What Is Forest Landscape Restoration?

The extent and distribution of global forests is a matter of considerable concern. The overall rate of deforestation remains high although recent reports suggest it is fi nally beginning to decline (FAO 2011 ) . But this hides regional differences. In temperate regions net forest cover is increasing because of afforestation and natural expansion of forests. By contrast, net forest cover in most tropical regions continues to decline and few of the remaining forests are being managed on a sustainable basis (Asner et al. 2010 ; Foley et al. 2005 ) . This means that more and more tropical countries are changing from being exporters of forest products to being importers. Across the globe most deforestation has been carried out to create agricultural lands but a large proportion of these lands have subsequently been abandoned (Ramankuty and Foley 1999 ) . In upland mainland Southeast Asia, for example, Fox and Vogler ( 2005 ) note that as much as 49% of these new agricultural lands are reported to have been subsequently abandoned and become shrub, brush or other forms of secondary forest. At the same time the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment found 60% of the world’s