Forest resources are a vital component to human welfare and the economy. However, this statement in itself contains a contradiction. Stopping deforestation which results in biodegradation became the most important objective in the context of life and health for us and the future generation. But forestry is also an important branch of industry with a significant environmental impact. Is there any way to combine these two contradictory facets? According to the Author, the answer to this problem is to further develop the concept of sustainable forestry, first of all on the international legal level, and then to implement detailed norms on regional and local levels. The most urgent goal currently is to reduce deforestation by half by 2020, and to completely stop it by 2030, by undertaking the universal principles for supporting sustainable forestry. Theoretical aspects of this idea are explained within its historical contex.