Long considered a tremendously valuable economic and environmental resource, the world's forests have been shrinking by some 200 square kilometres every day-an area equivalent to the size of Germany every five years. Much of this loss is due to forests being converted to land for agriculture and farming.

The problem is not that the ongoing deforestation and destruction of forests has escaped the notice of policy makers from around the world-it has not-but that until now there has not been a workable global plan to manage and preserve the forests. However, after years of intense debate, countries may have finally found a common ground at the sixth session of the United Nations Forum on Forests with the recent adoption of an agreement to support better forest management through measures that preserve or increase forest covers and help realize their full economic potential, as well as by increased assistance to developing countries.

Illegal logging and deforestation devastate countries like Malawi. FAO photo/A. Conti

According to Pekka Patosaari, Director of the UN Forum on Forests Secretariat, the new consensus was not built on any unprecedented ideas or breakthrough agreements, but rather on finding the willingness to focus and implement recommendations already on the table. "All of these ingredients actually have been repeatedly said before", he says, "so there is nothing revolutionary in them. But what is important is that now we have a high level of commitment, and the UN Forum on Forests has taken very important steps to set global rules and normative framework for sustainable forest management worldwide. The commitments on global objectives and means of implementation will be supported by the countries' reporting back on their progress made at the national level on these objectives."

Although the new agreement is not the international treaty or convention for the sustainable management of the forests that some had hoped for, there is reason for optimism that this is a "win" for the world's forests and for the 1.6 billion people who depend on them. Mr. Patosaari is emphatic that this agreement marks a turning point in international forest policy. "I know it is a fact that Member States really want to make progress now. Even a non-legally binding instrument, if it is well-structured and based on what we already have, but moving a couple of steps forward, can really make a difference", he adds. "Political commitment is the key."

And it won't be long before the Member States' resolve is tested. Countries agreed to conclude and adopt a non-legally binding instrument on all types of forests as soon as April 2007. International negotiations aimed at reaching an agreement on ways to manage, conserve and develop the forests have been slow and contentious during the last two decades. While great concern was expressed at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro about vast deforestation, negotiations on forest issues were particularly difficult and concluded in a set of non-binding principles. In the two decades that followed, countries continued to debate and analyze the complex issues through various intergovernmental forums, yet efforts to establish more concrete, binding international commitments were, until now, unsuccessful. Countries favouring a stronger instrument have faced opposition from those concerned that a new international treaty will be costly and difficult to implement, with no guarantee that it will be successful.

Forests cover a third of the world's land area-a total of just under 4 billion hectares-and it is estimated that around 24 per cent of the global population depend to varying degrees on forests for their livelihoods. They also provide an incredible array of products and services, including food, fuel wood, housing, habitat for plants and wildlife, resources for water and soil conservation, and even climate regulation.

An often overlooked aspect of the debate is the sheer value of forests. Unlike most other common goods that call for shared responsibility in their protection and management, forests have an enormous capacity to self-finance activities for their own protection and at the same time provide means for sustaining livelihoods. Wood products contribute more than $150 billion to global trade and the industry provides employment to some 13 million people, almost equivalent to the population of Sweden and Norway combined. Yet not all countries are in a position to manage the wealth-good governance is a prime factor in whether forests are exploited or sustainably managed.

"Forests are very valuable", says Mr. Patosaari. "If you manage them well, they are an endless source of wealth. And if we do it properly, we could finance a big proportion of what is needed to stop deforestation by just using the existing resources." But the realities faced on the ground have dictated otherwise. The land that forests occupy has often been considered more valuable for farming and cattle-grazing than for forestry, agroforestry or as carbon "sinks" that help alleviate the effects of climate change.

Deforestation is not inevitable, according to Mr. Patosaari. "We talk about deforestation as if it were the law of nature-it is not. It is man-made, so we can reverse it." There are a number of steps that need to be taken at the international and local levels, he says, to enhance the economic profitability of the forests. Unequal access to global markets, unjust international pricing mechanisms and taxation or duty arrangements prevent developing countries from sustainably developing their forest resources. And at the local level, good governance, weeding out corruption and gradually eliminating adverse mechanisms, such as part of the Government's agricultural subsidies, can play a vital role in supporting sustainable forest management.

Mr. Patosaari stresses that local ownership of the forests is essential. "People must be encouraged to establish and cultivate forests, to maintain, conserve and use properly these natural resources." Several countries have already made great strides toward improving forest management. "Brazil is a good example. They are right now in the process of adopting these four global objectives as part of their national policy", he says. The Republic of the Congo is changing the way it does business to apply the principles of sustainable forest management, he adds, to make sure that the local communities benefit from deals with European and Northern companies. China has established new forests to protect the soil and rivers and to produce profitable timber-growing oppor-tunities, while Costa Rica is a front-runner in collecting fees and providing environmental services from forests.

In his own country, Finland, where 60 per cent of the land area is forested, Mr. Patosaari stresses that forest management by private persons and families is a passion and a significant source of income. In addition, most of the forests are a rich source of biodiversity, with some 10 per cent of the country's forests set aside and managed as protected areas, mainly for biodiversity conservation and recreational purposes. "If you fly over Finland, it's all green and lakes. The countryside is full of forests and it is a very important element of the lifestyle."

"There is also an ancient prerogative of free movement in forests, regardless of who owns the land", Mr. Patosaari states. "There are no fences, you can pick berries and mushrooms, and you can even stay overnight and make a small campfire if you need to. This right to roam has created a lot of responsibility and respect for nature among the citizens."