Government
Conservation of forest resources and land use
Forest stand management
Agroforestry
Forest products and industry
Forest products marketing and trade
Social and economic trends and the environment
An objective of the present study was to review the great wealth of published materials and reports regarding the forestry sector in the Asia Pacific Region relative to systematically identifying the critical or key issues confronting the Region. Almost one hundred major sources were identified and examined whenever possible relative to major coverage by country and issues or problems identified.7 In addition, approximately one hundred other references were identified as Supplementary Sources which relate to forestry in the Asia Pacific Region or to individual countries or issues. Undoubtedly, these extensive materials are not complete with respect to the current knowledge and reporting for the Asia Pacific Region. However, it is felt that the critical issues and problems have been sufficiently identified to chart direction for future research and analysis oriented to an integrated synthesis of the dynamics and outlook for the Region recognizing the great differences and diversity which exists within the sub-regions and individual countries.
7 See the Bibliography for citations to the key references utilized in the present review. Also see the listing of Supplemental Sources for additional citations to materials related to the Asia Pacific forestry sector or individual countries within the region.
Table 42 provides a summary of the approximate distribution of emphasis by country within the literature and sources examined. As indicated here, the coverage by sub-region and country is somewhat more limited and fragmented than was the case for the baseline analytical studies noted in Appendix Table 1. Thus the focus on issues and problems is frequently more antidotal and specific to one or a few countries. Here, the primary goal is to provide a generalized framework for issue identification applicable to the Asia Pacific Region as a whole, fully recognizing the important differences in practice dealing with the specific settings within the Region.
A general categorization of Issues confronting the Asia Pacific Region is set out in Table 43. A tabulation of these categories and sub-issues cross-listed by selected reference sources is included with the bibliography. Not all primary references cited in the Bibliography were specifically indexed, and the individual references provided as Supplementary Sources were not included in this listing. The tabulation simply provides a visual impression of the convergence of findings of widely differing sources and authors who are familiar with the Asia Pacific Region and concerned about the future of the forestry sector.
