8 September 2014, IISD news - Highlighting the importance of tropical forest monitoring, the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) announced the launch of the Tropical Managed Forests Observatory (TMFO). The purpose of TMFO is to examine the impacts of selective logging on forests in the Amazon, Congo Basin and South East Asia.

Through the collection and analysis of plot data covering an area of almost 1000 hectares, the TMFO seeks to assess how resilient tropical forests are to selective logging, identify the conservation value of managed tropical forests, consider trade-offs between economic and environmental sustainability, and compare differences between regions.

The TMFO is expected to support ongoing research on tropical managed forests, including a recent study by CIFOR, titled 'Maintaining ecosystem function and services in logged tropical forests' that concludes that because managed forests are often neglected in conservation strategies, they are vulnerable to continued degradation. In particular, the study notes that managed forests have value not just in timber, but also in maintaining water flows, sequestering carbon and preserving species, in addition to other ecosystem services.

Source: http://forests-l.iisd.org/news/tmfo-to-monitor-impacts-of-selective-logging-in-the-tropics/