Introduction and overview

Abstract

Since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992,there have been a large number of global, regional and national initiatives to develop the concept, criteria, indicators, guidelines, actual practice and certification of sustainable forest management. The concept of sustainability itself continues to be debated vigoruously but essencially it seeks management of forests to maintain the output of all the services, products and other benefits that they can supply. While criteria and indicators of sustainabale forest management vary somewhat between regions and forests types, there is a reasonable and predictable similarity among them. However, there are great differences between their relevance at the global, regional and local scales.