Sustainable forest management is considered as one of the most important contributions which the forestry sector can make to the sustainable development objectives of any nation, particularly those richly endowed with forest.

This website aims at sharing information, data and experiences about the on-going international processes on criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management stemming from the The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, UNCED.

The UNCED, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, set the guiding principles for sustainable forest management as a contribution towards sustainable development.

The "Forest Principles" and Chapter 11 of Agenda 21, adopted during the conference, enshrine the commitments made by countries in the forestry domain, including the need of "formulating scientifically sound criteria and guidelines for the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests."