New perspectives in forestry education

Forest management is becoming increasingly complex due to the need to balance highly varied interests by an increasingly wide range of stakeholders. A widening range of recognized products and services from trees a nd forests is also challenging the ecological, social, and economic criteria that are often applied in making choices of management options. The boundaries of forestry are being extended to includ e the management of trees in landscapes outside forests. This brings in a wide range of interests, people and institutions. There is a gap between what is being learnt in forestry schools and the new societal expectations. Designing forestry education that is responsi ve to the social, econom ic, and environmental challenges is an emerging complex issue. Ne w forestry education programmes are emerging but without sufficient global guidance on the coherence, content, quality or relevance. Concerted efforts are needed particularly at global and regional levels to design, coordinate and link relevant institutions and stakeholders to help transform forestry education. Hence the purpose of this book which documents various ways of improving forestry education. The book covers five main areas namely: • Forestry education challenges and coping mechanisms currently in use; • Challenges in curricula, teaching and lear ning experiences, tools and methods, and the way forward; • Global factors influencing the forestry profession and tree/forest management practices; • Synthesis and way forward; and • Views from various organisations. Readers of this book will recognize how the au thors addressed issues in forestry education and articulated strategies for resolving them. Pa rt IV of this book, summarizes how forestry education can solve the current challenges in forestry practice. It also, highlights how forestry education links with global challenges, especially environmental conservation, climate change, biodiversity and desertification. In addition, a strategy for integration of current and projected future so cietal needs into forestry e ducation is proposed. Finally, recommendations for implementing the proposed strategy are given

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