This book is divided into five main parts: plantation forestry in context; forest growth dynamics and assessments; plantation silviculture and management; forest plantation economics and international climate change policy; and conclusions. The introductory chapters provide the context for plantation development by highlighting the importance of Ghana's forest resources and their current state, why plantations are a major part of the solution to present and future wood scarcity and the barriers, and opportunities and incentives for plantation development in Ghana. Part II of the book is dedicated to describing forest growth dynamics, forest measurements and forest resource inventory methods. Part III begins with descriptions of the critical silvics of six tree species that have been grown and /or promoted for forest plantation development in Ghana, followed by a chapter on plantation silviculture, including descriptions of seed collection, nursery practices and planting. The final chapter in Part III focuses on managing forest plantations for rural development and environmental protection. An important consideration in plantation establishment is the economics of forest plantations vis-á-vis other land uses. Part IV concentrates on the economics of plantations, and describes the tools and data requirements for carrying out economic analyses of plantation forestry investments, the alternative models for determining the optimal rotation age of plantations, and a final chapter on the economics of managing plantations within the context of international climate change policies. The concluding Part V contains two chapters. The first one describes the approaches to achieving sustainable forest management in Ghana and the final chapter discusses recommendations on the necessary conditions for accelerating plantation development in Ghana.

Examines whether forest management regimes in the region have actually provided communities with sufficient economic benefits to make them willing and able to conserve and to use sustainable forest resources in the course of their production and consumption activities.

Since its original publication by the International Institute for Environment and Development in 1999, Policy That Works for Forests and People has been recognised as the most authoritative study to date of policy processes that affect forests and people. Providing a thorough analysis of the issues, options and factors that determine different outcomes and bolstered by a major annex containing tools and tactics, the book offers clear and practical advice on how to formulate, manage and implement policies appropriate to different contexts. These are policies that result in real improvements in the governance, use and economic benefits that can flow from forests to those who depend upon them. This book is essential reading for policy-makers, forestry practitioners and academics and students in all areas of forest policy, management and governance.

For the last two decades the loss of, in particular, tropical rainforest has alarmed the public in the developed parts of the world. The debate has been characterised by a lack of understand ing of the causes and effects of the process, leading to the prevailing reaction being unquali fied condemnation. Such attitude has even been observed among scientists, claiming suprem acy to biodiversity conservation. Many scientific analyses are available, but the basis for so ber debates and appropriate actions is still highly insufficient. Two recent international initia tives! will hopefully lead to improved knowledge of deforestation and forest degradation as they recognise the need for studies to critically investigate those issues. This book will pro vide useful input to the initiatives. In my opinion, the scientific analyses have not sufficiently promoted the understanding that the fate of tropical forests is first and foremost a concern of the governments of the countries in which the forests are situated. Tropical forests may be important to the global environment and their rich biodiversity may be a human heritage. But their main importance is their poten tial contribution to improving livelihood in the countries in question.

This book, Sustainable Forest Management - Surpassing Climate Change and Land Degradation, is devoted to important issues forest managers face. Besides managing forest resources, the issues addressed include aspects of climate change, biodiversity conservation, and agroforestry. The book contains four sections, each devoted to this set of topics. Forest management is very important in the context of sustainable use of resources. To achieve this, forest management should aim at improving economic profitability for the investors, preserve the ecosystem structure to serve society, and maintain all (physical, economic, social, and other) ecosystem functions. All these aspects of forest management have been addressed in various chapters of this book. The editor sincerely hopes this will be a welcome addition to the field of forest management.