Course objectives: Students will be able to analyse and make predictions about the fate of the world’s forests through gaining: (i) an overview of the state of global forest resources and current trends (in terms of deforestation and degradation), (ii) an understanding of the socio-economic factors causing these trends, (iii) an understanding of the resulting impacts on the global environment, (iv) a knowledge of the world’s current market for forest products and factors influencing its future trends.  The students will become familiar with the key current developments in forest policy, understanding the respective roles of participation, criteria and indicators, certification, legal enforcement etc.  Emphasis will be placed on the key role of different stakeholder groups and variations in perceptions, and social, economic, institutional and political constraints.

Course contents: (i) World forest resources – what is forest?; forest area; how is it assessed?; main forest types; key resource characteristics; (ii) Deforestation and forest degradation - terminology, conversion and degradation, variation between published figures, geographical variation, scale and causes of deforestation and degradation, with an emphasis on tropical regions. Political and economic causes of deforestation: exploitation of forest products, competing land uses. (iii) The role of forests in the global environment: global climatic change, biodiversity, sustainability. (iv) World market for forest products - production, trade and consumption of major products; long- and short-term trends; influences on world markets; future wood demand and supply. (v) Policy issues, instruments and initiatives - local, national and global stakeholders; key policies for sustainable forest management: environmental benefits and costs; criteria and indicators; certification; illegal logging; Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT); national forest policies (tenure, role of plantations etc.).

Teaching and learning methods:  22 ´ 2-hour lectures (44 hours); 2 ´ 8-hour forest visits (16 hours); total 60 hours

Examination:  Presentation (25 % of module marks) and written report (75 % of module marks) on the forest resources of a named country or region.

Competences acquired: By the end of the module students should be able to demonstrate: (i) knowledge of key features and trends of the world’s forest resources; (ii) an ability to characterise world markets and trade for forest products; (iii) an understanding of the major issues and policies concerned with sustainable management of forest resources.

Course homepage:

                  http://www.senr.bangor.ac.uk/courses/pg/course_summary.php?courseID=MEF&qual=msc&type=1