Land Evaluation and Forestry Management

Changes in the land use should be based on properties of the site, requirements of the technology, and needs of the people. In planning for forestry there are decisions of two kinds: allocation of land between forestry and agriculture, and decisions about kinds of forest management. Land evaluation for forestry provides a means of assessing the suitability of land for different kinds of use (FAO (1984) Land evaluation for forestry. FAO forestry paper 48, Rome). The requirements of forestry, under specified management systems, are compared with data from basic surveys (soil, climate, vegetation). The results, in terms of land suitability, are assessed on the basis of conservation, in economic terms, sustainability, and the needs and opinions of stakeholders (farmers, foresters, government). Land use planning is the process of putting the results of land evaluation into practice. The requirements of different kinds of planning are so varied that it is not possible to set out a precise set of procedures, but ten basic stages can be followed (FAO (1989a) Guide-lines on land use planning. Inter-departmental working group on land use planning. FAO, Rome).