With its 250-year history, Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) is now viewed as a model for managing forests worldwide. Yet despite the frequent use of the term there remain many questions concerning its meanings, criteria as well as its practical application.

"With its 250-year history, Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) is now viewed as a model for managing forests worldwide. Yet despite the frequent use of the term there remain many questions concerning its meanings, criteria as well as its practical application.This book explores the current potential of SFM within the context of the rapid changes occurring in our natural and social environment, and examines the broad range issues - climate change, finance, governance, policy, certification, reduced-impact logging, non-timber products and services and stakeholder participation in land-use decisions - within the context of forest use, functions and conservation.With contributions from high-level representatives from the World Bank, FAO, IUCN and UNEP, as well as from leading academics - and including case studies from Europe and the tropics - this timely synthesis will provide a valuable reference for advanced students and researchers interested in forest and natural resource management, participatory and extension research, forest ecology and ecosystem services, functions and values, as well as for those involved in forest policy at local, regional and international levels.'Every so often, a discipline should take stock where we are and where we are going. This book is doing that in a very timely manner. As we gain an appreciation of the magnitude and implications of future changes, the authors present views and ideas on a wide range of topics related to sustainable forest management. They provide a much needed overview of challenges in the face of climate and other aspects of global change. The book incorporates recent advances in a variety of fields and provides suggestions for solutions to important management problems that range from theoretical approaches to practical applications.' Klaus J. Puettmann, Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, USA."

Introduction: Some Basic Remarks on Sustainable Forest Management, Environment and Global Ethics.- Sustaining the World's Forests: Managing Competing Demands for a Vital Resource - The Role of the World Bank.- Conservation of Tropical Forests and Climate Change Mitigation.- The State of Europe's Forests: 2007 - Report of the Fifth Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe for Sustainable Forest Management in Europe.- Sustainable Forest Management in the Tropics - Still a Long Way to Go?.- Non-wood Forest Products for Livelihoods and Sustainable Development.- Conservation of Forest Genetic Resources: The Basis for Adaptability in Managed Forests.- Adaptive Forest Management: A Prerequisite for Sustainable Forestry in the Face of Climate Change.- A Scientific Perspective for Silviculture.- Forest-Related Climate Mitigation Options: Dialogues for Exploring Opportunities and Threats.- Key Challenges in Forest Protected Area Management.- Forest Organisations in Change: Examples from the Tropics and Subtropics.- Forestry or "The Art of Flying Blind". Sustainability in an Era of Global Change.- Sustainable Forest Management as a Model for Sustainable Development: Conclusions Toward a Concrete Vision.