Introduction

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), has been reporting on forest resources for the last half a century. All countries in all regions are systematically covered. As demand of information is continually increasing, the forest resources assessment (FRA) has to widen the thematic coverage, improve data production and compilation methodologies. Countries are key players in the entire process of data production. Together with the international processes and forums, they provide FAO with the necessary orientations global forest resources assessments. The last global assessment (FRA 2000) was the most comprehensive in terms of volume of information collected and processed and the number of parameters analysed. FRA 2000 concluded however, that the level of availability and reliability of information is still low in the developing countries.

last updated: Tuesday, March 25, 2003