Improved forest management (IFM) is a sustainable approach aimed at optimising the carbon storage potential and ecologic health of existing, actively managed forests. Unlike afforestation and reforestation, which focus on plating new forests, IFM works with existing commercial timberlands. In practical terms, IFM projects keep more trees standing for longer by extending harvest rotations, reducing cutting intensity or legally restricting future harvest through conservation easements. Specific techniques include selective sustainable cutting, managing competing brush, thinning to eliminate diseased trees and expanding riparian buffer zones. By modifying traditional logging practices, the forest accumulates higher volumes of biomass over time, effectively drawing down more CO2 from the atmosphere.

IFM has emerged as a premier framework for generating high-integrity carbon removal and emission avoidance credits. To ensure validity, projects must rigorously demonstrate that increased CO2 storage is a direct result of this improved management behaviour. Beyond climate mitigation, these projects unlock ecosystem co-benefits. By implementing these strategies, IFM maximises the carbon capture of existing forests while preserving biodiversity, improving water and soil quality and providing socio-economic benefits to local communities. Healthy, older and more structured forest canopies also enhance natural resilience against natural catastrophes such as wildfires, pests, landslides and droughts.