Sustainable = good, better, or responsible

Abstract

The successful campaign to broaden the focus of sustainable forest management (SFM) in the tropics from being solely on timber to a vision that encompasses the full range of forest values somehow obscured or diminished the core principal of sustained timber yield (STY). While clean water, biodiversity, and human welfare are of undisputed importance, diminishing yields compromises forest industries and forests. That said, in light of on-going discussions about sustainable infrastructure and even sustainable mining, the author questions his previous insistence on STY as a core element of SFM.