What Is the CARPE Perspective on Forest Management?
The forests of Central Africa are valuable to the residents of the region and to the entire world for many reasons. If a given area of forest could simultaneously generate all such values, then managing the forest would not be a challenge. Unfortunately, a land-use that captures one value tends to undermine or preclude land-uses that would capture other values. For example, a forested landscape converted to coffee to generate income for families and national governments may no longer be a forest filled with food or medicines that can be harvested for local use or for sale. A forest where wildlife are hunted for meat generates food and income for families today, but may jeopardize the chances of future families from capturing the same values. A forest set aside as a national park is no longer accessible to loggers to harvest and sell the trees and to provide a source of employment. Deciding what areas of forest to use to generate which values, for whom, over what time frame is a complex
