Forestry
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More than 1.6 billion people worldwide depend on forests
for wood and non-timber forest products, such as fruit, nuts,
medicines, and fibers.
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Forests represent an important natural resource that can help developing countries improve their economic well-being. More than 1.6 billion people worldwide depend on forests for some part of their livelihood. Forests provide a wealth of important wood and non-timber forest products (such as edible nuts and fruits, medicinal plants, fibers and rubber) that people in
the developed and developing world rely on. The value of wood and non-timber products provided by forests is immeasurable.
In addition, forests provide environmental services such
as regulating water supplies and stemming soil erosion. These
services have an enormous impact on worldwide agricultural
productivity and human health. Forests play a crucial role
as major stores of greenhouse gases, such as carbon. This
important function contributes to reducing global warming.
Forests also provide important habitat for wildlife. Experts
estimate that 70 percent of all land-based plants and animals
live in forests.
Unfortunately, forests are being destroyed at unprecedented
rates due to unsustainable and illegal logging, agricultural
expansion, population pressures, large-scale industrial and
infrastructure projects, and national policies that subsidize
forest conversion to other uses. Experts estimate that approximately
16 million hectares of natural forest were lost annually during
the 1990s (this is almost the size of Washington State, each
year). This destruction poses a serious threat to the well
being of communities dependent on forests and to global environmental
health.
In response to these threats, the U.S. Agency for International
Development supports efforts to improve the management of
forests as a means to promote sustainable social and economic
development. The Agency achieves this by providing assistance
to foreign governments at the national, state, and local levels,
as well as non-governmental organizations and local communities.
Through this assistance, the agency supports on-the-ground
efforts to reduce illegal logging, improve the management
of protected forest areas, promote agroforestry, empower communities to responsibly manage
local forest areas, and promote the adoption of reduced impact
logging techniques.
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