The current study was conducted in Cameroon from July 1996 to June 1997. In general, it aims to describe the current structure of the Cameroon logging industry, assess its importance within Cameroon's economy, and analyse recent developement which the industry has experienced since the devaluation of the CFA franc in January 1994.

The trade in illegally harvested timber provides a living for more than 45,000 people, a major source of income for corrupt officials and not a cent for the state.

Projects implemented as part of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol will have the dual mandate of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to sustainable development. It is not yet clear what, if any, forestry activities will be eligible for CDM. Nor is it known what rules will guide the implementation of CDM projects. These decisions have important implications for poor people who live in and around forests in developing countries.

Projects implemented as part of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol will have the dual mandate of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to sustainable development. It is not yet clear what, if any, forestry activities will be eligible for CDM. Nor is it known what rules will guide the implementation of CDM projects. These decisions have important implications for poor people who live in and around forests in developing countries.

Peru has the fourth largest area of peatlands in the Tropics. Its most representative land cover on peat is a Mauritia flexuosa dominated palm swamp (thereafter called dense PS), which has been under human pressure over decades due to the high demand for the M. flexuosa fruit often collected by cutting down the entire palm. Degradation of these carbon dense forests can substantially affect emissions of greenhouse gases and contribute to climate change. The first objective of this research was to assess the impact of dense PS degradation on forest structure and biomass carbon stocks.

Criteria and indicators (C&I) are tools to define, communicate and evaluate the sustainability of forest management. Since the Rio summit in 1992, numerous initiatives developed a various C&I sets as multifunctional tools to be applied for monitoring, auditing, science and decisions makers. The existing diversity of C&I sets is a cause for uncertainty and confusion, and thereby diminishes the acceptance and efficiency of the tool.

The need for new criteria and indicators for the assessment of biodiversity conservation as part of sustainable forest management of tropical forests has been identified as a priority by many international organisations. Those biodiversity criteria and indicators which formed part of a much broader initial assessment by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) (Prabhu et al. 1996) were found to be deficient. This Working Paper contains specific proposals for biodiversity criteria and indicators.