Sustainable forest management

A new study in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B finds that forests which have undergone logging in the past, sometimes even twice, retain significant levels of biodiversity in Borneo. The researchers say these findings should push conservationists to protect more logged forests from being converted into oil palm plantations where biodiversity levels drop considerably and endangered species are almost wholly absent. Given that much of Borneo's forests have been logged as least once, these long-dismissed forests could become a new frontier for conservationists.

British development finance institution, CDC (www.cdcgroup.com) has committed US$50 million to the GEF Africa Sustainable Forestry Fund (GASFF), the first private equity fund to focus solely on sustainable forestry in sub-Saharan Africa. The fund is to be run by the investment team of Global Environment Fund (GEF) which has a long history of investing in sectors that make a positive impact on the environment and quality of life.

Experts from various institutions including Forestry and Environment, Community Forest Organizations, Timber Re-export Association and other relevant stakeholders Tuesday gathered at Baobab Beach Hotel in Kololi to address the issue of deforestation and climate change by planting one million trees for sustainable management of forest resources, as they noted that the country’s forest is seriously facing increasing exploitation due to population growth. The event was organized by the Ministry of Forestry and Environment.

A decade of cuts has left a priceless resource facing a homemade crisis...
There is an old saying that if the forest service is not planting trees, then it is not doing its job.

July 2010: The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has published a brief describing its investment programme for sustainable forest management (SFM) and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of carbon stocks ( REDD+), as well as opportunities for funding of forest-related activities in the fifth GEF cycle (GEF-5).