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The 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) underlined the need to develop harmonized approaches in the management, conservation, and sustainable development of global forests. This document is intended to provide a basis for discussion on the implementation of specific aspects of UNCED programs for achieving the above goals, particularly those of forest conservation, enhancement of forest cover, and the roles of forests. The document also suggests possible areas of collaboration for national and international actions. Topics covered in the document include criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management, forest products trade and sustainable management, institutional and cross-sectoral linkages, and approaches to mobilizing environmentally sound technologies. Appendices include a report on the first meeting of the Working Group and references to UNCED forest principles.

Paper focuses on the policy implications of the workshop discussions, findings & recommendations contained in the workshop report. It begins with a background section on climate change & fire regimes, followed by a summary of the evolution of current fire policies. It then discusses 4 policy issues emanating from the workshop: fire regimes & sustainable forestry (incorporating wildland fire into the National Forest Strategy); fire management responsibility (funding according to environmental & socio-economic conditions); public participation (public safety, resource protection, & ecological sustainability interests consensus towards policies, goals, & planning); science & technology (measuring fire regimes, predicting fire effects, developing a fire-economics analysis, improving the historical fire record).