Background

A wide range of technologies are in use in the forest sector for the production and processing of various products – wood and non-wood - and also for the provision of various environmental services. This array of technologies is undergoing changes in response to economic, social and environmental factors. Also, development of science and technology outside the forest sector tends to have enormous impact of forestry, as has been the case with information and communication technologies, remote sensing, etc. While new technologies are emerging in response to economic, social and environmental compulsions, their actual application on the ground varies, again due to differences in site specific factors and capacities (including financial) for rapid uptake. This electronic discussion is aimed to provide a better understanding of the emerging changes and to provide a broad perspective of the technology scenarios in the forest sector to the year 2020.

In understanding the state of technology, much of the thrust is to capture the diversity in the generation and application of knowledge and how this may impact the state of forest resources, how they may alter the flow of goods and services, their economic, social and environmental implications in the future. The discussion is also aimed to provide an overview of ongoing work in some of the critical areas, how they may impact forests and forestry, and the likelihood of their wider adoption.