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Forests represent a renewable resource of wood and other
products and services, covering a very large proportion of
the Earth's land surface. Billions of people derive income
and goods from forests. However, over large areas forests
are replaced by other land uses and little of the remaining
area is managed in a way that conserves their integrity and
capacity to continue producing those products and services.
Awareness of the plight of forests and the potentially devastating
effects of their demise on human well-being has gradually
grown over the past decades. Many initiatives have arisen
to understand the causes and consequences of forest decline
and to devise ways to improve their management for the benefit
of people that depend on them.
In the following an overview is given of trees and forests,
and the benefits they provide. It introduces the main issues
of forest management and of the relation between people and
the forests. Inevitably, the accounts are incomplete and cannot
begin to unravel the full complexity of the topic. In addition,
the debate on forests continues to evolve rapidly. Therefore,
references to the main web resources are provided in order
to ensure that the document remains in contact with up-to-date
information.
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