FAO Forestry country profiles - forest management

Issues and concerns

A priority for Fiji¿s forestry sector is to win the support of all stakeholders to utilize forest resources in a sustainable manner. The land tenure system means that the responsibility for natural forest management rests largely with private and customary landowners. Fiji has also expressed strong interest in the development of an internationally accepted certification system for its forest products. A major challenge is to successfully market timber and timber products from forest plantations. Other issues include shifting cultivation by subsistence farmers, commercial agricultural expansion, increasing fuelwood requirements, clearing of forests for industrial development, fire and illegal logging in remote areas. Because all commercial forested land is owned by tribes, the task to ensure sustainability rests with them. As such, actions taken to mitigate aforementioned issues include an aggressive awareness training of forest owners and stakeholders on balancing conservation, production and development of forest resources.