Trees and Forests for Global Development

Our research for global development spans a broad range of tropical ecosystems, from natural wet forests to savannas, tree plantations, and agroforestry. 

We strive to explore the potential benefits that tree-based restoration and forest management can bring, such as enhanced water quality, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, soil fertility, and food and nutrition security. We work across the forest, agricultural and rangeland ecosystems.  

Along with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, we are committed to finding answers to questions such as:   

• What are the trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services from trees?  
• What management practices and tree traits contribute most to promoting specific ecosystem services?  
• When is planting and when is supporting natural regeneration the better choice?  
• Is restorative management with native trees better than plantations with exotic species if we are interested in climate change mitigation and other ecosystem services, biodiversity, and economic benefits?  
• Can forest-based industries be transformed to drive large-scale forest restoration and sustainable development?