The "Sustainable Forest Operations" Concept: Past, Present, and Future

The IUFRO Task Force on Climate Change and Forest Health has recently provided an opportunity for forest operations scientists around the globe to examine the concept and approaches of sustainable forest operations (SFO) in the light of new challenges facing forests and forestry in changing climate. Intensified forest management is inevitable due to continuously increasing human population and their demand for wood products. While it is important to recognize the level of forest harvesting intensity, as well as social and environmental issues vary by region, climate change directly and indirectly affect forest management activities across the globe. Other global issues facing forestry include illegal logging, ergonomics (human factors), and quality improvement on both forest production and environment. These considerations should be included in the planning, implementation and assessment of forest operations to ensure its sustainability. This presentation describes the evolution of the SFO concept from the past to the present based on their focus and scale. A new concept of SFO is then proposed for the future to consider new challenges, issues and changing demands on forests and forestry. The aim of the new SFO concept is to holistically address forest production, ecosystem services, environmental protection, and social values and wellness.