Author Kengen S.

Year of publication 1997

At a time of many pressing and competing demands for financial resources, the forest sector needs an unchallengeable basis for analysis if forestry investment is effectively to compete with other alternatives. When this study was launched the perception was that proper valuation is an important element in making the case for forestry or for recognizing when alternative land uses are better options. A review of the literature suggests that the exhaustion of forest resources has been a major concern throughout history although usually restricted to a local context or national boundaries. However, with the emergence of the environmentalist movement in recent decades, this concern has been extended beyond national boundaries to international level, particularly with regard to tropical forests. This publication aims to provide the decision-maker on investment projects and those involved in forestry investment project preparation with a pragmatic view of forestry valuation. This publication has been prepared primarily to serve two audiences: decision-makers on investment projects, who need exposure to the purpose, limits and context of valuation, and those who prepare forestry investment projects and who want a full briefing on contextual aspects and what it is possible and not possible to do with valuation in their forestry work.