This document provides information on status and trends in forest management by reporting on three selected national-level forest management indicators: whether the country is a member of an international initiative to develop and implement criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management; the area of forest covered by a management plan in each country; and the area of forest certified for sustainable forest management in each country. As of 2000, 149 countries were involved in nine different criteria and indicator processes. The information supplied on areas of forests under management indicate that 89 percent of forests in industrialized countries are being managed “according to a formal or informal management plan”. National statistics on forest management plans were not available for many developing countries; preliminary estimates showed that at least 123 million hectares, or about 6 percent of the total forest area, were covered by a “formal, nationally approved forest management plan covering a period of at least five years”. The area of certified forests worldwide at the end of 2000 was estimated to be about 81 million hectares, or about 2 percent of total forest area. Most certified forests are located in temperate, industrialized countries. Reliable information on longer-term trends of forest management worldwide is not readily available. The FAO Forest Resources Assessments of 1980 and 1990 and a study undertaken by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) in 1988 provide useful points of reference. In summary, the situation as regards forest management has improved in most regions during the period 1990-2000. Future global forest assessments should provide much improved data, as more countries begin to monitor indicators for sustainable forest management. The results of this study were presented in the Global Forest Resources Assessment. Main Report (FAO, 2001b) as well as in State of the World’s Forests 2001 (FAO, 2001c).
