ABSTRACT
Forest policies, management systems, as well as products and services marketing mechanisms, have existed since the first organized attempts to exploit forests. In the last three decades, forest policy, defined as "the principles that govern the actions of people with respect to forest resources" (Worrel, 1970), has evolved into an independent scientific field (Merlo and Paveri, 1997) whose formation has been influenced by the recognition of the complexities ruling SFM. National and international forest policies reflect, at least on paper, the interests of non-forest sectors, paying attention to non-forest policies (agricultural, environmental, industrial, fiscal, commercial, etc.) with significant effects on forestry as well (Repetto, 1988). Since the object of forestry has shifted from forest products to forest ecosystems, forest policy has assumed a strong spatial character, concerned with the actions of the complex set of actors and stakeholders and their effects within a specific spatial unit, defined by the forest land use. The current trend favours public participation in both policy formation and implementation at all levels.
