J.A. Sayer

Publications of J.A. Sayer

• Priorities for International Forest Research

  Authors: J.A. Sayer, N. Byron, Dennis D. Dykstra, Jerome K. Vanclay

  The world is moving towards knowledge-based societies. Economies are globalizing. The global public goods value of forests is being recognised at the same time that the traditional role of stateThe world is moving towards knowledge-based societies. Economies are globalizing. The global public goods value of forests is being recognised at the same time that the traditional role of state forest agencies in production forestry is being taken over by multi-national corporations. At the same time emerging technologies are greatly enhancing our ability to assess and monitor forest attributes, process and disseminate information, and enhance forest production. All of these changes will have an impact on how forest research is organized, who does it, and who pays for it. It seems inevitable that much traditional forestry research concerned with sustainability and productivity enhancement at the stand level, will be taken over by the private sector. However, there is going to be a major challenge in finding resources for research in support of the public goods values of forests at both the local, national and global levels. There is a widely held view that we are in the midst of a world forest crisis. It is not a crisis of declining production but one of erosion of public goods, environmental values of forests. So far, we have not seen a concerted scientific response to this crisis. The Inter-Governmental Panel on Forests (IPF) has given us the mandate to orchestrate such a response and the World Forestry Congress is a valuable opportunity to provide impetus to a new vision of forest science for the 21st century.

• Technologies for Sustainable Forest Management: Challenges for the 21st Century.

  Authors: J.A. Sayer, Jerome K. Vanclay, N. Byron

  Technology will help to address the challenges for sustainable forestry in the 21st century. Some of the challenges will include the shift of production from native forest to plantations in areas ofTechnology will help to address the challenges for sustainable forestry in the 21st century. Some of the challenges will include the shift of production from native forest to plantations in areas of comparative advantage, more efficient processing delinking end-use products from raw wood characteristics, increased demand, better information technologies to support decision makers, and more options for conserving biodiversity. Definitions of sustainability will vary in time and space as society's expectations and aspirations change, so there can be no 'silver bullet' to ensure sustainability. However, progress may be facilitated with a systematic approach to forest management embracing the usual planning cycle: formulation of objectives, preparation of a strategy, planning, implementing, monitoring, and reappraisal. This requires a good understanding of each particular situation. Managers need good resource assessment and decision support systems; they must foster stakeholder participation in decisions, costs and benefits; and ensure effective procedures to resolve conflicts. Within an appropriate system, technical advances such as better machines and new implements may help to make a difference, but will not in themselves ensure sustainability. The important technologies for sustainable forestry are those that foster better communication between stakeholders and allow informed decisions spanning scales from the gene to the ecosystem. This remains an important challenge for forest managers in their search for sustainability.

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