi\jkXi\X#k_\i\Xi\XeldY\if]gfj`k`m\ki\e[jfen_`Z_kfYl`c[%

K_\Y`^^\jkc`d`kXk`fe]fi\mXclXkè^gifî\jj`jn\Xb[XkX%I\cXk`m\cp]\nZfleki`\j_Xm\_X[i\Z\ekfiZfdgi\_\ej`m\]fi\jkèm\ekfi`\j%N`k_dXepgXike\ij#=8F`jXjj`jkè^Zfleki`\jèZXiipè^flkeXk`feXc]fi\jkXjj\jjd\ekjXe[jki\e^k_\eè^]fi\jkipèjk`klk`fej#Ylkgifî\jj`jjcfn#fnè^ègXikkfk_\jZXiZ`kpf]eXeZ`Xci\jfliZ\j%

PROGRESS TOWARDS SUSTAINABLEFOREST MANAGEMENTAfrica;liè^k_\(,$p\Xig\i`f[]ifd(00'kf)'',#8]i`ZXcfjkdfi\k_Xe0g\iZ\ekf]`kj]fi\jkXi\X%@eXkpg`ZXcp\Xi#8]i`ZXXZZflekj]fidfi\k_Xe_Xc]f]k_\^cfYXc]fi\jkXi\X[XdX^\[Ypn`c[i\%;\]fi\jkXk`feXe[leZfekifcc\[]fi\jki\jXi\\jg\Z`Xccpj\m\i\èZfleki`\jjl]]\iè^]ifdnXififk_\iZ`m`cZfe`Zk%Dfjk]fi\jkjè8]i`ZXXi\fne\[YpeXk`feXc^fm\ied\ekj#Xe[k_\eXk`feXc]fi\jkX^\eZ`\jèdXepZfleki`\jcXZbk_\eXeZ`Xci\jfliZ\ji\hlì\[kfdXeX^\k_\]fi\jki\jfliZ\jjljkXèXYcp%

9lkk_\g`Zkli\`jefkXcc^cffdp%=fi\jkjXi\fYkXèè^gfc`k`ZXcjlggfikXe[Zfdd`kd\ekXkk_\_`^_\jkc\m\cjè8]i`ZX%=fi\oXdgc\#k_\:fe]\i\eZ\f]Dè`jk\ijè:_Xi^\f]=fi\jkjè:\ekiXc8]i`ZX

:FD@=8: iXebjXdfe^k_\nfic[jdfjk\]]\Zk`m\\oXdgc\jf]i\^`feXcZfccXYfiXk`feXdfe^Zfleki`\jkfX[[i\jjj\i`flj\emìfed\ekXc`jjl\j%;liè^k_\g\i`f[]ifd)'''kf)'',#8]i`ZXeZfleki`\j[\j`êXk\[fm\i*%,d`cc`fe_\ZkXi\jf]]fi\jkkfY\dXeX^\[gi`dXi`cp]fiZfej\imXk`fef]Y`fcf^`ZXc[`m\ij`kp#iX`jè^k_\kfkXckfXcdfjk.'d`cc`fe_\ZkXi\j%8dXafi`kpf]Zfleki`\jèk_\i\^`fe_Xm\X[fgk\[e\n]fi\jkgfc`Z`\jXe[]fi\jkcXnj#Xe[\]]fikjXi\Y\è^dX[\èdXepZfleki`\jkf`dgifm\cXn\e]fiZ\d\ekXe[^fm\ieXeZ\%

Asia and the PacicK_\^ff[e\nj]fik_\8j`XXe[k_\GXZ`Zi\^`fe`jk_Xke\k]fi\jkXi\XèZi\Xj\[Y\kn\\e)'''Xe[)'',#i\m\ijè^k_\[fnenXi[ki\e[f]k_\gi\Z\[è^[\ZX[\j%?fn\m\i#k_\èZi\Xj\nXjc`d`k\[kf

ix

Xe[[`j\Xj\jgfj\Xj`ê`ZXekk_i\Xkkf]fi\jkj#Xe[k_`j`jXe`dgfikXek`jjl\]fie\n]fi\jkgcXekXk`fej%=fi\jki\jdXpèZi\Xj\èj\m\i`kp`]k_\^cfYXcZc`dXk\Zfekèl\jkfY\Zfd\nXid\iXe[dfi\mXi`XYc\%

Europe@k`jk\dgkè^kfZfeZcl[\k_Xk

STATE OF THE WORLDS FORESTS 2007x

SELECTED ISSUES IN THEFOREST SECTORClimate change

xi

k_XkZ_Xi^\jXe[kXo\jfe]fi\jkgif[lZ\ijXi\\]]\Zk`m\cp\jkXYc`j_\[Xe[Zfcc\Zk\[Xe[k_Xkk_\gifZ\\[jXi\i\èm\jk\[èk_\]fi\jk%

Planted forestsGcXek\[]fi\jkjZfekèl\kf\ogXe[#Xe[k_\ìZfeki`Ylk`fekf^cfYXcnff[gif[lZk`fe`jXggifXZ_è^,'g\iZ\ekf]k_\kfkXc%E\nè]fidXk`fe^Xk_\i\[è)'',feki\e[jègcXek\[]fi\jkjè[`ZXk\jk_Xkk_\Xi\Xjf]]fi\jkjgcXek\[]figif[lZk`feXe[f]k_fj\gcXek\[]figifk\Zk`m\gligfj\jXi\Yfk_jk\X[`cpèZi\Xjè^èXcci\^`fej\oZ\gk8]i`ZX%

Trade in forest products=fi\jkgif[lZkjkiX[\Zfekèl\jkf\ogXe[%@e)''+#kiX[\èè[ljki`Xcifle[nff[nXj()'d`cc`feZlY`Zd\ki\j#fiXYflk.g\iZ\ekf]^cfYXcgif[lZk`fe#n`k_XmXcl\f]LJ*).Y`cc`fe%

Progress towards sustainableforest management

PART1

S. V

erve

r

Part I examines progress towards sustainable forest management region by region. Broadly speaking, sustainable forest management refers to the use and conservation of forests for the benet of present and

future generations. It is clearly an issue of widespread interest. A Google search for sustainable forest

management produces 25 million results.

The concept of sustainable forest management gained momentum during the 1990s when forest

issues were debated within the wider framework of sustainable development, which has several broad

dimensions: environmental, economic, social and cultural. A number of countries have sponsored

processes to identify criteria and indicators (C&I) for sustainable forest management. Building upon C&I

processes, intergovernmental processes such as the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) have

identied seven thematic elements (Box 1) as a framework for monitoring, assessing and reporting on

progress towards sustainable forest management:

extent of forest resources

biological diversity

forest health and vitality

productive functions of forest resources

protective functions of forest resources

socio-economic functions

legal, policy and institutional framework.

State of the Worlds Forests 2007 uses these seven elements as a framework for discussing progress

towards sustainable forest management.

The rst six elements were used as the framework for the most recent Global Forest Resources

Assessment (FRA 2005) (FAO, 2006a). Unless stated otherwise, data discussed in Part I are taken from

FRA 2005. Part I also draws on economic statistics published in the FAOSTAT online database (FAO,

2006b) and on information gathered for forestry sector outlook studies and national forest programme

updates. All of these sources rely heavily on information provided by national correspondents. Hence, the

present text is essentially based on information provided by countries.

In addition, a number of other sources were used to validate data, including ofcial national Web sites

and reports, remote sensing studies and expert assessments. Regional reports were discussed at the 2006

sessions of the FAO regional forestry commissions, whose comments have been incorporated.

STATE OF THE WORLDS FORESTS 20072

1. Extent of forest resources. This theme reects the

importance of adequate forest cover and stocking,

including trees outside forests, to support the social,

economic and environmental dimensions of forestry;

to reduce deforestation; and to restore and rehabilitate

degraded forest landscapes. The existence and extent

of specic forest types are important as a basis for

conservation efforts. The theme also includes the

important function of forests and trees outside forests

to store carbon and thereby contribute to moderating

the global climate.

2. Biological diversity. This theme concerns the

conservation and management of biological diversity

at ecosystem (landscape), species and genetic levels.

Such conservation, including the protection of areas

with fragile ecosystems, ensures that diversity of life

is maintained, and provides opportunities to develop

new products in the future, including medicines.

Genetic improvement is also a means of increasing

forest productivity, for example to ensure high wood

production levels in intensively managed forests.

3. Forest health and vitality. Forests need to be

managed so that the risks and impacts of unwanted

disturbances are minimized, including wildres, airborne

pollution, storm felling, invasive species, pests and

diseases. Such disturbances may have an impact on

the social and economic, as well as environmental,

dimensions of forestry.

4. Productive functions of forest resources. Forests

and trees outside forests provide a wide range of wood

and non-wood forest products. This theme reects

the importance of maintaining an ample and valuable

supply of primary forest products while ensuring that

production and harvesting are sustainable and do

not compromise the management options of future

generations.

5. Protective functions of forest resources. Forests

and trees outside forests contribute to moderating soil,

hydrological and aquatic systems, maintaining clean

water (including healthy sh populations) and reducing

the risks and impacts of oods, avalanches, erosion

and drought. Protective functions of forest resources

also contribute to ecosystem conservation efforts and

provide benets to agriculture and rural livelihoods.

6. Socio-economic functions. Forest resources

contribute to the overall economy in many ways such

as through employment, values generated through

processing and marketing of forest products, and

energy, trade and investment in the forest sector.

They also host and protect sites and landscapes of

high cultural, spiritual or recreational value. This theme

thus includes aspects of land tenure, indigenous and

community management systems, and traditional

knowledge.

7. Legal, policy and institutional framework. Legal,

policy and institutional arrangements including

participatory decision-making, governance and

law enforcement, and monitoring and assessment

of progress are necessary to support the above

six themes. This theme also encompasses broader

societal aspects, including fair and equitable use of

forest resources, scientic research and education,

infrastructure arrangements to support the forest sector,

transfer of technology, capacity-building, and public

information and communication.

BOX 1 Thematic elements of sustainable forest management

PART 1 Progress towards sustainable forest management 3

PARt 1 Progress towards sustainable forest management 5

ExtEnt OF FORESt RESOuRCESTheestimatedforestareaforAfricain2005is635millionhectares(Figure2),accountingforabout16percentofglobalforestarea.Netannualforestlossisabout4millionhectaresfortheperiod20002005(Table1).Thisamountstoalmost55percentoftheglobalreductioninforestarea.However,thereportedforestcoverisdistributedunevenlyamongthedifferentsubregionsandcountries.

Asignificantshareofnetforestlossisreportedfromthosecountrieswiththegreatestextentofforests.For

example,Angola,theUnitedRepublicofTanzaniaandZambiatogetheraccountforamajorityoftheforestlossinEastandSouthernAfrica(Figure3).AvailableinformationalsoindicatesahighrateofforestlossinZimbabwe,estimatedat1.7percentperyear,farabovetheaverageof0.7percentforallSouthernAfrica.InNorthernAfrica,theSudanaloneaccountsformostoftheforestcoverandfor60percentoftheforestreduction.InWestandCentralAfrica,Cameroon,theDemocraticRepublicoftheCongoandNigeriatogetheraccountformostoftheloss.

Subregion Area (1 000 ha)

Annual change (1 000 ha)

Annual change rate (%)

1990 2000 2005 19902000 20002005 19902000 20002005

Central Africa 248 538 239 433 236 070 910 673 0.37 0.28

East Africa 88 974 80 965 77 109 801 771 0.94 0.97

Northern Africa 84 790 79 526 76 805 526 544 0.64 0.69

Southern Africa 188 402 176 884 171 116 1 152 1 154 0.63 0.66

West Africa 88 656 78 805 74 312 985 899 1.17 1.17

total Africa 699 361 655 613 635 412 4 375 4 040 0.64 0.62

World 4 077 291 3 988 610 3 952 025 8 868 7 317 0.22 0.18

taBle 1Extent and change of forest area

Africa

FigurE 2 Extent of forest resources

ForestOther wooded landOther land cover

SOurCE: fao, 2001a.

FigurE 3 Forest change rates by country or area, 20002005

1.5% decrease per year11.5% decrease per year0.51% decrease per year00.5% decrease per year> 01% increase per year> 1% increase per year

StAtE OF thE WORlDS FOREStS 20076

taBle 3Area of forest designated primarily for conservation



1990 2000 2005 19902000 20002005

Central Africa 26 497 26 375 30 388 12 803

East Africa 2 934 2 882 2 818 5 13

Northern Africa 9 773 9 051 8 687 72 73

Southern Africa 12 360 12 360 12 360 0 0

West Africa 15 239 15 244 15 275 0 6

total Africa 66 803 65 912 69 528 -89 723

World 298 424 361 092 394 283 6 267 6 638

NOtE: Fewer than 50 percent of the countries in Central Africa were able to provide data on this parameter for all three years.

Africaalsohasmorethan400millionhectaresofotherwoodedland,withscatteredtreesbutnotenoughtobedefinedasforest.Dataontheextentandgrowingstockofotherwoodedlandareweak,buttheextentcontinuestodecline.

Africastotalareaofforestplantationsasubsetofplantedforestsdefinedasthoseconsistingprimarilyofintroducedspeciesisabout13.0millionhectares(Table2).Approximately2.4millionhectares(18percent)offorestplantationsareplantedforprotectivepurposes;theremainderareplantedtoproducewood,particularlyindustrialroundwoodandfuelwood.MostforestplantationsareinNorthernAfrica,whichisdependentonplantationsbecauseofthescarcityofnaturalforests.SouthernAfricahasdevelopedagloballycompetitiveforestindustryalmostentirelybasedonplantedforests.

Since1990,forestcoverinAfricahasbeendecliningatoneofthehighestratesintheworld(togetherwithLatinAmericaandtheCaribbean).However,therateoflosshasshownsignsofdecliningslightlyinthepastfiveyears.Unfortunately,thereareonlyafewcountriesinwhichforestcoverisincreasingormarginallyimproving,andmostofthesearethelowforestcovercountriesofNorthernAfricainwhichsubstantialeffortshavebeenmadetoestablishplantedforests.ImprovementhasbeenreportedinRwandaandSwazilandaswell,alsolargelyresultingfromincreased

planting.

BIOlOgICAl DIvERSItyThereisevidenceofanoveralldeclineintheareaofprimaryforestsintheregion,butsomeofthemostimportantforestedcountrieswerenotabletoreportonthisparameter,especiallyinCentralAfrica.Thus,itisnotpossibletomakeadefinitivestatementregardingthemagnitudeofthistrend.

Forty-threecountries,accountingforsome70percentoftheforestareainAfrica,providedinformationonareaofforestdesignatedforbiodiversityconservationforthethreereferenceyears.Inthesecountries,atotalofabout69.5millionhectaresofforests,accountingforabout16percentoftheforestarea,aredesignatedprimarilyforconservation(Table3).

Althoughtheareasodesignateddeclinedinsomecountries,attheregionalleveltherehasbeenasubstantialincrease,especiallyduring20002005.

Forestcomposition,thenumberofnativeforestspeciesandtheexistence(orabsence)ofthreatenedandendangeredspeciesareotherindicatorsofbiodiversity.However,withonly16countriesreportingonthesevariables,aclearindicationofthestateofbiodiversityisnotavailable.ForestcompositionandthepreponderanceofspeciesdifferwidelywithinAfrica.Aswouldbeexpected,thetropicalmoistforestsintheCongoBasinhavehighdiversity,withnativeforesttreespeciesvaryingfrom12to5000inthereportingcountries(Figure4).Thetenmostcommontreespeciesrepresentonly22percentofthespeciesinatypicalforest



1990 2000 2005 19902000 20002005

Central Africa 348 388 526 4 28

East Africa 1 246 1 233 1 230 1 1

Northern Africa 7 696 7 513 7 503 18 2

Southern Africa 1 867 2 060 2 150 19 18

West Africa 900 1 337 1 677 44 68

total Africa 12 057 12 532 13 085 48 111

World 101 234 125 525 139 466 2 424 2 788

taBle 2Area of forest plantations


Africa

unit.Inatemperateorborealforest,themostcommontenspeciesaccountforover50percent.

Countrystatisticsforthenumberofthreatenedtreespeciesaremorereliable,owingtoregularmonitoringandreportingfortheIUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN[WorldConservationUnion],2000and2004).Onaverage,eachAfricancountrylistsabout7percentofitsnativetreespeciesascriticallyendangered,endangeredorvulnerable.

FORESt hEAlth AnD vItAlItyInAfrica,asinseveralotherregions,itisdifficulttoanalysetrendsinforesthealthbecauseofthescarcityofinformation.Only14countriesof58providedinformationontrendsinforestfiresovertwotimeperiods,accountingfor19percentofthetotalforestsinAfrica.However,theJointResearchCentreoftheEuropeanCommission(JRC)carriedoutaremotesensingstudyofwildlandfiresinAfrica(including,butnotlimitedto,forestfires)(JRC,2000).ThestudyconcludedthatAfricaaccountedfor64percentoftheglobalareaburnedbywildlandfiresin2000,when230millionhectareswereburned,accountingfor7.7percentofthetotallandareaofthecontinent.Afollow-upstudyin2004revealedsimilarresults.

Asreportedtothe2005FAORegionalConferenceforAfrica(FAO,2006c),twoareasofparticularlyhighfirefrequencystandout:oneisnorthernAngolaandthesouthernDemocraticRepublicoftheCongo,andtheothersouthernSudanandtheCentralAfricanRepublic(Figure5).Theseareaswereoncemostlytropicalforest,buttodaythevegetationisamosaicofgrasslandandremnanttropicalforestpatches,interspersedwiththefieldsandsettlementsofbothsedentaryandshifting

cultivators.Mostofthedeforestationofthiszonetookplacedecadesago,andwhilefireisundoubtedlypreventingforestregeneration,itsprevalenceissymptomaticofthepastconversionofforesttograssland,ratherthanbeingthedirect,currentcauseofforestloss.

Thenumberoffiresandtheareaburnedvaryconsiderablyfromyeartoyear,ofteninsynchronywiththeElNioSouthernOscillation(ENSO)andassociatedextremeweatherphenomena.Rainfall,biomassproductionandENSOareparticularlystronglylinkedinSouthernAfrica.Acomparisonoftheextentofburningtherein1992,whentheregionexperiencedaseveredrought,andin2000,followingaseasonofabove-averagerainfall,showedmuchearlierandmoreextensiveburningin2000.Goodrainsproducemorebiomass,andthereforemorefuelforfireduringthedryseason,unlesstheadditionalproductionisconsumedbylivestockorwildlife.Thislinkbetweenrainfallandbiomassproductionmeansthatregional,seasonalclimateforecastscanbeusedtoanticipatethelikelyvegetationbiomassconditionsinthecomingseasonandtoassesstheleveloffirerisk.

DamagefromwildfireisasignificantthreattosustainableforestmanagementinAfrica.Long-termdataarenotsufficienttoconcludewhethertheareaaffectedbyforestfiresisincreasingordeclining.Moreover,itisdifficulttogeneralizewhetheradeclineinfireincidenceisapositivedevelopmentornot.Inseveralecosystems,fireisanintegralpartofthenaturalecosystemprocesses.

Asregardstheincidenceofpestsanddiseases,comparabledataoveraperiodoftimewereprovidedin

FigurE 4 Number of native tree species

< 50

50200

2001 000

> 1 000

No data

FigurE 5 Extent of burning, 2004/2005

Fire detections per 100 km2

< 1

1338814

1429

NOtE: data derived from the Moderate resolution imaging Spectroradiometer (ModiS) satellite sensor at 1 km2 resolution. SOurCE: firMS (fire information for resource Management System), university of Maryland, united States of america/united States national aeronautics and Space administration.


FRA2005byonlyfivecountries,andhenceitwasnotpossibletoprovidearegionaloverviewofthesituationandgeneraltrends.FAOhasproposedasystematicprocessforimprovingdatacollectionforFRA2010andhaspreparedforestpestprofilesforGhana,Kenya,Mauritius,Morocco,SouthAfricaandtheSudan.

Despitethelackofdata,thereisnodoubtthatincreasingproblemswithinvasiveinsects,diseasesandwoodyspecieshaveaffectedtheproductivityandvitalityofAfricanforests.TheForestInvasiveSpeciesNetworkforAfricawascreatedtofocusonthesedisturbances,withthemandatetocoordinatecollationanddisseminationofinformationonforestinvasivespeciesinsub-SaharanAfrica(www.fao.org/forestry/site/26951/en).

AccidentalintroductionsofforestpestshaveaffectedindustrialplantationsofcypressandpineinEastandSouthernAfricaforseveraldecades.Thecypressaphid,

Cinara cupressivora,whichaffectsMexicancypress(Cupressus lusitanica)andpencilcedar(Juniperus procera),wasfirstrecordedinMalawiin1986andsoonspreadtoneighbouringcountries.ItwasestimatedthattheaphidhadkilledtreesworthUS$44millionasof1990andwascausingthelossofafurtherUS$14.6millionperyearthroughreductioninannualgrowthincrement(Murphy,1996).Similarly,theEuropeanwoodwasp(Sirexnoctilio),accidentallyintroducedintoSouthAfrica,hasinfestedpinesandcausedconsiderableimpactontheindustry.Special

effortsarebeingmadetopreventitsfurtherspreadinthemidlandsofSouthAfricaandtoneighbouringcountries.

NewinsectpestsintroducedintoAfricawithinthepastfiveyearsincludeConiothyrium zuluenseinEthiopia,Thaumastocoris australicusandCoryphodema tristisinSouthAfrica,Leptocybe invasainKenya,UgandaandtheUnitedRepublicofTanzaniaandCinara pinivorainMalawi.

PRODuCtIvE FunCtIOnS OF FORESt RESOuRCESTheproductionofwoodandnon-woodforestproducts(NWFPs)isaveryimportantfunctionofAfricanforestsandwoodlandsandhasgreatimpactonsocio-economicdevelopment.Some30percentoftotalforestareaisdesignatedprimarilyforproduction,comparedwithaglobalaverageof34percent.

TheextentofforestsdesignatedforproductionisdeclininginAfrica(Table4).However,itisnotclearifthisshouldbeconsideredapositiveornegativetrendintermsofsustainableforestmanagement.Itmaybeasignthatmoreareaisexcludedfromproductivepurposesinordertoenhancetheconservationofbiodiversityandotherfunctionsofforests;butitmayalsobeanindicationthatproductiveforestsarebeingclearedtoconvertlandtonon-forestuses.ThisisanareaneedingimproveddatainthecontextofFRA2010.

taBle 4Area of forest designated primarily for production



1990 2000 2005 19902000 20002005

Central Africa 45 268 43 790 41 992 148 360

East Africa 30 678 27 646 26 119 303 305

Northern Africa 35 067 32 899 31 331 217 313

Southern Africa 9 527 11 031 12 083 150 210

West Africa 27 789 24 548 23 134 324 283

total Africa 148 329 139 913 134 658 842 1 051

World 1 324 549 1 281 612 1 256 266 4 294 5 069

taBle 5growing stock

Subregion growing stock

(million m3) (m3/ha)

1990 2000 2005 1990 2000 2005

Central Africa 47 795 46 247 45 790 192 193 194

East Africa 4 989 4 616 4 446 56 57 58

Northern Africa 1 436 1 409 1 390 17 18 18

Southern Africa 6 669 6 292 6 102 35 36 36

West Africa 7 871 7 085 6 753 89 90 91

total Africa 69 373 66 171 64 957 99 101 102

World 445 252 439 000 434 219 109 110 110


Africa

Growingstockisanimportantindicatorofforestproductivity.Althoughaggregatedcomparisons(growingstockpersubregionorregion)maynotprovideaclearpicture,somegeneralinferencescanbemadebasedonaglobalcomparison.Countrydatasuggestasignificantdeclineintotalgrowingstockinalmostallcountries(Table5),althoughafewcountrieshaveregisteredanincreaseresultingfromanincreaseintheareaofforest

plantations.Anotherkeyissuefortheproductivefunctionsof

forestsgiventhedecliningtrendingrowingstockinmostcountriesiswhetherthelevelofwoodremovalsexceedstheannualallowablecut.Almost90percentofthewoodremovalsinAfricaareusedforfuel,comparedwithlessthan40percentintheworldatlarge(Figure6).ForAfricaasawhole,woodremovalsin2005wereabout1percentofgrowingstock.Howeverthereisconsiderablevariationamongregions,largelyresultingfromdisparities

inaccesstoforestresourcesandtheproportionofcommercialspecies.Forexample,inWestandCentralAfrica,theremovalrateisabout0.06percentoftheestimatedgrowingstock,whileinNorthernAfricaitisover7percent.

Intheabsenceofinformationonannualallowableharvests,itisdifficulttoconcludewhethercurrentremovalsaresustainable.ThedominantuseofwoodinAfricaisforfuel,andalargepartofthedemandismetfromotherwoodedlandandtreesoutsideforests.Sincemarketdemandandforestaccessarekeydeterminantsoftheintensityofwoodremoval,areasthatareeasilyaccessiblearemoreintensivelyloggedthanremoteones.

PROtECtIvE FunCtIOnS OF FORESt RESOuRCESForthe43countriesreporting,theextentofforestdesignatedprimarilyforprotectionisabout4.5percentofforestareaanddeclinedfrom21.4millionhectaresin1990to20.6millionhectaresin2005,inlinewiththeoverallreductioninforestcover(Table6).

However,notallcountriesusethisdesignation,andsomeprotectivefunctionsmaybeincludedundermultiplepurpose(Figure7).

Inproportiontothetotalareaofforests,thereportedextentofforestsdesignatedprimarilyforprotectionislowinCentralAfrica,butthisisatleastpartlybecauseoftherelativelylowlevelofreporting.

Anumberofcountrieshavesteppedupafforestationeffortswiththeprimaryobjectiveofenvironmentalprotection.Thisincludesafforestationofdegradedareasforsoilconservation,establishmentofwindbreaksandshelterbeltstoprotectagricultureareas,stabilizationofsanddunesandurbanandperi-urbanplantingtoimproveamenityvalues.Inthe46countriesreportingonthisactivity,therewasanincreaseintheextentofprotectiveforestplantationsofnearly400000hectares(ha)

taBle 6

Area of forest designated primarily for protectionSubregion Area

(1 000 ha)Annual change

(1 000 ha)

1990 2000 2005 19902000 20002005

Central Africa 368 746 651 38 19

East Africa 3 748 3 633 3 574 12 12

Northern Africa 3 645 3 819 3 861 17 8

Southern Africa 2 692 2 480 2 279 21 40

West Africa 10 939 10 610 10 247 33 72

total Africa 21 392 21 287 20 613 10 135

World 296 598 335 541 347 217 3 894 2 335

NOtE: fewer than 50 percent of the countries in central africa were able to report on this parameter.

FigurE 6 Wood removals

industrial roundwood fuelwood

250

200

150

100

50

0centralafrica

eastafrica

northernafrica

Southernafrica

Westafrica

Million m3

1990

2000 2

005

1990

2000 20

05

1990

2000

2005

1990 20

00

2005

1990

2000 2

005

1990


during19902005.Mostoftheincrease(over87percent)occurredinthepoorlyforestedsubregionofNorthernAfrica.

ThetotalareaofforestdesignatedforprotectivefunctionsshowsaslightdecreaseforAfricaasawhole,withNorthernAfricabeingtheonlysubregionwithaslightincrease.However,theareaofprotectiveforestplantationsisincreasinginfoursubregionsandintheregionasawhole.Overall,itisnotpossibletoconcludethatprotectivefunctionsareimproving;butincontrastwithsomeoftheotherthematicelements,thetrendsarenotalarminglynegative.

SOCIO-ECOnOmIC FunCtIOnSThevalueofwoodremovals(fuelwoodandindustrialroundwood)inAfricaincreasedfromUS$2.1billionin1990

toaboutUS$3.9billionin2005.However,inspiteoftherelativelyrapidgrowthinvalue,in2005itsshareintheglobalvalueofwoodremovalswasonlyabout6.5percent,whileAfricaaccountedforabout16percentoftheworldsforests.

Africasshareintheglobalvalueofindustrialroundwoodremovalsaccountsforonlyabout4.7percent,whereasitsshareinthevalueoffuelwoodremovalisabout22percent.Infact,fuelwoodvaluerepresentedalmost35percentofthetotalvalueofwoodremovalsin2005,althoughthisproportionhasbeendecliningsince1990.Nootherregionhasrecordedsuchahighshareforthevalueoffuelwoodremovalsinthetotalvalueofallwoodremoved.

Theoverallcontributionoftheforestsectortogrossdomesticproduct(GDP)registeredamarginalincreasefromaboutUS$7.3billionin1990toaboutUS$7.7billionin2000(Figure8).However,theforestsectorshareoftotalGDPhasbeendecliningovertime,fromabout1.7percentin1990toabout1.5percentin2000.Thisdeclineislargelyaresultofthefastergrowthofothersectors,increasingGDP,whileforestrysvalueaddedhasnotincreasedsignificantly.Withintheforestsector,valueaddedinthewood-processingandpulp-and-papersubsectorshasremainedmoreorlessthesame,androundwoodproduction(whichincludesindustrialroundwoodandfuelwood)accountsforalmost57percentofvalueadded.

Thisisincontrasttotheglobalsituation,wherewoodprocessingandpulpandpapertogetheraccountforalmost78percentofthevalueadded,whiletheshareofroundwoodproductionisonlyabout22percent.Africasshareoftheforest-sectorvalueaddedisabout2.2percentoftheglobaltotal.Itssharesofvalueaddedinthewood-industriesandpulp-and-papersubsectorsareabout1.3and

FigurE 7 Designated primary functions of forests, 2005

Production 30%

Protection 5%

conservation 16%

Social services 0%

Multiple purpose

25%

none or unknown 24%

FigurE 8 Trends in value added in the forest sector, 19902000

8

6

4

2

0

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0

gross value added (uS$ billion) contribution to gdP (percentage)

roundwood production Wood processing Pulp and paper total for the forest sector

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000


Africa1.1percent,respectively,whileroundwoodproductionisabout5.7percentoftheglobalvalue.

Therearemanycountriesinwhichthedevelopmentofcompetitivewood-processingandpulp-and-papersubsectorshasledtoahighshareinvalueaddedfromtheforestsector,althoughthevalueaddedgeneratedinwoodproductionisextremelylow.Thisoffersanimportantlessonpossessionofalargetractofforestsandincreasedwoodproductionareneithernecessarynorsufficientconditionsfortheexistenceofavibrantforestindustry.Increasingly,naturaladvantage(forexample,theexistenceofvasttractsofforests)isbeingreplacedbycompetitiveadvantage(Figures9and10).

EmploymentintheformalforestsectorinAfricaincreasedfromabout520000personsin1990toabout550000in2000(Figure11).Thisincreaseislargelyattributabletogrowthinemploymentinwoodprocessing,whichonaverageaccountedfor60percentofemployment.However,followingasignificantincreasefrom1992to1995,therewasanapparentdeclineinthelate1990s.

Whiletherehasbeensomegrowthinemploymentintheformalforestsector,theshareofforestryintotalemploymenthasdeclinedmarginallyfromabout0.20percentin1990to0.16percentin2000.

Aprobleminassessingthesocio-economicsignificanceoftheforestsectorinAfricaisthescarcityofdataonproductionandemploymentintheinformalsector.Microlevelstudiessuggestthattheinformalsectorispredominant,butnationalstatisticsonincomeandemploymentemphasizetheformalsector.Significantsharesofwoodproduction(particularlyfuelwood)andprocessing(forexample,pit-sawing,charcoalproduction,collectionandtradeofNWFPs)takeplaceintheinformalsector,andthusnonationalstatisticsareavailable.Insomecountriesintheregion,inparticularinWestandCentralAfrica,bushmeatisthemostimportantsinglesourceofproteininthediet;yetthisimportantNWFPisnotusuallyreflectedinofficialstatistics.

Theimportanceoftheinformalsectoralsoraisessomesignificantissuesforprogresstowardssustainableforestmanagement.Sincethosewhooperateintheinformalsectoroftenhavenorightsoverthelandandforests,mostcollectionofwoodandotherproductsisillegalintheexistinglegalframeworkofmostcountries.Inthecontextofill-definedrights,thereislittleincentivetomanageresourcessustainably.Further,mostofthosedependentontheinformalsectorarepoor,withoutthenecessaryresourcestopractisesuch

2

1

0

-1

-2

-3

-4

central africa Southern africa West africa east africa

northern africa total africa

uS$ billion

NOtE: a positive value indicates net export. a negative value indicates net import.

FigurE 10 Trends in net trade of forest products by subregion

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004

1.0

0.5

0

-0.5

-1.0

-1.5

-2.0

-2.5

-3.0

roundwood non-wood forest products Primary wood products

Secondary wood products Primary paper products

Secondary paper products total forest products

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004

uS$ billion

NOtES: a positive value indicates net export. a negative value indicates net import. Primary wood products include roundwood, sawnwood, wood-based panels and wood chips. Secondary wood products include wooden furniture, builders joinery and carpentry. Primary paper products include pulp, paper and paperboard. Secondary paper products include packaging cartons, boxes and printed articles, including books and newspapers.

SOurCES: fao, 2006b; united nations, 2006.

FigurE 9 Trends in net trade of forest products by subsector


management.Thiswouldsuggestthatimprovementsinthefunctioningoftheinformalsectorareneededinordertomakeprogresstowardssustainableforestmanagement.

lEgAl, POlICy AnD InStItutIOnAl FRAmEWORkDuringthepastdecade,morethanhalfthecountriesinAfricahavedevelopedorhavebeendevelopinganewforestpolicy.Thegeneraltrendistowardsmoresustainable,decentralizedforestmanagement,includingenhancedaccessandmanagementrightsforlocalpeopleandcommunitiesandthestrengtheningofprivate-sectorinvestment.Severalcountrieshavemadepovertyalleviationafocusoftheirforestpolicy.Inafewcases,forestryisconsideredinthenationalpovertyreductionstrategy.Abouttwo-thirdsofthecountriesalsohaveanactivenationalforestprogrammeinvariousstagesofimplementation,and21haveestablishedpartnershipswiththeNationalForestProgrammeFacility.

Theimplementationofnewpolicieshasbeenaffectedbyobstacles:inadequatepoliticalsupporttotheforestsector;weakcapacitytoimplementprocessesthatareparticipatoryandinvolvecross-sectoralissues;andlimitedabilitytomobilizeexternalandinternalfinancialresourcestosupportkeystrategicactions.

SignificantreformsofforestlawshavetakenplaceinmanyAfricancountries.Since1992,morethanhalfthecountrieshavedevelopednewforestrylawsorcodes.Whilethesevaryintermsoftheirapproachesandthedepthtowhichtheyaddressparticularissues,ingeneraltheyevidenceabroadtrendtowards: strengtheningforestmanagementplanning; promotingsustainableforestmanagement;

strengtheningthepotentialforcommunityandprivate-sectorforestmanagement,includingdecentralizationofresponsibilitieswithgreaterlocalinvolvement;and

recognitionofenvironmentalandbiodiversityconcerns,includingforestprotection.Despiteprogressinimprovingforestrylegislation,

implementationandlawenforcementremainweakinmostcountries.Newlegalprovisionshavebeenenactedincountrieswithpoliticalinstabilityandweakpoliticalwill,fragilecivilsocietyorganizations,lackofadministrativecapacityandunfavourablelocalandnationaleconomies.

Whilenewforestlawsinsomecountriesincludeprovisionstotransferutilizationandmanagementrightstoprivateindividualsorcommunities,publicadministrationsstillplayadominantroleinvirtuallyeverycountryinAfrica.Inmanycountries,nationalforestryagencieslackthemeansandcapacitytofulfilthedutiesassignedbylaw.

Atleastone-thirdofthecountriesinAfricahaveundergonestructuralreformsoftheirforestryadministrationsinthepastdecade.Insomecountries,forestrydepartmentsweretransferredtonewlycreatedenvironmentministries.Therehavebeeninstitutionalreformsthatincludeddecentralizationofmanagementauthorityforforestresourcesand/ordevolutionofmanagementrightstolocalpeopleandtheprivatesector.Implementationremainsweakinmanycountries,andhighratesofmortalityfromHIV/AIDSandotherdiseaseshaveadverselyaffectedinstitutions.

Anumberofcountrieshaverestructuredtheirnationalagriculturalresearchsystems,includingforestresearch.Theprevailingtrendisregionalizationofagriculturalresearchwithincountries,withregionalprogrammesundertakenbymultidisciplinaryresearchteams.Whilejustifiedandpositiveinmanyaspectsinprinciple,thisrestructuringmay,infact,weakennationalcapacityin

600

450

300

150

0

number employed (1 000) contribution to employment (percentage)


1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000

FigurE 11 Employment in the formal forest sector

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000

0.20

0.15

0.10

0.05

0


Africaforestresearchbyspreadinglimitednationalexpertisetoothinly.Insomecountries,coordinationofsuchresearchatnationalandregionallevelsisnotsatisfactory.Governmentanddonorfundingofforestresearchhasbeendecliningoverthepastdecade.

ForestryeducationalinstitutionsinAfricavarywidelyintermsoffundingsupport,numberofgraduatesandqualityofcurricula.Accordingtoasurveyinsub-Saharancountries(FAO,2005a),forestryeducationalinstitutionsfromninecountriesindicatedthatfundingwasintermittent,decliningandcamelargelyfromnationalresources.Graduationattheforestrycertificatelevelhasdroppeddrastically,mainlybecauseoflowenrolmentandtheclosureofcertificateprogrammes.Ingeneral,forestryeducationneedsarenotproperlyidentified,andplansarepoorlyarticulated.Forestryauthorities,theprivatesectorandeducationalinstitutionsneedtoengageinmultipartnerdialoguetoimproveforestryeducationplanning.Severalnetworksforforestryeducationhaveemerged,suchastheAfricanNetworkonAgroforestryEducation(ANAFE)andanetworkofforestryandenvironmentaleducationinstitutesintheCentralAfricansubregion,RseaudesinstitutionsdeformationforestireetenvironnementaledAfriquecentrale(RIFEAC).

AparticularlypositivedevelopmentisthegrowthofregionalcooperationatthepolicyleveltoaddressforestissuesthroughinitiativessuchastheSouthernAfricanDevelopmentCommunity(SADC),theConferenceofMinistersinChargeofForestsinCentralAfrica(COMIFAC)andtheNewPartnershipforAfricasDevelopment(NEPAD).

LeadersinmanyAfricancountrieshavedemonstratedpoliticalcommitmenttosupportsustainableforestmanagementthroughforestrylaws,policiesandnationalforestprogrammes.Weakcapacityandinadequateresourcescontinuetohampereffortstoimplementthesereformseffectivelyinmanycountries.Nonetheless,inthisthematicelementitcanbeconcludedthatsignificantprogressisbeingmadetoestablishaframeworkforsustainableforestmanagementonwhichtheotherthematicelementscanbuild.

SummARy OF PROgRESS tOWARDS SuStAInABlE FORESt mAnAgEmEntProgresstowardssustainableforestmanagementinAfricaisslowanduneven.Thelegalandpolicyenvironmentisimprovinginmanycountries,asevidencedbypoliticalcommitmentatthehighestlevels,bythedevelopmentofnationalforestprogrammesthroughouttheregion,andbyprogressivenewforestrylegislationinmanycountries.RegionalpartnershipssuchasNEPADandCOMIFACprovideasolidframeworkforaction.However,the

investmentinforestryremainsfarbelowwhatisrequired,andthecapacitytoenforcelawsandtoimplementprogrammeseffectivelyremainsweakinmostcountries.Somekeyconcernsaresummarized: Althoughtherateofforestcoverlossisslowingslightly,

onthewholetherateremainshigh.Theextentofotherwoodedlandisalsodeclining.

Afforestationandreforestationeffortsfallshortofcompensatingforthelossofnaturalforests.Mostoftheseeffortsareincountrieswithlowforestcover(especiallyinNorthernAfrica).

TheareaofprimaryforestsinAfricaisdeclining,buttherehasbeensomeincreaseintheextentofareadesignatedprimarilyfortheconservationofbiological

diversity. Thelackofreliableandconsistentdataovera

sufficientlylongperiodpreventsanymeaningfulconclusiononthestateofforesthealthandvitality.

Thetotalareadesignatedprimarilyforprotectionhasdeclinedovertheyears,eventhoughthepercentageofprotectedforesthasincreasedinsomecountries.Therehasbeenanincreaseintheextentofprotectiveforestplantations,althoughmuchofthis,again,isinNorthernAfrica,andconsistsprimarilyofcountrieswithlowforestcover.

Thevalueofwoodremovalshasincreased,butfuelwoodstillaccountsforalargersharethaninotherregions.Officialreportsdonotreflectactualremovals,inviewofthepredominanceoftheinformalsector.Itisnotlikelythatsustainableforestmanagementwillbeachievedwithouttakingactiontoaddressmanyoftheissuescontributingtoastronginformalsector,includingpovertyandlandtenure.

Becausetheinformalsectorisabsentfromnationaleconomicstatistics,theimportanceofforestryintheregionisstronglyunderstatedinmanyofficialstudies.Inparticular,theforestsectorshouldbeakeycomponentofnationaleffortstoreducepoverty.

PerhapsthemostpositivetrendisthatmostAfricancountrieshavemadelegal,policyandinstitutionalchanges.However,theabilityofinstitutionstoimplementsustainableforestmanagementislimited,owinglargelytotheoverallunfavourablesocialandeconomicsituation.

Informationandcommunicationonforest-sectorissuesremainweakandwillrequirenewapproachesatthenationalleveltoopencommunication,reliablemonitoringsystemsandsharingofinformationandexperiences.Overall,progresstowardssustainableforest

managementinAfricaisuneven.Incomparisonwithmostotherregions,Africalagsbehind.Thechallengeistobuildonthepositivetrendsandtotakeeffectiveactiontohaltthemostseriousnegativeones.


FigurE 12 Subregional breakdown used in this report

East Asia: china, democratic Peoples republic of Korea, Japan, Mongolia, republic of Korea

South Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, india, Maldives, nepal, Pakistan, Sri lanka

Southeast Asia: Brunei, cambodia, indonesia, lao Peoples democratic republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, thailand, timor-leste, Viet nam

Oceania: american Samoa, australia, cook islands, fiji, french Polynesia, guam, Kiribati, Marshall islands, Micronesia, nauru, new caledonia, new zealand, niue, northern Mariana islands, Palau, Papua new guinea, Pitcairn, Samoa, Solomon islands, tokelau, tonga, tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and futuna islands

NOtE: Statistics for the russian federation are included in the european region, where the capital is located. however, much of the forest area of the russian federation is technically in asia, and we acknowledge that forest statistics for the region would increase significantly if the russian federation were included.

East Asia

South Asia

Southeast Asia

Oceania


Asia and the Pacific

ExtEnt OF FORESt RESOuRCESForestsandotherwoodedlandtogethercoveraboutone-thirdoftheAsiaandthePacificregion(Figure13).ExcludingtheRussianFederation,forestareain2005wasestimatedat734millionhectares,accountingforabout19percentofglobalforestarea.Theregionasawholeexperiencedanetincreaseinforestareaofabout633000haannuallyduring20002005(Table7).Thisisanimportantbreakthrough,sincetheregionhadexperiencedanetlossofforestcoverduringthe1990s.The

improvementwaslargelytheresultofanincreaseofmorethan4millionhectaresperyearinChina,whichhasbeeninvestingheavilyinafforestationinrecentyears.

Bhutan,IndiaandVietNamalsoincreasedtheirforestareafrom2000to2005.However,mostothercountriesexperiencedanetloss.SoutheastAsiaexperiencedthelargestdeclineinforestarea,withanannualnetlossofforestsofmorethan2.8millionhectaresperyear,aboutthesamerateashadoccurredduringthe1990s.ThegreatestforestlossoccurredinIndonesia,almost1.9millionhectaresperyear,followedbyMyanmar,Cambodia,thePhilippines,MalaysiaandtheDemocraticPeoplesRepublicofKorea.

Duringthefirstfiveyearsofthetwenty-firstcentury,thevariationamongAsiancountriesinthenetrateofchangeofforestareawasdramatic;thisvariationismuchmorepronouncedinAsiaandthePacificthaninotherregions.Severalcountriesarelosingforestsatratesexceeding1.5percentperyear;theseareamongthehighestratesoflossintheworld(Figure14).Ontheotherhand,forestareaisincreasingconsiderablyinseveralcountries,especiallyinChinaandVietNam.

Otherwoodedlandisextensive,accountingfor13percentofthelandareaintheregion.Theoveralltrendinotherwoodedlandisdownward,bothinAsiaandthePacificandintheworld,despiteanincreaseinSoutheastAsia.However,reportingonthiscategoryisnotfullyconsistentfromonecountrytothenext,anditisdifficulttomonitorthiscategorywithremotesensing,sosignificantconclusionshavenotbeendrawnfromthedata.




Annual change rate (%)

1990 2000 2005 19902000 20002005 19902000 20002005

East Asia 208 155 225 663 244 862 1 751 3 840 0.81 1.65

South Asia 77 551 79 678 79 239 213 88 0.27 0.11

Southeast Asia 245 605 217 702 203 887 2 790 2 763 1.20 1.30

Oceania 212 514 208 034 206 254 448 356 0.21 0.17

total Asia and the Pacific 743 825 731 077 734 243 1 275 633 0.17 0.09

World 4 077 291 3 988 610 3 952 025 8 868 7 317 0.22 0.18


ForestOther wooded landOther land cover

SOurCE: fao, 2001a.


AllsubregionswithinthebroaderAsiaandthePacificregionexperiencedasubstantialincreaseinforestplantationsduring20002005,continuingthetrendfromthe1990s(Table8).Chinaledtheway;VietNam,India,Indonesia,Australia,theRepublicofKorea,Myanmar,theLaoPeoplesDemocraticRepublicandNewZealandhavealsomadesignificantinvestmentsinforestplantationsinrecentyears.

NetforestcoverinAsiaandthePacificisincreasing,whichisanencouragingsign.Thisnetincreaseattheregionallevelisbuiltmainlyonlargeinvestmentsinforestplantationsinseveralcountries.However,thegrowthinplantationsdoesnotnegatethecontinuedlossofnaturalforests.

BIOlOgICAl DIvERSItyInEastAsia,theareaofprimaryforestsisfairlystable,havingdeclinedslightlyinthe1990sandincreasedslightlysince2000.InSouthAsia,anegativetrendhascontinuedandacceleratedoverthepast15years.InSoutheastAsia,

thenegativetrendisconsistentandverydisturbing,exceedinga2percentlossofprimaryforestperyear.InOceania,arecoveryofprimaryforestsinthe1990shasbeenreplacedbyanegativetrendsince2000.

TheareaofforestdesignatedprimarilyforconservationhasbeenincreasingintheAsiaandthePacificregionasawholesince1990(Table9).OnlyinOceaniahastherebeenaslightdecreasesince2000,buttherehavebeensignificantincreasesinSoutheastAsiaandEastAsia.Fortheregionasawhole,theareaofforestdesignatedforconservationofbiologicaldiversityisslightlyover10percent.InthetropicalforestsofSoutheastAsia,theareadesignatedforconservationisalmost20percent.Thisisahearteningtrend.

Whilearegionalincreaseintheareadesignatedforconservationisapositivedevelopment,thefollowingpointsmaybenoted: Thefactthatanareaisdesignatedprimarilyfor

conservationdoesnotindicatethestatusofits

vegetation. Insomeinstances,thepoliciesformanaging

conservationareasarenotclearand/orthemanagementoftheconservationareasmaynotbeveryeffectiveasaresultofinstitutionalweaknessorlackofadequateresources.Regardingforestcomposition,thenumberofnative

foresttreespecies(Figure15)andtheexistenceorabsenceofthreatenedandendangeredspecies,reliableandcomprehensivedatafortheseparametersarenotavailableformostcountriesorfortheregionasawhole.Abouthalfthecountriesprovidedinformationonthecompositionanddiversityoftreespecies.

Basedonthislimitedinformation,itcanbeseenthatforestcompositionandthedistributionofspeciesdifferwidelywithintheregion.Asmightbeexpected,countrieswithmoisttropicalforestshavemoretreespeciesthanmoretemperatecountries.Forexample,thePhilippineshasanestimated3000nativetreespecies,comparedwith105inBhutan(or,forthatmatter,with180inCanada).

Theextenttowhichatreespeciesfacesthethreatofextinctionisanotherusefulparameterforassessingforest




1990 2000 2005 19902000 20002005

East Asia 29 531 35 518 43 166 599 1 530

South Asia 2 719 3 651 4 073 93 84

Southeast Asia 10 046 11 550 12 561 150 202

Oceania 2 447 3 459 3 833 101 75

total Asia and the Pacific 44 743 54 178 63 633 943 1 891

World 101 234 125 525 139 466 2 424 2 788

FigurE 14 Forest change rates by country or area, 20002005

1.5% decrease per year




> 01% increase per year




biologicaldiversity.InAsiaandthePacific,Indonesiahasthelargestnumberofcriticallyendangeredtreespecies(IUCN,2000,2004),with122suchspecies,followedbySriLankaandJapan.Malaysiahasthelargestnumberofvulnerablespecies403.AsiaandthePacificasawholeranksasoneoftheregionswiththelargestnumberofendangeredandvulnerablespecies.

FORESt hEAlth AnD vItAlItyManyofthecountriesdidnotreportonforestfire(orthemoreinclusivewildlandfire).Consequently,theestimatedareaburnedinAustraliadominatestheregionalstatistics(Figure16).

Thefollowingtrendswereobservedincomparingtwoperiods,19881992and20002004(FAO,2006d): InEastAsia,wildlandfireincreasedintermsof

scale,frequency,extentofdamageandcostoffiresuppression.Factorscontributingtothistrendincludeincreasesinperiodsofdrought,climaticvariabilityandpopulation.

InSouthAsia,fireiscommonlyusedtoclearland,andrunawayagriculturalfiresarethecauseofmostuncontrolledwildlandfires.Over90percentoftheareaburnedinSouthAsiaisinIndia,wheresignificanteffortshavebeenmadetopreventandmanagewildlandfireoverthepast20years.

InSoutheastAsia,wildfiresdominatedtheheadlinesinthelate1990s,whenhot,dryclimaticconditionsfavouredtheoutbreakofthousandsofuncontrolledfires,whichburnedformonths,resultinginsmokepollutionthatcausedserioushealthandeconomicdamagetotheregion.ThisledtotheAssociationofSoutheastAsianNationsAgreementonTransboundaryHazePollution,signedbyallassociationmembercountriesin2002,whichenteredintoforcein2003.However,Indonesia,whichhasthemostsignificantfireprobleminSoutheastAsia,hasnotratifiedtheagreement.

InOceania,therecordfireseasonof2002/03inAustraliawasoneofthelargestdisastersinthecountryshistory,resultinginlossofhumanlifeandastronomicaleconomicdamage.Manyofthefiresweresetbyarsonists,andthecombinationofheatanddroughtweresuchthatmanyfireswerenotbroughtundercontrolforseveralweeks.




1990 2000 2005 19902000 20002005

East Asia 10 338 10 847 11 479 51 126

South Asia 14 911 16 966 17 265 205 60

Southeast Asia 31 814 35 574 40 025 376 890

Oceania 6 709 7 968 7 948 126 4


World 298 424 361 092 394 283 6 267 6 638

FigurE 15 Number of native tree species

< 50

50200

2001 000

> 1 000

No data

FigurE 16 Average annual area burned by wildland fire, 20002004

east South Southeast oceania asia asia asia (all in australia)

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Million hectares

SOurCE: fao, 2006d.


Theproblemoffireisincreasinginallsubregions.TheproblemsinSoutheastAsiaareperhapsthemostsalientinthatmoisttropicalforestswerepreviouslyconsideredshelteredfromfire.However,inthelasttwodecadesthesubregionhasexperiencedhugefires,mainlyresultingfrompoorloggingandagriculturalpractices.Intheregionasawhole,fireshavecausedmassiveproblems,affectinghumanhealthandcausingeconomiclossestothetourismandtransportindustries.Appropriatepreventivemeasuresareneeded.

Whilefiregetsthemostattentioninthemedia,studiesindicatethatforestpestsandotherdisturbancesmayhaveamorewidespreadimpactthanfireinAsiaandthePacific.TheAsiaPacificForestInvasiveSpeciesNetwork(APFISN)hasbeencreatedtoaddresstheseconcerns.

Disturbancestoforestsbypestsandabioticfactorssignificantlyaffectproductivity.Preliminaryresearchindicatesthateconomiclossesresultingfrominvasiveplantspeciesalonemaytotalhundredsofbillionsof

dollars.Morethan10millionhectaresofforestwerereported

tobeaffectedbyinsectpestsannually(average19982002),andmorethan9millionhectaresbydiseasesduringthesameperiod(Figure17).

SeriousoutbreaksofAnophlophora glabripennis(Asianlonghornbeetle)andDendrolimus sibiricus(Siberiancaterpillar)havecausedsignificantconcernbothwithintheregionandtointernationaltradepartners.Eucalyptusrust(Puccinia psidii),whichisconsideredthemostseriousthreattoEucalyptusplantationsworldwide,wasthesubjectofaninternationalworkshopinBangkokinOctober2004.OtherseriousforestpestsintheAsiaandthePacificregionincludeHeteropsylla cubana(whichdamagessomespeciesofFabaceae,includingLeucaena leucocephala),Corticium salmonicolor(whichdamagesawiderangeofhosts,includingAcaciaspp.andeucalypts)andHypsipyla robusta(whichisamajorpestofsomehigh-qualitytimberspecies,particularlyofthefamilyMeliaceae,suchasToonaspp.,Swietenia spp.andKhayaspp.).

Attheregionallevel,itisdifficulttoassesstheeffectsofbioticagentsonforests,inpartbecauseofthelackofbaselinedataandunder-reportingofoutbreaks.Insomecases,nationalinformationmayexistbutisnotreadilyaccessible.ReportingwasquitecompleteformainlandAsia,butforOceaniatheonlyinformationsuppliedonnon-firedisturbanceswasonstormdamagecausedbywind,withnoinformationprovidedonpestsorotherbioticdisturbances.Monitoringofdisturbanceeventsisoftendoneonlyaftersignificantlosseshaveoccurredinforestryproductionortrade.

Despitetheproblemsofinformationavailabilityandreliability,itcanbeconcludedthatthehealthandvitalityofforestsintheregionareunderstressfrominsectpests,disease,invasiveplantsanduncontrolledfire.Oneofthekeystosustainableforestmanagementistoimprovetheunderstandingoftheseprocessesandthecapabilitytomanageandcontrolthem.

PRODuCtIvE FunCtIOnS OF FORESt RESOuRCESInAsiaandthePacific,37percentofthetotalforestareaisdesignatedprimarilyforproduction,ascomparedwiththeglobalaverageof34percent(Table10).




1990 2000 2005 19902000 20002005

East Asia 126 821 119 688 125 488 713 1 160

South Asia 18 061 16 545 16 084 152 92

Southeast Asia 112 289 115 740 104 014 345 2 345

Oceania 5 651 9 371 9 261 372 22


World 1 324 549 1 281 612 1 256 266 4 294 5 069

FigurE 17 Forest disturbances, 19982002

fire 36%

insect pests 32%

other 3%

diseases 29%


Asia and the PacificAttheregionallevel,theextentofforestsdesignated

forproductionwasfairlystableinthe1990s,buthasdeclinedinthepastfiveyears.ThedownwardtrendhasoccurredbothinAsiaandthePacificandintheworldatlarge.However,itisdifficulttoascertainwhetherthisisanegativetrend.Itmaybeasignthatmoreareaisexcludedfromproductivepurposesandsetasideforconservation,oritmaybeanindicationthatproductiveforestsarebeingclearedtoconvertlandtonon-forestuses.

Growingstockisanotherindicatorofforestproductivity(Table11).Countrydatasuggestadeclineintotalgrowingstockinmanycountries,withtheexceptionofcountrieswithlargeinvestmentsinforestplantations.Thenetresultattheregionallevelisamodestdeclineintotalgrowingstockincubicmetresandincubicmetresperhectare.

Regardingtrendsinwoodremovals(Figure18),about40percentofthewoodintheregionisusedforfuel,thesameastheglobalaverage.However,theimportanceofwoodforfuelishighlyvariablethroughouttheregion:inSouthAsia,89percentofwoodisusedforfuel,aboutthesameasinAfrica;thefiguredropsto64percentinSoutheastAsia,33percentinEastAsiaand16percentin

Oceania.ForAsiaandthePacificasawhole,woodremovalsin

2005wereabout0.76percentofgrowingstock,higherthantheglobalaverageof0.69percent,butlowerthanAfricaat0.90percent.

Withintheregion,thehighestratesofwoodremovalsasapercentageofgrowingstockareinEastAsiaandOceania,0.87percent.ThelowestrateisinSoutheastAsia,0.61percent,whereasSouthAsiaisat0.76percent,equaltotheregionalaverage.Variationsamongregionsandsubregionsresultfromsuchfactorsasaccess,proportionofcommercialspecies,effectivenessofmanagementcontrolsandthesupplyanddemandforwood.

Inconsonancewithglobaltrends,productiveforestsintheAsiaandthePacificregionhavedeclinedintherecentpast.Thistrendisfurtherreflectedintermsofgrowingstockandwoodremovals,bothindustrialroundwoodandfuelwood.However,intheabsenceofinformationonannualallowableharvests,itisdifficulttoestablishif

currentremovalsaresustainable.Becausemarketdemandandforestaccessarekeydeterminantsoftheintensityofremovals,areasthatareeasilyaccessiblearemoreintensivelyloggedthanremoteones.

PROtECtIvE FunCtIOnS OF FORESt RESOuRCESTheareadesignatedforprotectionhasbeenincreasingfortheregionasawhole,resultingmainlyfromincreasesexceeding4percentperyearinEastAsia(Table12).However,mostcountriesinOceaniadidnotreportonthisparameterand,infact,notallcountriesusethisdesignation.Thussomeprotectivefunctionsmaybeincludedundermultiplepurpose(Figure19).

Variouscountrieshavesteppedupafforestationeffortswiththeprimaryobjectiveofenvironmentalprotection.Thisincludesafforestationofdegradedareasforsoilconservation,establishmentofwindbreaksandshelterbeltstoprotectagricultureareas,stabilizationofsanddunes,andurbanandperi-urbanplantingtoimproveamenity

taBle 11growing stock

Subregion growing stock

(million m3) (m3/ha)

1990 2000 2005 1990 2000 2005

East Asia 15 850 18 433 19 743 76 82 81

South Asia 5 714 6 237 6 223 74 78 79

Southeast Asia 26 909 21 063 17 981 110 97 88

Oceania 7 593 7 428 7 361 36 36 36


World 445 252 439 000 434 219 109 110 110

FigurE 18 Wood removals

industrial roundwood fuelwood

200

150

100

50

0east asia South asia Southeast

asiaoceania

Million m3

1990

2000

2005

1990

2000

2005

1990

2000

2005

1990

2000 20

05


values.TheoverallincreaseinthisparameterinrecentyearshasbeenledbyEastAsiaandSouthAsia.

AnumberofAsiancountriesareincreasingtheareaofforestdesignatedforprotectionandofforestplantationsforprotectivepurposes.However,thebenefitsoftheseprotectivefunctionshaveyettobequantifiedorvaluedinfinancialtermsandarerarelytakenintoaccountin

assessingforestbenefits.Whileitmaybedifficult,thereisaneedtodevelopmarketsfortheprotectivefunctionsofforests.

SOCIO-ECOnOmIC FunCtIOnSTherewasasignificantdropinthevalueofwoodremovalsinAsiaandthePacificduringthe1990s,primarilyowingtotheeconomicdownturnlateinthedecade.Theregionaccountsforabout24percentoftheforestsectorscontributiontotheglobaleconomy(roundwoodproduction,wood-processingindustriesandpulpandpaper).IncludingOceania,thevalueaddedinAsiaandthePacificisaboutthesameasthatofEurope.Moreover,thecontributionoftheforestsectortototalGDPisaboutthesameasintheworldatlarge,1.2percent.

TheforestsectorcontributedanestimatedUS$85billiontotheeconomiesofAsiancountriesintheyear2000andmorethanUS$5billiontotheeconomiesofOceania.Duringthe1990s,thevalueaddedintheforestsectorofAsiaandthePacificremainedrelativelystableinrealterms(Figure20).Inmanycountries,thevalueaddedinroundwoodproductionislow,butthe

taBle 12Area of forest designated primarily for protection



1990 2000 2005 19902000 20002005

East Asia 34 763 55 424 66 992 2 066 2 314

South Asia 12 065 12 021 11 991 4 6

Southeast Asia 45 357 46 886 47 106 153 44

Oceania 413 450 467 4 3

total Asia and the Pacific 92 598 114 780 126 556 2 218 2 355

World 296 598 335 541 347 217 3 894 2 335

FigurE 19 Designated primary functions of forests, 2005

none or unknown 4%

Production 37%

Multiple purpose

29%

FigurE 20 Trends in value added in the forest sector, 19902000

10

8

6

4

2

0


1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000

gross value added (uS$ billion) contribution to gdP (percentage)

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0

conservation 13%

Social services 0%

Protection 17%


Asia and the Pacificdevelopmentofcompetitivewood-processingandpulp-and-papersubsectorshasmadeanimportantcontributiontoeconomicgrowth.

FasterdevelopmentsofothersectorsoftheeconomyinallsubregionsledtoadeclineintheforestsectorscontributiontoGDP.Thistrendisoccurringinmostregionsoftheworld,withtheexceptionofLatinAmericaandtheCaribbean.

TheAsiaandthePacificregionisthebiggestnetimporterofforestproductsintheworld.ButthegapbetweenimportsandexportshasremainedrelativelystableataboutUS$15billionsincethelate1990s(Figures21and22).Arapidlydevelopingsecondarywood-processingsector(furniture,etc.),basedonimportedprimaryproductsandplantationtimber,suggeststhatthistrendwillcontinue.

TheregionisthelargestexporterofNWFPs(especiallybambooandrattan),amountingtosomeUS$23billion

annually.Aprobleminassessingthesocio-economic

significanceoftheforestrysectorinAsiaandthePacificisthescarcityofdataonproductionandemploymentintheinformalsector.Nationalstatisticsonincomeandemploymentemphasizetheformalsector(Figure23),whilemicrolevelstudiessuggestthattheinformalsectorispredominant.

Theimportanceoftheinformalsectoralsoraisessignificantissuesforprogresstowardssustainableforestmanagement.Sincethosewhooperateintheinformalsectoroftenhavenorightsoverthelandandforests,theircollectionofwoodandotherforestproductsisoftenillegalintheexistinglegalframeworkofmostcountries.Inthecontextofill-definedrights,thereislittleincentivetomanagetheresourcessustainably.Further,mostofthosedependentontheinformalsectorarepoor,withoutthenecessaryresourcestopractisesustainablemanagement.Thiswouldsuggestthatimprovementsintheinformalsectorareneededinordertomakeprogresstowardssustainableforestmanagement.

Trendsinforest-relatedsocio-economicparameterssuggestthattheforestsectorislikelytoremainanimportantcontributortosustainabledevelopment.Thecombinationofcheaplabour,growingeconomiesandconsumermarkets,andglobaltradepossibilitiescreatesagoodbasisfordevelopment.

lEgAl, POlICy AnD InStItutIOnAl FRAmEWORkMostcountriesintheregionhavearelativelysoundlegislativeandpolicyfoundationfromwhichtoimplementsustainableforestmanagement,andamajorityhaveupdatedtheirforestpoliciesinthepast15years.Examplesofpolicychangessince2000includepoliciestostrengthencommunityinvolvementinBhutan;newforestpoliciesinCambodiaandPakistan;theimplementationofnationalforestprogrammesinIndia,

FigurE 21 Trends in net trade of forest products by subsector

15

10

5

0

-5

-10

-15

-20

-25 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004

uS$ billion


roundwood non-wood forest products Primary wood products

Secondary wood products Primary paper products

Secondary paper products total forest products

Southeast asia oceania South asia

east asia total asia and the Pacific

FigurE 22 Trends in net trade of forest products by subregion

20

15

10

5

0

-5

-10

-15

-20

-25

-30

-35

uS$ billion


1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004


Indonesia,MongoliaandNepal;thedevelopmentofregionalforestagreementsinAustralia;andanewNationalForestStrategy(20062020)inVietNam.

Anumberofcountriesaremovingtowardspoliciesthatencompassparticipatoryforestryanddevolutionanddecentralizationofforestmanagementresponsibilities.Somecountries,suchasCambodiaandNepal,havefocusedonpovertyreductionintheirforestpolicy.However,despitethegenerallypositivetrend,inmanycountriespolicyobjectiveshavenotbeenachievedbecauseofbudgetshortages,weakinstitutionalcapacityandgovernanceproblems.Somecountriesaremakingeffortstoreinventtheirforestryinstitutions(Box2).

Abouthalfthecountrieshaveanactivenationalforestprogramme,invariousstagesofimplementation.EightcountrieshaveestablishedpartnershipswiththeNationalForestProgrammeFacility.

Legislationisthemostimportanttoolfortranslatingpolicystatementsintoaction.Mostcountrieshaveacombinationofpolicystatements,lawsandprogrammesthatregulateandorienttheuseofforestsandthedevelopmentofforestactivities.Somecountrieshavemadeeffortstomodernizelegislationtosupporteconomic,socialandenvironmentalpolicyframeworks(FAO,2006e).Since2000,significantnewlegislationhasbeenenactedinAustralia,Bangladesh,Bhutan,India,Mongolia,VanuatuandVietNam.

Throughouttheregion,countriesaredevolvingforestmanagementresponsibilitiestolocalorprovincialagencies,totheprivatesectorandtocommunitygroupsandNGOs.Theprivatesectorisincreasinginimportance,andmanycountriesaretryingtodecentralizeforestmanagementandfindmoreeffectiveapproachestoinvolvingcivilsociety.

Attheregionallevel,significantprogresshasbeenmadeinstrengtheninginstitutionstosupportimprovedforestmanagement.RegionalinstitutionsthathavedevelopedincludetheAsiaPacificAssociationofForestryResearchInstitutions,AsiaPacificAgroforestryNetwork,APFISNandtheRegionalCommunityForestryTrainingCenterforAsiaandthePacific.

NGOspotentiallyplayanimportantroleintheforestrysector.NGOinvolvementinnationalforestprogrammeshasincreasedfromthe1990sonwards,andmanyhaveestablishednetworkstoraiseawareness,disseminateresearchandprovideadviceonforestconservation.Incountriesinwhichcommunitieshaveahands-onroleinforestmanagement,e.g.IndiaandNepal,institutionalstructuresaredevelopingtoensureacoordinatedvoiceinmacroleveldecision-making.

Animportanttrendistheincreasedavailabilityandaccessibilityofinformation,owingtotheInternetandtothewillingnessofcountriestosharetheirforestryexperiences.Thishasstrengthenedforestinstitutionsinmanycountries.IntheFRA2005reportingprocess,forexample,countriesinAsiaandthePacificwereamongtheworldleadersinresponsivenessandparticipation.

Thechallengefortheregionwillbetoensurethatsomecountriesarenotleftbehind,andthatbenefitsareextendedequitablytothepoorestsegmentsofthepopulation,especiallyinruralforestareas.

SummARy OF PROgRESS tOWARDS SuStAInABlE FORESt mAnAgEmEntAnencouragingtrendinAsiaandthePacificisonethatencompassesmuchmorethanjusttheforestsectoritisthehighrateofeconomicgrowthinkeycountriesinthe

FigurE 23 Employment in the formal forest sector

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

number employed (million) contribution to employment (percentage)


1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000



All over the world, forestry institutions are under pressure

to adapt better to the environment in which they operate.

Adapt and reinvent or fade into irrelevance is the norm

in an increasingly competitive environment. While many

countries have reformed forest policies and legislation,

implementation lags behind because of institutional rigidity.

In the past, forest management in most countries was

dominated by the public sector. This has changed in recent

decades, as the private sector, local communities, farmers,

etc. play an increasing role in all aspects of forestry.

Institutional changes such as privatization, community

forest management and an array of different partnerships

reflect the range of options being pursued.

The fundamental driver of long-term change is

evolution in the values, beliefs and perceptions of society.

Drivers of institutional change include the following:

macroeconomic policies (often influenced by political

ideologies). Economic liberalization and scaling down

of government involvement, often to reduce budget

deficits, have led to major changes in institutional

arrangements in forestry. Social policies to reduce

poverty and promote rural development have driven

shifts towards greater involvement of local communities

in forest management.

Changes in markets. More flexible parastatal agencies

(corporations, boards, enterprises) have been

established to provide more flexibility for operating

efficiently in a commercial environment.

technological changes. The increasing flow and

volume of information make it possible to bypass

lines of command and flatten organizational

structures, and a more informed public is demanding

efficiency, transparency and social and environmental

responsibility.

Public-sector forestry agencies have often initiated

structural changes themselves, largely out of resource

constraints. Devolution of management responsibility to

local levels is sometimes driven by the declining human

and financial capacity of institutions and the need to

reduce management costs.

The degree of change depends on the circumstances

from adaptation of functions and structure to external

changes, to deep change involving revisiting the

institutions core values and mission, followed by

appropriate functional and structural changes.

Striking the right balance between stability and

change is a major challenge facing forestry organizations.

Change is necessary and inevitable, but some level of

stability is also important, especially for consistency in the

implementation of forest policies and, more importantly, to

retain institutional capacity. Instability from too-frequent

changes can promote staff attrition and undermine the

accumulation of knowledge and experience as well as the

development of institutional memory. People need to be

an integral part of the change process.

Reinventing institutions is difficult and can be

costly. Ideally, institutions should develop as learning

organizations in tune with the needs of society. Addressing

the human dimension of change is the most complex and

least often successful aspect.

Some examples from Asia and the Pacific

An example of radical change is the privatization of forest

plantations in New Zealand, largely triggered by economic

liberalization policies. Less radical, but still substantial

reforms establishing more flexible autonomous

parastatal agencies for specific activities, particularly in the

realm of commercial forestry have occurred in China, Fiji,

India and Myanmar.

Divesting responsibilities to local communities is

another major institutional development in Asia, particularly

notable in several countries: joint forest management in

India, management by forest users groups in Nepal and

community-based forest management in the Philippines.

There are also a number of instances in which

government forestry agencies have brought production

functions under more flexible autonomous institutions,

overcoming constraints stemming from governmental rules

and regulations. Research and development is another

area that has been reinvented to respond to the special

needs of scientific work (for example, the Forest Research

Institute of Malaysia).

BOX 2 reinventing public forestry institutions


region,especiallyinthetwolargestcountries,ChinaandIndia.Manyexpertsbelievethatthisgrowthwillhaveapositiveimpactontheeconomiesofothercountries.Itisalreadyhavinganimpactonforestryintermsofdemandforbothforestproductsandservicefunctionsofforests. Primaryforestscontinuetodeclineatarapidratein

manycountries,especiallyinSoutheastAsia.Illegalloggingcontinuesinseveralcountries,particularlyinselectedareaswithhigh-valuetimber.Problemsaremostacuteincountriesthatarenotbenefitingfromeconomicgrowth,becausesuchgrowthhelpsprovideresourcestostrengtheninstitutions.

Whilethenetforestareainmostcountriesoftheregioncontinuestodecline,severalcountriesareincreasingtheirforestareaasaresultofinvestmentsinafforestationandrehabilitation.

Economicdevelopmentcreatesproblemsaswellasopportunities.Itisachallengetoensurethatcommercialtimberharvestingisdonewithcaresothatdamagetotheforestisminimized.SeveralAsiancountriesareimplementingregionalandnationalcodesofforestharvestingpracticestodealwiththisproblem.

Highratesofforestplantationcanresultinafalsesenseofprogressif,infact,naturalforestsarebeingreplacedbyplantedforests.

Forestdisturbancesbypestsanddiseasesposeasignificantthreat,especiallytonewplantations.Asclimatevariabilityincreases,thethreattoforestsfromfireincreasesaswell.ThemoistforestsofSoutheast

Asia,longthoughttobeimmunetomajorfires,areincreasinglybeingburned,withhugelossesoftimberandadditionalproblemsrelatingtohumanhealthandtrade,forexample.Thereisevidencethatforestdegradationiscontributingtoopeningupmoisttropicalforests,allowingthemtodryoutandbecomemoresusceptibletolargeforestfires.

Lossofbiologicaldiversityisaconcern. Theforestsectoriswitnessingatrendtowards

moreparticipatorydecision-making.Thepoliticalcommitmenttosustainableforestmanagementhasneverbeenstronger,andmostcountrieshavearelativelysoundpolicyandlegislativefoundationforimplementingit.Therearebroadtrendstowardsmoreprivateownershipofforests,increasedclarityofforestresourcestenure,anddecentralizedmanagement.

Oneofthegreatestchallengestopolicy-makersthroughouttheregionistoensurethatbenefitsfromforestproductsandservicesaresharedwiththepoorestsegmentsofsociety.HundredsofmillionsofpeopleinAsiaandthePacificcontinuetolivebelowthepovertyline,includinginthelargestcountrieswiththefastestgrowingeconomies.Asignificantnumberofruralpoorpeopleliveinforestsordependonforestsinwholeorinpartfortheirlivelihoods.Problemsremaintobesolved,butthereareincreasing

signsthatseveralcountriesintheAsiaandthePacificregionarestartingtoturnthecornertowardssustainableforestmanagement.


FigurE 24 Subregional breakdown used in this report

Europe excluding russian Federation: albania, andorra, austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and herzegovina, Bulgaria, croatia, czech republic, denmark, estonia,

faeroe islands, finland, france, germany, gibraltar, greece, holy See, hungary, iceland, ireland, isle of Man, italy, latvia, liechtenstein, lithuania, luxembourg, Malta, Moldova,

Monaco, netherlands, norway, Poland, Portugal, romania, San Marino, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the former Yugoslav republic

of Macedonia, ukraine, united Kingdom

Europe excluding Russian Federation

Russian Federation


EuropeExtEnt OF FORESt RESOuRCESForeststatisticsinEuropearedominatedbytheRussianFederation(includingthepartinAsia),whichaccountsfor81percentofthetotalforestarea.Forthepurposesofthisstudy,therefore,itwasdecidedtosimplydivideEuropeintotwocategories:theRussianFederationandallotherEuropeancountries.

ThereportedforestareaforEuropein2005(excludingtheRussianFederation)was193millionhectares,anincreaseofalmost7percentsince1990(Figure25andTable13).Thiscompareswithanetglobaldecreaseof3percentinforestareaoverthesameperiodoftime.Europeistheonlymajorregionwithanetincreaseinforestareaovertheentireperiodof19902005.(Asiahasreportedanetincreaseinthelastfiveyears,mainlyaresultofthemassiveafforestationprogrammeinChina.)

ThereportednetforestareaintheRussianFederationisvirtuallystable,withasmallincreaseinthe1990sandasmalldeclinefrom2000to2005.

ThenetincreaseinforestareainEuropeisaresult,inlargepart,ofsubstantialincreasesinseveralcountriesover20002005,ledbySpain(296000ha/yearaverageincrease)andItaly(106000ha/year),followedbyBulgaria,France,PortugalandGreece.Thelargestpercentageincreaseswerereportedbycountrieswithlowforestcover:Iceland(3.9percentincreaseinforestsperyear)andIreland(1.9percent)(Figure26).

TheRussianFederationwastheonlyEuropeancountryreportinganetlossofforestareaover20002005,anaveragedecreaseof96000ha/year;however,thisamountedtoonlya0.01percentlossoftotalforest

area.


Area


(1 000 ha)Annual change rate

(%)

1990 2000 2005 19902000 20002005 19902000 20002005

Europe excluding Russian Federation 180 370 188 823 192 604 845 756 0.46 0.40

Russian Federation 808 950 809 268 808 790 32 96 0 0.01

total Europe 989 320 998 091 1 001 394 877 661 0.09 0.07

World 4 077 291 3 988 610 3 952 025 8 868 7 317 0.22 0.18


Forest

Other wooded land

Other land cover

SOurCE: fao, 2001a.


SlightlylessthanhalfofEuropesnetincreaseinforestareaoverthepast15yearsresultsfromanincreaseinforestplantations(Table14).Therestresultsfromnaturalexpansionofforestsintoformeragriculturallandandtheestablishmentofsemi-naturalplantedforestsusingnativespecies,notconsideredtobeforestplantationsinEurope.

Netincreasesintheextentofforest,inforestplantationsandingrowingstockarepositivetrendstowardssustainableforestmanagementintheregion.TheRussianFederationistheonlyreportingcountrywithanegativetrendinthisregard,butitsnetdecreaseofforestareawasonly0.02percentovertheentireperiodof19902005.AllindicationsarethatEuropeancountrieshavesuccessfullystabilizedorincreasedtheirforestareas,inmanycasesfromthenineteenthorearlytwentieth

centuries.

BIOlOgICAl DIvERSItyTheconservationofbiologicaldiversityprovidesadifferentchallengeinEuropethaninotherregions.Whilefewspeciesarecurrentlythreatenedorendangered,thisismainlybecausemuchofEuropesforesthasbeen

drasticallychangedbyhumanactivityoverseveralmillennia.AlthoughmostofEuropehasbeendeforestedinthepastunderavarietyofhumaninfluencessuchasagriculture,industrializationandwar,manyareashavealsobeenreforested,naturallyorintentionally,overthe

centuries.Only4percentofEuropesforestarea(excluding

theRussianFederation)isclassifiedasprimaryforest,comparedwith27percentoftheworldasawhole.ThedataindicateaslightlyincreasingtrendinprimaryforestsinEurope,otherthanintheRussianFederation,whichaccountsfor97percentofEuropestotal.Russiasprimaryforestsincreasedinthe1990s,butdeclinedby0.2percentperyearfrom2000to2005.

Anotherimportantproxyforconservationofbiologicaldiversityistheextenttowhichforestecosystemsaredesignatedprimarilyforconservation.Apositiveglobaltrendinthe1990scontinuedduring20002005,withthetotalincreaseover15yearsapproaching100millionhectares,anincreaseof32percent(Table15).InEurope,theforestareadesignatedprimarilyforconservationincreasedby100percentoverthissameperiod.Mostofthisincreaseoccurredinthe1990s,butduring20002005theincreasewasstillsignificant,about3percentperyear.

0 - 0.5% decrease per year

0 - 1% increase per year

>1% increase per year

FigurE 26 Forest change rates by country, 20002005


Area


(1 000 ha)

1990 2000 2005 19902000 20002005

Europe excluding Russian Federation 8 561 10 032 10 532 147 100

Russian Federation 12 651 15 360 16 963 271 320

total Europe 21 212 25 393 27 495 418 420

World 101 234 125 525 139 466 2 424 2 788








Europe

Some10.5percentoftheforestareainEurope(excludingtheRussianFederation)isdesignatedforconservation,comparedwithaglobalaverageof10percent.IntheRussianFederation,forestconservationareaincreasedto2percentoftotalforestarea.

TheaveragenumberofthreatenedtreespeciespercountryinEuropeissignificantlylessthaninotherregions,whichwouldbeexpected,giventhegenerallysmallernumberofspeciesinthesetemperateandborealecosystems,aswellastherelativestabilityoftotalforestarea.

FORESt hEAlth AnD vItAlItyFiredamagetoforestsintheEuroperegion(excludingtheRussianFederation)constituteslessthan10percentoftheareareportedforinsectpests,diseasesandotherdisturbances.Comparedwithotherregionsoftheworld,non-firedisturbancesarerelativelywellreportedinEurope,withinformationreceivedonover90percentoftheforestarea.However,itisdifficulttocomparedata,sincetherearedifferentinterpretationsofwhatconstitutesadisturbance.Forestpestsandotherdisturbancesmayhaveevenmorewidespreadimpactthanreported.

ForEuropeasawhole,about2percentoftotalforestareawasreportedaffectedbydisturbancesinatypicalyear(consideringtheannualaverageover19982002).ForEuropeexcludingtheRussianFederation,thisfigureincreasestoabout6percent(Table16).Figure27indicatestherelativedisturbancescausedbythefourreportingcategories:fire,insects,diseasesandallothertypes(storms,drought,ice,etc.)forEuropeasawhole.ByfarthelargestdisturbanceinEuropewasstorms,whichwereparticularlyseverein1999.

Internationaltradehasincreasedtheriskofintroductionofdamagingpestsanddiseases.Forexample,

Anoplophora chinensis,whichoriginatesinJapanandtheKoreanpeninsula,whereitisaseriouspestofCitrusspp.andmanyotherdeciduoustrees,wasdiscoveredinEuropein2000inLombardy,Italy.Thepotentialimpactontheregionhasnotyetbeendetermined.

WithinEurope,theMinisterialConferenceontheProtectionofForestsinEurope(MCPFE)chosedefoliationasakeyindicatorofforesthealth.TheInternationalCooperativeProgrammeonForests(undertheUnitedNationsEconomicCommissionforEurope[UNECE]ConventiononLongRangeTransboundaryAirPollution)hassystematicallymonitoredthecrownconditionofforestssincethemid-1980s,whenthehealthofEuropesforestsbecameamatterofparticularconcern.


Area


(1 000 ha)

1990 2000 2005 19902000 20002005

Europe excluding Russian Federation 6 588 17 687 20 272 1 110 517


total Europe 18 402 33 877 36 760 1 548 576

World 298 424 361 092 394 283 6 267 6 638

taBle 16Forest disturbances

Disturbances affecting forests, average 19982002 (1 000 ha)

Fire Insects Diseases Other total

Europe excluding Russian Federation 326 1 400 2 178 7 038 10 942


total Europe 1 594 6 353 3 135 7 546 18 628

FigurE 27 Forest disturbances, 19982002

fire 9%

insect pests 34%

other 40%

diseases 17%


Thethirty-thirdsessionoftheEuropeanForestryCommission(FAO,2006f),indiscussingthevulnerabilityoftheregionsforests,consideredhowsectorpolicy-makerscouldreduceforestvulnerabilitytoextremeclimaticevents,insectpests,fire,climatechangeandotherthreats.Severalcountrieshavecompiledorarecompilinginformationontheirexperiencesinrespondingtodisastersasabasisforfutureemergencyaction.

Theabsenceofbaselinedataforearlierreportingperiodsmakesitdifficulttodeterminewhetherforesthealthisimprovingordeclining.However,iffrom2to6percentofforestareaisaffectedinanaverageyear,clearlythecumulativeeffectsandthelong-termconsequences,includingeconomicimpacts,canbe

significant.

PRODuCtIvE FunCtIOnS OF FORESt RESOuRCESInEurope,73percentoftotalforestareaisdesignatedprimarilyforproduction(52percent,excludingtheRussianFederation),comparedwithaglobalaverageof31percent(Table17).

TheareaofEuropesforestsdesignatedprimarilyforproductiondeclinedsignificantlyinthe1990s,butremainedrelativelystableduring20002005.TheconceptofforestsforproductionislessapplicableinEuropethaninsomeotherregions,becausemostforestsinEuropearedesignatedformultipleuse,whichincludesproductionandprotection.

Countrydatasuggestanincreaseinthetotalgrowingstockinmanycountries,especiallyinareasofCentral

Europewhereconservativesilvicultureandweakmarketshavebroughtgrowingstockperhectaretorecordhighlevels.Thenetresultattheregionallevelisanincreasebothintotalgrowingstockincubicmetresandincubicmetresperhectare(Table18).

WiththeRussianFederationexcluded,growingstockinEuropeincreasedatarateof1.3percentperyearover20002005,slightlylowerthantherateof1.4percentinthe1990s.GrowingstockalsocontinuestoincreaseslightlyintheRussianFederation,butRussiahaslowergrowingstockperhectarethantherestofEurope.Thisistobeexpected,consideringitsvastforestareasincolderregions.TheRussianFederationaccountsforalmost19percentoftheworldstotalforestgrowingstock,aboutthesameasBrazil,theotherleadingcountryinthisregard.

Anotherindicatoroftheproductivefunctionsofforestsisthelevelofwoodremovals.During20002005,woodremovalsincreasedatabout2percentperyearforEuropeasawhole.ThiswasledbyastrongreboundintheRussianFederation,wherewoodremovalshaddeclinedsharplyinthe1990s(Figure28).

RegardingNWFPs,Europeancountriesreportedremovalsofabout272000tonnesoffoodproductsfromforestsin2005(about6percentoftheworldtotal);6500tonnesofrawmaterialformedicineandaromaticproducts(5percent);and232000tonnesofotherplantproducts(18percent)(UNECE/FAO,2005).

Europesforestsareamongtheprimaryproducersofwoodintheworld.ExcludingtheRussianFederation,Europeaccountsfor23percentoftheworldsindustrialroundwoodremovals,butonly5percentoftheworldsforestarea.WhentheRussianFederationisincluded,


Area


(1 000 ha)

1990 2000 2005 19902000 20002005

Europe excluding Russian Federation

105 754 98

a0773e

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