Fast wood like fast food – Not all good, not all bad
Fast wood’ plantations have been praised for creating employment, boosting economies with foreign exchange and taking pressure off natural forests. They’ve also been criticized by environmental groups as poor economic and environmental solutions to meeting the world’s spiraling demand for paper. more

CIFOR helps village win major environmental award
CIFOR has helped a small and remote village rich in forest resources in East Kalimantan win a prestigious environmental award from the Indonesian Government. Known as the Kalpataru, the award was given to the small village of Setulang for its efforts in protecting their forests from illegal logging in the face of huge temptations to earn billions of Rupiah from the sale of their forest lands. more

Livestock, Development & Deforestation Brazil's Amazon
It's well known that the largest remaining tropical rainforest on Earth, that of the Amazon, is undergoing rapid deforestation. The rate of clearing in the Brazilian Amazon is now one of the world's highest, and may have even increased to 25,500 square kilometres between 2001 and 2002. more

Communities happy with CIFOR
It takes a lot of courage to ask someone what they really think of you, because you might not like the answer. But that is what CIFOR's Petrus Gunarso did in a survey to evaluate the "benefits or use" of CIFOR to villagers in Malinau, East Kalimantan. more

Bonn Forest Conference: Balancing development and conservation
More than 300 forest experts from international organizations, NGOs, industry, government and the media from over 40 countries met in Bonn, Germany in May for the "International Conference on Rural Livelihoods, Forests and Biodiversity". Opened by Erich Stather, State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the conference made an in-depth analysis of the role of forest research in reducing poverty and protecting biodiversity. more

Java teak: A Livelihood hardwood
More and more farmers, villages and communities in Java are planting teak (Tectona grandis) trees as an investment for the future. This is good news in a densely populated country with a constantly growing demand for the valuable wood. more

Fuelwood and the poor in the last decade
Woodfuels, both firewood and charcoal, earn more money for the rural poor than most other forest products. The immediate conclusion one might draw from this is that more and more trees are being cut down. In fact, the reverse may be true. increasing urbanisation, and rising incomes appear to be slowing down the use of fuelwood. more

New partnership to have long-term impact
Protecting forests from illegal activities is not just one country's responsibility. It is a global responsibility. There would be no value in exporting illegal timber from a country if other countries refused to buy it. more

Are tropical forests managed sustainably?
No one would argue that destructive timber harvesting degrades forest resources and future timber yields. Nor would anyone disagree that good forest management can help reduce the damage done by timber harvesting and increase yields of desired products while maintaining other forest products and services. So, the question begs asking, why are good forest management practices shunned in favour of bad ones? more

Project FireFight ends in blaze of glory
The disastrous forest and land fires and the haze that chokes southeast Asia every year could be controlled by legal and institutional reform, greater private-sector engagement in fire management and stronger incentives for rural communities to manage local fires. These are the main conclusions of a three-year project funded by the European Commission (EC) that came to an mid-2003. more

Indonesia burning
August and September mark the peak months for Indonesia’s annual outbreak of forest fires. Freelance journalist Charlie Pye-Smith reports from a trip to Kalimantan this time last year. more

CIFOR to feature strongly at World Forestry Congress
The September 21-28 World Forestry Congress in Quebec will see CIFOR stamp itself as one of the worlds leading forest research institutes through a number of prominent events and seminars.  more

Books: Stakeholder incentives in participatory forest management. more

Announcements. more

Staff Update. more