Sustainable Forest Management is a broader concept which refers to the way a defined forest area is managed than sustained yield. Sustainable Forest Management involves the management of all resources within forestry through an integrated planning approach and strives to maintain and enhance the long-term health of forest ecosystem(s), while providing ecological, economic, social and cultural opportunities for the benefit of present and future generations.

The unprecedented growth of the world economy over the past century has led to mounting concerns about the sustainability of modern development pathways. Global concerns over the social and environmental costs of uncontrolled industrial development and growth gave rise to the concept of sustainable development. Sustainable development has been defined as

“development that meets the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”
World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987

The future of the world’s forests is an issue of major public concern. The concept of sustainable forest management has its origins in international concerns about the negative consequences of declining forest cover, and in the global movement to promote sustainable development. There are various definitions of Sustainable Forest Management, but all contain the same basic elements:

“ Sustainable forest management is the process of managing forests
to achieve one or more objective with regard to the production of
a continuous flow of desired products and services, without undue reduction of
its inherent values and future productivity and without undue undesirable effects
on the physical and social environment”
International Tropical Trade Timber Organisation, 1998