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IntroductionBackgroundThe extent of tropical forests being purposely managed on an operational scale for the sustainableproduction of wood is, on a world scale, very small and may be as little as five per cent of the totaltropical forest area. Progress in establishing stable and enduring forest management arrangementsis so slow that it is currently having little impact on the general decline and quality of tropical forests.These Guidelines have been written as a partial response to this concern.

Sustainable forest management signifies that due attention be given to the productive, protective,social and environmental aspects in an integrated manner. Recent international efforts haveconcentrated on efforts to facilitate monitoring of effects of forest management through thespecification of criteria, by which sustainability is defined; and the identification of corresponding,quantitative, qualitative and descriptive indicators, to be used as tools for monitoring and evaluationboth of the effects of forest management and of possible remedial action ta en to improvemanagement strategies and methodologies to better meet specified aims !see "nnex #$.The present Guidelines aim at providing advice related mainly to one of the seven or eight commonlyused criteria for sustainable forest management% the productive functions of the forest; and morespecifically, on the production of timber, wood and wood products from forest ecosystems.

" companion volume on management of tropical forests for the production of non&wood products iscurrently in preparation. 'orestry Paper #(), *+onservation of enetic Resources in Tropical 'orest-anagement* !'" #//0$, in turn, reviews principles and concepts related to genetic aspects oftropical forest management. 1ocumentation on forest management planning; and on socio&economicaspects of tropical forest management is also and on will provide complementary information in thisregard.The main purpose of these Guidelines is to promote and encourage more extensive application offorest management practices for the production of wood that will ensure that tropical forests willimprove the contribution of the forestry sector as a component of sustainable social and economicdevelopment. 2t is hoped that they will fill a need for procedural and practical guidance on howmanagers wor ing in and close to tropical forests can plan and underta e operations where the

production of wood is the main ob3ective, within the wider framewor of a comprehensive strategyinto which the various complementary components of sustainability are incorporated in a holisticmanner.Intended usersThe primary users of these Guidelines will be those involved in forest planning and management atthe operational forest level. 4sers are li ely to be government district forest officers, concessionmanagers and supervisors, managers and planners of privately&owned forests, supervisors oflogging and wood processing companies and forest supervisors of local communities and of non&governmental organi5ations having a managerial role with tropical forests. 2t need not of course belimited to these predominantly field users. thers are forestry students, lecturers and personnelinvolved with forestry sector development planning and policy development. The attention of usersshould be drawn to the fact that wood production constitutes one of many, mutually complementaryand generally compatible uses and functions of forests and forest ecosystems, and thatmanagement for the production of wood should invariably be within the wider framewor of forestmanagement.Scope of the Guidelines6ithin the framewor of sustainable forest management, the present uidelines cover themanagement of tropical forests for wood production, because they are among the largest woodsources in tropical developing countries and, equally importantly, because there is a compelling needfor well planned management of them. 7mphasis upon wood production recognises that timber andother wood products from tropical forests are in high and continuing demand worldwide and that

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wood can to be produced profitably from them on a sustainable basis through careful management,which duly considers also the other values of forest ecosystems. 2t is an ac nowledgement that, inmost cases, revenue from wood production is li ely to be the most secure source of funding formaintaining the range of environmental services that tropical forests can provide.The Guidelines, in focusing mainly on the criterion of maintaining the productive functions of theforest, and more specifically on the production of wood and non&wood products, are intended to bepractical and provide advice on how to plan and manage tropical forests for the sustainableproduction of wood. Principles rather than detail are highlighted thereby enabling potential users toadapt the guidance offered to their own local situations. They do not provide a comprehensivepresentation of new methodologies that are being developed for forest management. The aim hasbeen to eep the Guidelines relatively simple and focused on basic issues concerned with how theproduction of wood in tropical forests can be planned and implemented in practice at an operationallevel. 2t is a response to an expressed need for basic guidance on topics concerning the sustainableproduction of wood in tropical forests which were not easily available. 2t is recognised that it isdifficult at the present time to include all aspects of sustainable forest management in one boo andthese Guidelines do not attempt to do this.2t is ac nowledged that environmental and social considerations are important in planning abalanced approach to sustainable management of tropical forests for wood production.

The Guidelines may be read in their entirety in order to provide a comprehensive review of the stepsinvolved in maintaining and sustainably utilising the productive functions of the tropical forest, or theymay be referred to part&by&part for detail on specific stages of management focused on woodproduction. Selected boo s, papers and reports having relevance to topics covered in each part arelisted. These include references to information presented in the Guidelines which may be referred tofor greater detail on specific topics. The Guidelines complement other publications currently underpreparation elsewhere. 7ach has its own focus but collectively are all expected to contribute towardsthe goal of achieving sustainable tropical forest management that will be of enduring value to forestcommunities, to forest owners and to others who have direct interests in them. "dvice has beendrawn from existing nowledge and experience in tropical "sia, "frica and "merica.There is no universal model for the management of tropical forestsThere are two strong arguments in support of management for the production of wood in naturaltropical forests. The first is that no ecologically satisfactory alternative land uses to natural forestsare to be found for many tropical sites because they are too infertile for agriculture. Secondly, woodhaving the qualities found in many types of tropical forests cannot be produced as cheaply, in largedimensions or in the quantities required to meet present and future industrial requirements fromintensively managed plantations on the same infertile sites. -aintaining the land under a permanentforest cover, and adopting a planned basis of sustained yield management within an overall,sustainable forest management plan, is usually the most appropriate long&term developmentstrategy.Significant policy, legislative, technical, economic and social differences between countries mean

that each country needs to approach the challenge of determining an effective development strategyin its own way.2t is because of such wide&ranging variation that there can be no single approach or method forachieving sustainable management of tropical forests where wood production is the main ob3ective.

"lthough these Guidelines do not illustrate all methods or techniques that can be applied forsecuring better quality and more extensive forest management, they do aim to describe principles,systems and a number of practical ways that can be adapted to help improve management practicespertaining to the criterion related to the production of wood. 'lexibility and adaptation of principlesand advice will enable national forest managers to develop their own approach to forestmanagement, considering the opportunities and constraints of each case.

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6hilst there is no universal model for sustainable management of tropical forests, there is aconsiderable body of collective nowledge and experience from tropical "sia, "merica and "fricawhich can be shared and adapted to local circumstances. 2t is hoped that the advice set out on thesustained production of wood and wood products in these Guidelines can be adapted to thesituations prevailing in each country which will gradually lead to meaningful increases in the extent of tropical forests that can be managed on a sustainable basis for wood production.2 An overview of tropical forest management for wood production

A definition of tropical forests'orests growing in tropical regions vary widely in composition, structure,, function and productivitybecause of the diversity of climates, soil types and biogeographic conditions where they grow.1efinitions of tropical forests are varied. 'or the purposes of these Guidelines they are considered tocomprise two forest classes, namely, evergreen tropical rainforests and moist deciduous tropicalforests as defined by '" in 'igure #. These classes are sometimes grouped together and referredto as Tropical 8igh 'orests, located in the tropical belt of the world where the dry season is short ordoes not occur at all. 9oth classes are of seedling origin that normally develop a high closed canopy.Figure 1: Forest Classes Comprising Tropical ForestsEvergreen Tropical Rainforests: Occur where the annual rainfall is greater than 2,500 mm, where forests growmostly at low elevations, are evergreen, luxuriant, predominantly of hardwood species, have a complex structure

and are rich in both plants and animals. Soils tend to be shallow and poor in nutrients, features having a mar edeffect on forest management practices.Moist Deciduous Tropical Forests: Occur where the annual rainfall is between !,000 and 2,500 mm. "hecomposition and structure vary greatly depending on rainfall distribution, temperature and soil types. "hey are lessrich in tree species and much less biologically diverse than the tropical rainforests.Source# $%O, !&&'. "he (hallenge of Sustainable $orest )anagement.The current status of tropical forests in the worldTropical forest occurs in more than :( countries and, in #//(, occupied 0) per cent of the total landarea of the tropical regions, about one&third of the world s forest cover. They are the source of mostof the wood harvested in the tropics. 6ithin this large area is a diverse range of forest types, but theymay be broadly grouped into four main classes%

& 7vergreen tropical rainforests & -oist deciduous forests& 1ry forest 5ones & 4pland forest formations.The greatest concentration of evergreen tropical rainforests is in +entral and tropical South "merica,constituting atin "merica. This class is now less extensive than tropical rainforestsbecause much of the land where it formerly occurred is well suited for human settlement, has beencleared and is now used for agriculture and other purposes. 9amboo and rattan are also significantresources in many tropical forests.Rates of deforestation of tropical forests

"lthough the extent of the world s forests is still substantial with some ?( per cent of the earth s landsurface under various types of tree cover, there are ma3or differences in the rates of forest lossamongst different forest types. Tropical forests and other types, such as dry and upland forestformations, are estimated to have covered some #,)/( million hectares in #//(, down more than #=(million hectares in the #( years from #/:(, a decline of (.: per cent annually in tropical developingcountries. The decline has continued in the period between #//( and #//

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Tropical Region Land Area of Each Region Total Forested Area in 199 Tropical Rainforests Moist Deciduous Forests

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