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2 - Why Forests Matter?

from Part I - Wicked Problems and Policies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 July 2020

By
Frances Seymour
Edited by
William Nikolakis  and
John L. Innes
William Nikolakis
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia, Vancouver
John L. Innes
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia, Vancouver
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Summary

Forest policy is a wicked problem precisely because forests matter to so many different people for so many different reasons. Developing institutions to mediate among the various claimants to forest land, buyers and sellers of forest goods, and beneficiaries of forest services has proven challenging to local user groups and international negotiators alike. This chapter focuses on tropical forests, which have a disproportionately significant value for global biodiversity conservation and climate stability, as well as contributing to the livelihoods of some of the world’s poorest people. However, tropical forests are disappearing at alarming rates. There are no simple solutions to solving wicked forest policy problems, but community forestry, improved governance, changing norms, new forms of finance and technology, such as advances in remote sensing technology, are crucial to sustainably managing forests.

Keywords

ForestsGlobal forest policyInstitutionsForest valuesWicked problems
Type
Chapter
Information
The Wicked Problem of Forest Policy
A Multidisciplinary Approach to Sustainability in Forest Landscapes
 , pp. 33 - 58
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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