Tools and models
With the development of modern microcomputers, it has become much easier for forest managers and policymakers to perform economic appraisals of forest management and policy options. Indeed, with a little knowledge of forest economics and competence in programs such as spreadsheets, it is now quite easy to perform relatively simple economic analyses.
The availability of information about the economics of forestry has also increased substantially as research in this area has developed. The literature on forestry economics has expanded and is becoming more accessible with the development of on-line databases, websites and bibliographic tools.
One role of FAO is to assist countries with the development and sharing of information, so that they can improve forest management and policies. The development and dissemination of tools and models forms part of this effort. In this respect, FAO has collected a number of computer models and is developing databases to assist with forest investment, policy and project appraisal.
This webpage presents some databases and models that might be useful for economic analysis in the forestry sector. These materials are provided without warranty or technical assistance (other than the documentation that is available here). However, most of the models are quite simple and it is hoped that anyone with a reasonable amount of experience in forest economics and computer spreadsheets will be able to use them or to develop them further for their own purposes.
FAO would welcome others to submit similar models if they would like to join us in this effort (see contacts page). FAO will continue to work with countries to develop tools and models, in the hope that this will lead to an improvement in forest management and forestry policies around the world.