The CFA is pleased to announce the publication of Commonwealth Forests 2010 – an overview of the forests and forestry sectors of the countries of the Commonwealth,  It is a revised and expanded version of the book which first appeared in 2008 and contains the most up-to-date and extensive information available on the Commonwealth’s forest resource.  In his introduction, Mark Collins, Director of the Commonwealth Foundation posed the question, in the three years since the first edition of Commonwealth Forests was produced “we learnt that the Commonwealth’s forests are disappearing about 70% faster than the rest of the world’s. In this re-evaluation the figures remain broadly the same. Are we doing enough?”.  Not surprisingly this book suggests that the picture is worrying and there is much that needs to be done.

The purpose of this volume is not to provide a blueprint for survival but an outline of the facts that can be used by foresters, policy makers, scientists and students in their work.  Forests in the Commonwealth make up about one fifth of the world’s total forest cover, but in most Commonwealth countries natural forests continue to be destroyed and degraded.  This is having profound effects on our environment and our society.  We all depend heavily on forests for the services they provide, whether it is the local benefits of provision of food and shelter or on the international scale through the crucial role that forests play in the management of global carbon emissions. But we can only begin to appreciate, conserve and manage our forests if we understand how they function at biological and economic levels.  The people of Commonwealth countries have a long history of forest exploration, documentation and use, all of which has been synthesized in this volume to enable the reader to gain a thorough understanding of our shared forest resource.

The book is divided into eight chapters and seven annexes.  The chapters cover The Forest Resource; Sustainable Forest Management; Benefits from the Forest; Forest policy, Law and Administration; Professional Education in Forestry, Forest Research in the Commonwealth, and The Commonwealth and the International Forestry Dialogue.  While the annexes provide valuable facts and figures on the forest resource, management and conservation, wood production and consumption, employment, forestry journals, forestry associations and international forestry fora.

The volume is larger than its predecessor, being A4 in size and lavishly illustrated throughout. 

The book’s central message is echoed in Prince Charles’s conclusion to his message “Forests for a major element of our common wealth; is it imperative that we continue to work together to find ways to protect, preserve and value them.”

Price to non-members £10 plus p&p.

CONTENTS (click on chapter headings to download)

Message from HRH The Prince of Wales

Foreword by Dr Mark Collins

Introduction

Acknowledgements

Glossary

Chapter 1: The Forest Resource By Jim Ball

Chapter 2: Sustainable Forest Management By Jim Ball

Chapter 3: Benefits from the Forest By Gary Q. Bull, Steven Northway and Jim Ball

Chapter 4: Forest policy, Law and Administration By Jim Ball

Chapter 5: Professional Education in Forestry By John Innes

Chapter 6: Forest Research in the Commonwealth Edited by P.J. Wood

Chapter 7: The Commonwealth and the International Forestry Dialogue By Jim Ball

Chapter 8: Main Challenges and Opportunities in Commonwealth Forestry By Jim Ball

Annex 1: Data on Commonwealth Countries

1.1 Land Area and Population, 2006

1.2 Socio-economic Indicators Related to the Forestry Sector, 2006

1.3 Agricultural Land Use, 2000

Annex 2: The Forest Resource

2.1 Extent of Forest and Other Wooded Land, 2010

2.2 Area and Change in Extent of Primary Forest, 1990-2010

2.3 National Importance of Forest Ecological Zones

2.4 Change in Extent of Forest, 1990-2010

2.5 Planted Forests, 1990-2010

2.6 Forest Ownership, 2005

Annex 3: Management and Conservation

3.1 Management of the Production,

Tropical Permanent Forest Estate, 2005

3.2 Management of the Protection, Tropical Permanent Forest Estate, 2005

3.3 Commonwealth Member Countries of International Processes on Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management

3.4 Commonwealth Countries with some Forests under Certification Schemes

3.5 IUCN Protected Area Categories

Annex 4: Wood Production and Consumption, Employment

4.1 Production, Trade and Consumption of Industrial Roundwood in Commonwealth Countries, 2006

4.2 Woodfuel Consumption in Commonwealth Countries, 2006

4.3 Employment in Selected Commonwealth Countries in the Forestry Sector

Annex 5: Commonwealth Forestry Associations and Forestry Journals

5.1 Professional Forestry Associations in the Commonwealth

5.2 Commonwealth Forestry Journals

Annex 6: International Forestry-related Fora, Agreements, Conventions and Regulations

6.1 Links to International Forestry-related Fora, Agreements, Conventions and Regulations

6.2 Ratification of International Forestry Conventions by Commonwealth Countries, 2009

6.3 Tree Species in CITES Appendices I, II and III

Annex 7: Country Information

Size 295mm x 210mm

Pages 185pp