Our Forests Our Future

A unique report of the current status and future survival of the world's forests compiled by an international independent commission.

This study examines forest ownership in the ECE region. Based on data on 35 countries, and the first to include all forest ownership categories, this study investigates the changing nature and patterns of forest ownership, the ways in which governance and social structures influence forest owners and users, as well as forest management. Within the limits of data availability and harmonization, the publication provides an overview of, and a new baseline for, understanding the diversity and dynamics of forest ownership in the ECE region.

A captivating analysis of the past, present, and future of northeastern forests and the forces that have shaped them The northeastern United States is one of the most densely forested regions in the country, yet its history of growth, destruction, and renewal are for the most part poorly understood--even by specialists. In this engaging look at both the impermanence and the resilience of the northeastern forest ecosystems, Charles D. Canham provides a synthesis of modern ecological research and explores critical threats that include logging, fire suppression, disease, air pollution, invasive species, and climate change. Providing a historical perspective on how northeastern forests have changed since the arrival of European settlers, Canham also utilizes new theoretical models to predict how these ecosystems will change and adapt to an uncertain future. This is an informed and accessible investigation of an endangered natural landscape that examines the ramifications of the scientific controversies and ethical dilemmas shaping the future of northeastern forests.

This report sets out a framework of performance indicators and measures that may be used to assess whether the implementation of the Our Forests, Our Future policy is successful. Our Forest, Our Future is an important sustainable forest management policy in Victoria. It seeks to protect the forests’ environmental values while supporting the timber industry and assisting rural communities. A number of initiatives in the policy will not take effect until 2005 or 2007 and, in some instances, it will be difficult to assess the outcomes of the policy until 2010.

An urgent and illuminating portrait of forest migration, and of the people studying the forests of the past, protecting the forests of the present, and planting the forests of the future. Forests are restless. Any time a tree dies or a new one sprouts, the forest that includes it has shifted. When new trees sprout in the same direction, the whole forest begins to migrate, sometimes at astonishing rates. Today, however, an array of obstacles—humans felling trees by the billions, invasive pests transported through global trade—threaten to overwhelm these vital movements. Worst of all, the climate is changing faster than ever before, and forests are struggling to keep up. A deft blend of science reporting and travel writing, The Journeys of Trees explores the evolving movements of forests by focusing on five trees: giant sequoia, ash, black spruce, Florida torreya, and Monterey pine. Journalist Zach St. George visits these trees in forests across continents, finding sequoias losing their needles in California, fossil records showing the paths of ancient forests in Alaska, domesticated pines in New Zealand, and tender new sprouts of blight-resistant American chestnuts in New Hampshire. Everywhere he goes, St. George meets lively people on conservation’s front lines, from an ecologist studying droughts to an evolutionary evangelist with plans to save a dying species. He treks through the woods with activists, biologists, and foresters, each with their own role to play in the fight for the uncertain future of our environment. An eye-opening investigation into forest migration past and present, The Journeys of Trees examines how we can all help our trees, and our planet, survive and thrive.