Forest management and climate change mitigation: good policy requires careful thought

Many people believe that forest management and the production of forest products can be important tools in a climate change mitigation strategy. This article critically examines how forest management can contribute to climate change mitigation in the global context, and it examines four major issues that must be considered before developing a strategy that would achieve real contributions. The article argues that protection of the carbon stock in the existing natural forest should be the central management objective related to carbon. Second should be the development of a widely accepted standard for calculating forestry offsets to drive future private investment on private forests. The article concludes with some recommendations for policy setting.