The Asia-Pacific region is the world's most populous, home to more than 3.3 billion people - more than 55 percent of the global population. Its constituent countries include some of the world's most densely populated, such as Bangladesh and Singapore. Others, such as Mongolia and Australia, are among the world's least populated. Countries such as Japan and Brunei Darussalam are among the world's richest, while Nepal, Cambodia and several others are among the poorest. The Cook Islands and the Solomon Islands have among the highest proportionate forest cover in the world, while Pakistan and Tonga are among the countries with the least forest cover. China and Indonesia have among the world's most extensive national forest areas, while Nauru and Tokelau are among the smallest countries, with the least forest area.
The forests of Asia and the Pacific constitute an immense renewable resource and make a vital contribution to the environment, societies and economies of the region. The countries of the region all advocate commitment to principles of sustainable forest management (SFM), although many are struggling to translate this commitment into meaningful action. Several Asia-Pacific countries are leaders in implementing participatory forest management. Many have recognized that very high population pressures mean that effective SFM can only be implemented if communities and key stakeholders are strongly involved in forest management and decision-making. At the same time, rigid cultural and bureaucratic structures invoke considerable inertia in the face of otherwise rapid change. Institutions and groups that have historically controlled forest management have generally been loath to give up the economic benefits, power and prestige that accompany these responsibilities.
The Asia-Pacific region is, consequently, characterized by diversity - in cultures, in politics, in economies, in ecologies and environments, and in the key national challenges to be faced. But, at the same time, the countries of the region are strongly linked through the aspirations of their people and through recognition that globalization requires a unified Asia-Pacific community, in order to maximise prosperity and ensure the perspectives of the region are clearly heard.
During the past decade, FAO has produced a biennial publication, The State of the World's Forests, which reports on the status of forests, recent major policy and institutional developments and key issues concerning the forestry sector. FAO is also collaborating through its regional commissions to produce a series of regional outlook studies originating with the Asia-Pacific Forestry Sector Outlook Study (APFSOS) published in 1998. The foreword to the APFSOS notes that:
For some time, FAO had been concerned that, while the forestry situations in selected countries were well documented and global analyses regularly assessed the forestry situation at macro levels, many of the complex relationships at regional levels were being overlooked and under-appreciated. Consequently, understanding of many of the more subtle - though no less important - dynamics of the sector was being affected.
The objectives of this State of Forestry in Asia and the Pacific are, consequently, to review and update the status, trends and changes in forestry in the region, as well as to present an Asia-Pacific perspective on major issues affecting the forestry sector. It also seeks to link analysis of national and global dynamics - as envisaged in the APFSOS study.
The Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission (APFC) meets in formal session every two years. The nineteenth session of the Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission was held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in August 2002. Preparatory to the meeting, member countries were asked to submit national reports documenting status, trends and key changes in forestry. This document has been prepared on the basis of information contained in these national reports, complemented by FAO reports and statistics and information from other sources.
