Natural tropical forests cover more than 1.6 billion hectares (ha) in 65 countries, more than half of which are primary forests. Although deforestation has decreased in some countries, rates of deforestation and forest degradation remain at high levels. Even though a significant area of current natural forests will be converted into other land uses in the future, it can be assumed that the most important part will remain as natural forests in different stages of degradation. Given this enormous area, achieving the sustainable management of natural forests is of utmost importance. Natural forest management represents a close-to-nature land use which can balance economic, ecological and social objectives through generating value, maintaining natural capital and ensuring the provision of different ecosystem services. This study aims at investigating best practices in sustainable natural forest management (SNFM) implemented by large-scale companies in the tropics and subtropics. It combines a comprehensive literature review with a survey collecting primary data from 51 companies and in-depth field visits to six selected companies. On the basis of the findings, main challenges and concrete investment opportunities for promoting SNFM are discussed.
