Failures in tropical forest and conservation policy: What is the solution?

Success in conserving and managing forests depends upon effective governance mechanisms that are transparent,participatory and accountable. it also requires tools to allow different policy actors to evaluate effectiveness at multiple scales: local,regional,national and international. faced with the urgency of combating deforestation and forest degradation there is a temptation to revert to simplistic approaches and immediate solutions such as logging bans,timber boycotts and protected areas that exclude local communities. an agreement on principles at higher geographic scales and learning and adaptive management on the ground,with feedback loops connecting the two can work. most current forest policy efforts do not have a connection between international,national,regional and local scales. this frequently leads to poorly designed solutions at any scale. policy makers have to find the energy and will to address the key forest problems people face in the 21st century with a new approach to policy and a new suite of tools to measure the progress.