Forest Cover
1. INTRODUCTION
The June 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), underlined the necessity for all countries to develop harmonised approaches in the management, conservation and sustainable development of global forests is essential to meet the socio-economic and environmental needs of the present and future generations. To achieve this goal, the UNCED also realised, among others, the need to sustain the multiple roles and functions of all types of forests, as well as the need to enhance forest conservation, management, and global forest cover as outlined in Programmes A and B of Chapter 11 under Agenda 21, respectively. In addition, the need to ensure the conservation and sustainable utilisation of biological diversity is also emphasised under Chapter 15 of Agenda 21.
While all these are now being recognised, the priority is to operationalise and implement the UNCED programmes, bearing in mind that the full implementation of the adopted Statement of Forest Principles and the various forestry programme areas under Agenda 21 is feasible only on the basis of international efforts towards attaining concrete goals. Hence, this paper is intended to provide a basis for discussion on the implementation of specific aspects of these programmes, particularly that on forest conservation, enhancement of forest cover and the roles of forests, as well as to suggest possible areas of collaboration for national and international actions.
2. FOREST CONSERVATION
Forests are influenced by climate, landform and soil composition and they exist in a wide variety of forms in the tropical, temperate and boreal zones of the world. Each forest type, evergreen and deciduous, coniferous and broadleaved, wet and dry, as well as closed and open canopy forests, has its own uniqueness and together these forests complement one another and perform the various socio-economic, ecological, environmental, cultural and spiritual functions.
Recent surveys on a global
The June 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), underlined the necessity for all countries to develop harmonised approaches in the management, conservation and sustainable development of global forests is essential to meet the socio-economic and environmental needs of the present and future generations. To achieve this goal, the UNCED also realised, among others, the need to sustain the multiple roles and functions of all types of forests, as well as the need to enhance forest conservation, management, and global forest cover as outlined in Programmes A and B of Chapter 11 under Agenda 21, respectively. In addition, the need to ensure the conservation and sustainable utilisation of biological diversity is also emphasised under Chapter 15 of Agenda 21.
While all these are now being recognised, the priority is to operationalise and implement the UNCED programmes, bearing in mind that the full implementation of the adopted Statement of Forest Principles and the various forestry programme areas under Agenda 21 is feasible only on the basis of international efforts towards attaining concrete goals. Hence, this paper is intended to provide a basis for discussion on the implementation of specific aspects of these programmes, particularly that on forest conservation, enhancement of forest cover and the roles of forests, as well as to suggest possible areas of collaboration for national and international actions.
2. FOREST CONSERVATION
Forests are influenced by climate, landform and soil composition and they exist in a wide variety of forms in the tropical, temperate and boreal zones of the world. Each forest type, evergreen and deciduous, coniferous and broadleaved, wet and dry, as well as closed and open canopy forests, has its own uniqueness and together these forests complement one another and perform the various socio-economic, ecological, environmental, cultural and spiritual functions.
Recent surveys on a global