There have been several major research efforts on the rate and causes of Indonesia's deforestation in recent years and much associated literature, but there is still no consensus in the research community on these issues. This paper reviews the areas of uncertainty and confusion, and proposes questions that must be answered to get a better grasp of the subject.

CIFOR has been actively engaged in field research in Indonesia focussing particularly on the role of forests and forest products in generating sustainable livelihoods for local users. Issues such as incentives and institutional structures for equitable and sustainable management systems have been highlighted in this research, which has been undertaken with the active co-operation of local NGOs.

As forest scientists widen their field of view and look at problems in a across-sectoral way, and with a sense of history, they start to ask, and aswer, more of the pressing questions. If they adopt an analytical, rather than a descriptive approach, they will make many new discoveries. The new policy environment in which forest science now has to operate reflects a growing concern about environmental change, locally and globally, and the need to control this through more sustainable development.

This subchapter examines the NWFP trends in the area designated as the Bulungan Research Forest, which has been allocated by the Indonesian government to CIFOR for research purposes. The research forest covers 303 000 hectares in Bulungan district, East Kalimantan, between the Malinau and Bahau rivers, adjacent to the Kayan-Mentarang National Park. The NWFPs discussed include animals and birds, camphor, gaharu, gutta percha, illipe nuts, damar and rattan. The article also raises questions about how these trends and scenarios will unfold in the future in areas such as Bulungan.

Ce projet financé par le PNUE et mis en oeuvre par le CIFOR s’est intéressé aux forêts tropicales humides d’Afrique occidentale, plus particuliérement au Ghana et au Nigeria, avec des informations complémentaires provenant du Libéria, de Sierra Leone et du Cameroun. L’objectif général était de faire une synthèse de toute l’information disponible sur les formations forestières humides d’Afrique occidentale afin de catalyser les initiatives susceptibles de favoriser l’adoption de principes de gestion durable des forêts dans toute la région. Le rapport se divise en neuf chapitres.

The information available to researchers in today’s world and the technology to access and utilise it is expanding rapidly. Unfortunately, most forestry and forestry research organisations in the Asia-Pacific region neither have access to nor can utilise effectively the vast amount of existing information for decision making. A number of organisations in the region share common objectives to develop capacity in the forestry research sector.

Technology will help to address the challenges for sustainable forestry in the 21st century. Some of the challenges will include the shift of production from native forest to plantations in areas of comparative advantage, more efficient processing delinking end-use products from raw wood characteristics, increased demand, better information technologies to support decision makers, and more options for conserving biodiversity.