FRM 120 TOPIC 1

• Definition of a forest:

  • An area dominated by trees and associated flora and fauna
  • Land spanning more than 0.5 hectares (ha) with trees higher than 5 meters (m) and a canopy cover of more than 10 percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ; does not include land predominantly under agricultural or urban land use (FAO, 2007)
• Definition of forestry:

  • The science of establishing, cultivating, and managing forests and their attendant resources (Hubbard et al., 1998)
  • The science, art, and practice of managing and using trees, forests, and their associated resources for human benefit (North Carolina State University, 2003)
• Definition of economics:

  • The science of allocating resources among competing and insatiable human wants
  • A social science concerned chiefly with description and analysis of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services (Merriam Webster)
• Forestry Economics vs. Forest Economics:

  • Forestry Economics is the branch of economics and forestry that deals with allocating scarce resources among competing means to satisfy human wants for forest products (Gregory 1987)
  • It is a discipline that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of forest products and services; the study of choices relating to forest conservation and management (Alavalapati 2007)
• Importance of Forestry Economics:

  • Forests are scarce resources
  • People's needs and wants for goods and services that forests provide now exceed the capacity of forests to produce them
  • Goods and services derived from forests should be produced optimally to produce what is needed, recover more, and minimize wastes