Forests for People

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United States support for forests

and people around the world

Thomas L. Tidwell, Chief of the US Forest Service, US Department of Agriculture

n the early 20th century, visionary conservationists from

around the world recognized the need for global partner-

ships to address common forestry concerns. In 1926, a

World Forestry Congress in Rome initiated a series of global

conferences that continue to this day, with strong United States

support. The impacts of ecosystem and biodiversity loss or

mismanaged resources in one country often reverberate through-

out the world, manifesting themselves in many ways – global

conflict, environmental refugees, market distortions, increasing

global poverty and loss of species. Rapid globalization in the

20th century, trade, population growth and climate change have

increased the need for cross-boundary cooperation in anticipat-

ing emerging conservation challenges.

Through global partnerships, the United States has long worked

for sustainable global forest management and biodiversity conser-

vation, supporting efforts in more than 90 countries.

The lead Federal agency for forestry in the United

States is the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Forest Service. Much of its work in other countries

is funded through the US Agency for International

Development (USAID) and the US Department of

State. USDA Forest Service researchers and land

managers draw on more than a century of experi-

ence in dealing with US forests, which constitute

the world’s fourth largest forest estate, with forest

types ranging from boreal to tropical. They work

with global partners on issues such as forest health,

invasive species, rangeland management, forest

economics, policy analysis, and disaster response

and mitigation. The following case studies showcase

some of their work.

West Africa: Cross-border collaboration

For thousands of years, tightly knit communities have lived

in and around the biodiversity-rich Upper Guinea Forest,

which spans the West African coast from Guinea to Togo.

These communities have developed elaborate mechanisms

to conserve their forest resources. However, due to pressures

from rising populations and growing economic demands,

the Upper Guinea Forest has been degraded and is under

threat from overexploitation. With funding from USAID, the

USDA Forest Service is working through the Sustainable and

Thriving Environments for West African Regional Development

programme (STEWARD) to conserve biodiversity and improve

rural livelihoods of communities living in critical transboundary

landscapes in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ivory Coast.

At the national policy level, the USDA Forest Service

collaborated with the Natural Resource Technical Team of

the Mano River Union, a subregional governmental body,

to assess existing natural resource management policies/

regulations across the region and make recommendations

for improving legal frameworks to harmonize transboundary

natural resource management, biodiversity conservation and

climate change response. In addition, thanks to community

education and empowerment, eight nationally recognized

community forests have been developed in Guinea and Sierra

Leone. Through sustainable forest management, communities

can improve their livelihoods and conserve biodiversity in the

forest. The USDA Forest Service is also working in partnership

with the Forest Research Institute of Ghana to develop a

methodology for community-based carbon monitoring for

use throughout West Africa, leaving local communities better

positioned to receive payments for carbon sequestration.

Forest management planning workshop, Guinea

Image: Stephanie Otis, USDA Forest Service