The main focus of this course is to deal with forest issues in an international setting, looking into current state and threats, forest management for wood products, trade, and the important role of forests in the climate debate. However, this course will also look into some of the socio-economic functions of forests in developing tropical countries as well as the regulatory and policy context in which those countries manage their forests and their relations with forest dependant peoples and communities. This will include issues such as land rights, logging titles, forest concessions systems, forest revenue systems benefit sharing mechanisms, and the role of climate change. Each of the session will discuss separate but inter-meshed issues, through review and analysis of concepts, policies etc., as well as illustrative practical examples in a tropical country (mainly Congo Basin countries and Indonesia).