A serious, growing concern over natural forests has been evident over the past decade. Deforestation and degradation has continued at often-alarming rates in spite of schemes for long-term sustainable forest management and the creation of extensive protected areas for natural forest conservation. While such reservations create a variety of protected forests, commercial timber harvesting is prohibited where non-timber values are deemed to outweigh timber values, removing forests from production.
Deeply rooted misgivings about the ecological status of
natural forests, and the cumulative adverse consequences of past conventional
forest management and policies, question the future of sustainability. Given the
widespread concerns about past natural forest use, the pace of deforestation,
and the degraded condition of much of the remaining forests, should more forests
be set aside in favor of natural forest conservation? If so, where will future
timber supply derive? Can man-made forest plantations provide a significant
alternative to offset the impact of continued deforestation and degradation of
natural forests?
