In the past decade, sustainable forest management has been the number one topic of discussion among the scientists and professionals working in the field of forestry. Recently, the main emphasis has been in the ecological aspects of sustainability, whereas the economic side of the subject matter has been touched upon only occasionally. Forest policy issues, such as rural development and sustainable use of natural resources imply a rising demand for economic and socio-economic information of forestry. The demand for socio-economic information is crucial, because of the evidence that without economically sustainable forestry the other dimensions of sustainability can hardly be reached. These proceedings include the papers presented in an international symposium on "Economic sustainability of small-scale forestry". The focus of these proceedings is on research results, ongoing research efforts and research challenges linked to the socio-economics and economically sustainable management of small-scale forests.
