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This tenth edition of State of the World's Forests elaborates on a fundamental truth: forests, forestry and forest products play a critical role in sustainable development. State of the World's Forests is published every two years. Throughout history, deforestation has accompanied economic development. It was primarily in response to deforestation that the concept of sustainable development originated and evolved within forest science. The good news is that deforestation ceases to be a serious problem in most of the countries where economic development has progressed and sound forest practices, backed by political commitment, have been implemented. However, it must be clear that including forests at the core of a strategy for a sustainable future is not an option: it is mandatory. A challenge for the forestry profession is to communicate the simple idea that the best way of saving a forest is to manage it sustainably and to benefit from its products and ecosystem services. If the principles of sustainable forest management are applied and forest products and ecosystem services play an increasing role, the global economy will become greener. State of the World's Forests 2012, like its nine predecessors, is intended to serve as a reference source to support policy and research related to forests. In addition, I hope that some of the ideas it advances will stimulate debate and lead to innovative approaches that help move the global economy in a greener direction.
