Forest research has to change in response to the increased interest of soci
ety in the management of forest land. The president and the vice president
of IUFRO, the Assistant Director-General for Forestry in the FAO and the Pa
st Director-General of CIFOR discuss key issues. IUFRO should become a clea
ring house for forest research and expertise. Research has to recognize tha
t the culture of forestry has become a culture of conflict. More interdisci
plinary and policy research should be added to the strong bio-physical scie
nces in forestry. We need science to exploit the comparative advantages of
local and larger-scale forest management and we need science to bridge the
gaps between the traditional and modern pools of knowledge and experience.
(C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.