I am preparing a paper for the First International Conference on Geospatial Information in Agriculture and Forestry (see <http://www.erim.org/CONF/ag.html> of which IUFRO 4.02 is now a co-sponsor. The paper I am working on compares information needs for forestry and agriculture in the future and the technology to gather that information. In 1990, according to FAO, we had a total of 4,860,536,000 ha of agriculture land in the world and 4,318,589,000 ha of forests. World human population at that time was estiamted to be around 5 billion. World population is expected to reach around 7 billion people by the year 2010. FAO has estimated that to feed that population, approximately 45 - 50 million ha of tropical forest land will have to be converted to agriculture land. My question is how much forest land will we NEED by the year 2010 or beyond for biodiversity preservation, environmental functions, carbon sequestration, food, fuel and fibre production, etc. I asked this question earlier, and the response I received were helpful, but not complete. For example, I got some information on future carbon sequestration needs, but nothing on biodiveristy, watershed protection, fuel and fibre production, etc. If agriculture people can make projections on future needs, then I assume forestry people could do likewise. I suppose the stock answer would be "all the forest land that we could get." However, at some point in time, assuming human populations continue to grow, a critical decision will have to be made as to how much and what area should be managed for agriculture and how much and where for forestry. From a resource inventory perspective, I am concerned if we will have the necessary information to help in the decision making process. Anyway, if you can help with my request, please send your response directly to me. I am not trying to open any great debates. Just trying to get the facts and figures. Thanks, Gyde. H. Gyde Lund European Forest Institute Torikatu 34 FIN 80100 Joensuu, Finland Tel: 358 13 252 0241 Fax: 358 13 124 393 Email: gyde.lund@efi.joensuu.fi Web Site: http://www.efi.joensuu.fi/
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