The livelihood of urban communities depends on the wide range of goods and services provided by natural ecosystems in and around cities. The UPF approach can significantly contribute to the quality of the urban environment and provide a wide range of benefits including watershed management and disaster risk prevention, climate change adaptation and mitigation, air quality improvement, human health benefits, food and fuel supply, jobs and income generation and biodiversity conservation.

Большие деревья в городе являются превосходными фильтрами для загрязняющих веществ и мелкодисперсных частиц. Дерево способно поглощать до 150 кг CO2 в год и связывать углерод, играя свою роль в смягчении последствий изменения климата. Деревья являются местом обитания растений и животных, обеспечивая их питанием и защитой, увеличивая городское биоразнообразие. Важно для будущих поколений посадить деревья сегодня!

Ce numro d'Unasylva est centr sur les enjeux de la conservation et de l'utilisation des arbres hors forts.

Gli alberi urbani di grandi dimensioni fungono da eccellente filtro per gli inquinanti urbani e il particolato fine. Un singolo albero può assorbire fino a 150 kg di CO2 all’anno e sequestrare carbonio dall’atmosfera, contribuendo così a mitigare il cambiamento climatico. Gli alberi forniscono habitat, cibo e protezione per piante ed animali, aumentando così la biodiversità urbana. Piantare alberi oggi è indispensabile per il benessere delle generazioni future!

大面积的城市树木是城市污染物和细颗粒物的优秀的过滤器。一棵树每年可以吸收高达150公斤的二氧化碳，截存碳并从而减缓气候变化。树木可以提供栖息地，食物和动植物保护，增加城市中的生物多样性。我们今天种下的树木是后人必不可少的资源！

This issue of Unasylva analyses the urban forestry situation and considers its potential for increasing living standards in different urban settings.

FAO has initiated a series of global and regional sector outlook studies to examine linkages between forests and societies and to indicate emerging opportunities and challenges. The Forestry Outlook Study for West and Central Asia (FOWECA) has considered these issues through an extended consultative process in 23 different national contexts in West and Central Asia.

The initial Asia-Pacific Forestry Sector Outlook Study (APFSOS) drew together the myriad forestry dimensions to provide a coherent description and analysis of the situation and prospects for forestry in the region. The study resulted in 50 working papers on a variety of forestry themes. The formal aspects of the study culminated in a comprehensive main report, published in November 1998. APFSOS provided an important roadmap for forestry sector development in the Asia-Pacific region to 2010, which is still being used to guide policy makers in the region today.