This paper describes some of the challenges of meeting standards for multiple benefit forest carbon and other land use based carbon projects. There is considerable current controversy about the social and equity impacts of such projects. The authors argue that a combination of more robust standards, such as the Climate Community and Biodiversity (CCB) Standards, for assessing the social performance of projects, and cost-effective impact assessment methods can do much to ensure positive outcomes for local people or communities, and greatly reduce the risk of negative ones. The paper is structured around the following main themes: what is meant by social impact assessment (SIA); a discussion of the requirements of the CCB Standards as regards SIA; key challenges to measuring the social impacts of land use based carbon projects; presentation of seven proposed SIA stages contained in a Manual for SIA released by four prominent non-governmental organisations; and some ‘good practice’ principles for cost-effective SIA.

There are two main approaches to nature conservation in forest management. In the segregation approach, nature conservation is one of the management objectives which is limited to protected forest areas, while the integration approach considers the economic, social, and ecological components of sustainable forest management at the same time and place. Nature-based (close-to-nature) silviculture and forest planning that conserve natural stand dynamics, respect the local site conditions, monitor forest ecosystems and their conservation status, and harmonise suitable measures addressed to management objectives and nature conservation standards are crucial for integrating nature conservation into forest management. The social, economic, and bio-geographical conditions of forests vary greatly; therefore, concepts of integrating nature conservation into forest management cannot be uniform. On a global scale, the segregation model is generally accepted as the most suitable approach, but the integration model could be a possible alternative in many cases.

China's growing presence in Africa's extractive industries has been the subject of much debate in recent years, reflecting concerns about both environmental sustainability and the governance of resource wealth for long-term benefit. In Cameroon, since 2000 the largest timber concession in the country has been held by a Chinese company. This provides an opportunity to take a deeper look at corporate practices in the extractive industry and explore the extent to which corporate behaviour varies between Chinese and non-Chinese companies. Through a general analysis of Cameroonian timber production and trade, and a detailed analysis of two European companies (one FSC-certified) and one Chinese company (without FSC certification), this paper assesses the effects of Chinese capital and China-related trade on rural livelihoods and forest condition in the Cameroonian forestry sector. Our findings suggest that while the Chinese market shapes the trade patterns and management activities of logging companies, it does so irrespective of the companies' nationality. Also, findings suggest that nationality of firms has a weak influence on the impacts on local livelihoods around the sampled logging concessions in Cameroon.

Forest policies in Nepal encourage community forest users to commercialise non-timber forest products for income generation. This study sought to understand the ability of forest users to increase their household income benefit through commercial non-timber forest product management by conducting a multiple linear regression analysis. Furthermore it compares the income generation potential of traditional to enterprise-oriented approaches. Results indicate that, in the enterprise-oriented approach, low wealth category households derived income benefits only when they had equitable access to forests and a reliable market. The findings also show that, under the traditional approach, income benefits are the highest for rich households and the least for female-headed poor households. In contrast, the enterprise-oriented approach strengthens the role of disadvantaged poor households. The study concludes that commercialisation of non-timber forest products does not automatically result in equitable income benefits for everyone, whereas, locally- crafted rules and norms do.

The aim of the present paper was to characterise the typology of forest conflicts based on a large sample of cases, and to identify their distribution and concentration patterns across the world, identifying possible correlations between certain socio-economic and environmental factors and conflict type. To achieve this a database was created covering 303 forest conflicts identified in academic literature, and from reports from international forest organisations and environmental non-governmental organisations (ENGOs). The conflicts were located geographically, and subsequently classified into types. The analysis was based on geo-spatial kernel associations and factor analysis. The results of the study show that different conflict types are associated with certain socio-economic and environmental indicators, as well as with geographical location.

This study provides additional tools for developing the understanding of forest conflicts, thereby assisting in their management, this includes facilitating the identification of predictors for a forest conflict occurring. Additionally it can be a basis for further research on the field of forest conflicts, for example examining the levels of conflict intensity found between conflict types.

With global carbon credits valued at over US$100 billion/year, accounting under REDD will drive demand for high quality forest monitoring systems. The choice of system to adopt should be guided by good science. The adequacy and comparability of different national systems for forest carbon measurement under REDD have not been fully evaluated. There is a growing body of scientific and technical information on ground-based and remote-sensing methods of carbon measurement. This extensive, often conflicting, knowledge base has not been systematically reviewed in the transparent, readily-repeatable manner consistent with evidence-based practice. This paper argues that such an approach, regarded in medicine as the gold standard for evidence evaluation, is long overdue in forestry generally and carbon monitoring and assessment specifically. Preliminary findings from an international project set up to scope the potential for a systematic review approach indicate that this evidence-based approach would add value to REDD implementation.

Plantation expansion in Australia is largely shaped by national forest policies, emerging policies related to water and emissions trading, potential impacts of climate change and access to land for forestry. This paper explores the future for new forests in the high rainfall regions of south-east Australia, set in the context of these factors, drawing on views of informants with regional and national perspectives of forestry. Plantation forestry continues to operate in contested social landscapes and has to continually negotiate its shape, scale, place and practice. These rural landscapes in which forestry operates is a phenomenon Australia has in common with many other countries with developed economies. While Australia's plantation industry has been supported by an enduring national plan for plantation expansion articulated in 1997 as the Plantations 2020 strategy, it is arguable that in its present format its relevance is fading and it should be re-cast.

Decentralised forest management is becoming increasingly widespread in especially tropical countries, but impacts on livelihoods of forest users often remain to be evaluated. This paper analyses intrinsically linked governance and livelihood outcomes of forest decentralisation in Bolivia, focussing on the livelihoods of the indigenous lowland population to whom forests are handed over for commercial timber exploitation. Data at community and household levels were collected in three indigenous communities using interviews, focus group discussions, visual appraisal methods (communal map and histories, seasonal calendars, resource trend analyses) and a survey including 54 randomly sampled households. It is concluded that the most important outcome of a Forest Management Plan is support for land claims, that barriers to profitable commercial timber harvest include costly technical requirements as well as low value of the resource handed over, and that indigenous benefit distribution is not necessarily equitable. Suggestions for improving existing regulations are provided.

In this study we analysed the relationship between degree of internationalization and corporate financial performance in the forest industry at firm level. Both linear and curvilinear regression models were estimated for the impact of depth and scope of internationalization on corporate performance, using data available for 50 large forest products firms. As a result, we confirmed a U-shaped curvilinear relationship between depth of internationalization (measured by percentage of foreign employees to total employees, FETE) and corporate financial performance (measured by return on capital employed, ROCE). The threshold proportion of foreign employees was found to be 35% in the forest industry. In addition, we also confirmed that the scope of internationalization (measured by number of operating countries, OC) has a positive effect on corporate performance. From a strategic management point of view, our study thus corroborated Michael Porter's dictum: “if you go global, do not get stuck in the middle” in the forest industry.