Forest Conservation and Management

Forest management is the maintaining and management of not only the trees in the forest, but the streams, habitat, watersheds, and even the decaying trees or logs on the forest floor. Managing our forests is not only important to the wildlife, but to our future economy and way of life. We need to continue to save the Oregon forests and help the ecosystems within them because human beings are also part of the ecosystem. By using forest management, it can help certain species of wildlife. The forest is a natural system that can supply different products and services. The working of this system is influenced by the natural environment: climate, topography, soil, etc., and also by human activity. The actions of humans in forests constitute forest management. In developed societies, this management tends to be elaborate and planned in order to achieve the objectives that are considered desirable. Sustainable forest management addresses forest degradation and deforestation while increasing direct benefits to people and the environment. At the social level, sustainable forest management contributes to livelihoods, income generation and employment. At the environmental level, it contributes to important services such as carbon sequestration and water, soil and biodiversity conservation. Some forests have been and are managed to obtain traditional forest products such as firewood, fiber for paper, and timber, with little thinking for other products and services. Nevertheless, as a result of the progression of environmental awareness, management of forests for multiple use is becoming more common. Managing forests sustainably means increasing their benefits, including timber and food, to meet society’s needs in a way that conserves and maintains forest ecosystems for the benefit of present and future generations. Many of the world’s forests and woodlands, especially in the tropics and subtropics, are still not managed sustainably. Some countries lack appropriate forest policies, legislation, institutional frameworks and incentives to promote sustainable forest management, while others may have inadequate funding and lack of technical capacity. Where forest management plans exist, they are sometimes limited to ensuring the sustained production of wood, without paying attention to the many other products and services that forests offer. Forests are influenced by climate, landform and soil composition and they exist in a wide variety of forms in the tropical, temperate and boreal zones of the world. At the same time, other land uses such as agriculture can seem financially more attractive in the short term than forest management, motivating deforestation and land-use changes. Besides the need to set aside conservation areas, it is now being increasingly realised that sustainable production of wood, through environmentally sound selective harvesting practices is one of the most effective ways in ensuring in-situ conservation of the biological diversity of forest ecosystems.