Three stylized types of forest face distinct challenges 

These areas, where agriculture and forests coexist as a patchwork, have high land value and contain many of the world's forest dwellers but a small fraction of the forest.

The poverty, development, and environmental challenges here are to manage landscapes for production and environmental services; prevent extinctions of threatened species; mitigate carbon dioxide emissions; and foster carbon sequestration.

The governance challenge is to agree on, commit to and enforce property rights over land, trees, and environmental services.

These areas face agricultural expansion and have rapidly increasing land values in frontiers. Conflicts occur over forest use in disputed areas.

The poverty and development challenge here is to foster more intensive rural development and access to off-farm employment.

The environmental challenges are to avoid irreversible degradation, mitigate carbon dioxide emissions, and avoid forest fragmentation.

The governance challenges are to restrain the resource grabs by large actors; avert races for property rights by smallholders; and equitably adjudicate land claims.

Most of the world's tropical forests lie beyond the agricultural frontier (e.g. the hearts of the Amazon and Congo basins). This type of forest contains a minority of forest dwellers, but many indigenous people.

The poverty and development challenge here is to provide services for dispersed populations.

The environmental challenge is to maintain large-scale environmental processes.

The governance challenges are to protect indigenous people's rights; and avert disorderly frontier expansion.