Climate change guidelines for forest managers

Forests are important components in strategies for adapting to climate change. Without direct management interventions, climate change is likely to jeopardize forest ecosystem health, resilience, productivity, biodiversity and carbon storage, and forest degradation and loss will continue to contribute to climate change.

Sustainable forest management can help reduce the negative effects of climate change on forests and forest-dependent people, and it can help ensure that forests play their role in mitigating climate change. Forest management decisions made now will affect forests many decades into the future. Thus, it is important for managers to plan now for climate change.

These guidelines are published by FAO to support forest managers in responding to climate change challenges and opportunities at the forest management unit level. Articulating specific goals and objectives for climate change can assist forest managers to incorporate climate change considerations into forest management plans and practices. These guidelines will also be of interest to a wider range of stakeholders concerned about forests and climate change.