The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and UNEP-WCMC are collaborating on research into patterns of forest type, distribution and protection, in relation to human population density, distribution and activity patterns. These two organisations are uniquely placed to carry out this project.

• UNEP-WCMC maintains an unparalleled global forest map library and information service, supported by substantial information on the world's protected areas. This information is held in the UNEP-WCMC Biodiversity Map Library (BML), also set up in the CIFOR offices in Bogor, Indonesia. UNEP-WCMC has carried out an analysis of the amount of tropical forest under protection worldwide based on the ecofloristic zones adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

• The central thrust of CIFOR's research is towards raising living standards of people in developing countries through provision of information which will enable their forest resources to be used more successfully and sustainably. CIFOR carries out studies of the relationships between forests and people in a number of tropical areas.

CIFOR and UNEP-WCMC are jointly building a picture of the state of global forest systems which will be widely disseminated in various forms and in various media. Institutions which have national, regional and global mandates, national governments, national and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs), donor organisations, development planners and research institutes all need information, so that their resources may be focused to maximum effect. Information is needed on the extent and location of different forest types, the types that are protected, the effectiveness of that protection, the relationship between people and forest distribution, the changes in forest cover over time, the current management practices and their degree of success. Outputs will include accurate maps of forests for the world with mapped protected areas information, dissemination of the spatial data on CD-ROM, and periodic reports highlighting the most important features.

Programme of Research

• The first phase provides a picture of the world's forests, the types and levels of threat and protection.

• In the second phase UNEP-WCMC and CIFOR adds to and refines the information and attempts to predict the patterns of change given the policies, human population patterns and forest types.

Objectives for Phase 1

1. To provide a global picture of world forest systems, focusing on people-forest distribution, to be published as a report to present the following:

• An identification of unique forest types of the world, indicating their state of protection and the magnitude and types of threat to their integrity.
• A correlation of human population densities with forested areas of the world, outlining forest types that are under most threat and links between human distribution and forest fragmentation.
• Recommendations on areas for priority action by national governments, national and international NGOs, United Nations agencies, research institutes, development planners and donor agencies.

2. To disseminate on CD-ROM the forest and protected areas data sets, along with the salient statistical features of the analysis of relationships between the types of forest under protection, the fragmentation and the distribution of people.

3. To transfer detailed georeferenced digital maps of world forest cover to CIFOR, and to keep these current. The data will therefore be available for CIFOR to use in support of other aspects of its programme of research, and for its research partners

Update

• The GIS forest and protected areas coverages for the tropics published on CD-ROM and disseminated widely.

• Forest coverages expanded to include all temperate and boreal areas of the globe, so the coverage is truly global and not just pan-tropical.

• New data sets for forests from national sources incorporated into the forest coverages, ensuring that they are as accurate as possible.

• UNEP-WCMC's Biodiversity Map Library (BML) has undergone a number of revisions and upgradings and been installed in CGIAR centres and international institutions.

• Results from an analysis of the forest and protected area coverages in the BML presented at the World Forestry Congress, 1997. This indicates the amount of forest under protection in each major region of the world, by ecologcial zone.