Does forest certification enhance livelihood conditions? Empirical evidence from forest management in Kilwa District,Tanzania

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) forest management certification standards have been promoted to contribute to community livelihood conditions. However, little has been done to evaluate it quantitatively. Employing theory of change, this study assesses and compares empirical evidence of the influence of the FSC forest management certification approach to enhance livelihood conditions in Kilwa, Tanzania, by using economic valuation methods and governance indicators. This is achieved through a comparative study of villages with certified community forests (FSC) under community based forest management and those without (non-FSC). Results show that annual average household forest income from FSC-certified forests is significantly higher than that of households in non-FSC-certified forests. With reference to rule compliance as an indicator of good governance, implementation of forest bylaws in villages managing FSC-certified forests is significantly more effective than villages in non-FSC-certified forests. These findings provide an insight into the influence of forest certification in enhancing livelihood conditions and that the incorporation of FSC standards into forest policies may lead to more enhancement of livelihood conditions. These findings serve as a baseline for further research on the effects of forest certification at both spatial and temporal scales.     

Implementing nature conservation through integrated forest management: A street-level bureaucracy perspective on the German public forest sector

Integrated forest management–pursuing multiple management objectives on the same area–is one important approach to reconciling conflicting demands towards forests. While a few studies have examined its implementation at a local level, the literature is thus far lacking detailed analyses of how forestry professionals perceive and implement the integration of multiple demands towards public forests, as well as what factors are influencing local level decision-making. This study attempts to fill this gap. Focusing on nature conservation aspects and their integration into public forest management, where a primary objective is timber production, we examine the implementation of integrated forest management in five German Länder (German federal states) as perceived by state forest enterprise rangers (Revierleiter). Our findings indicate a great willingness and commitment among forest rangers to implement integrative nature conservation approaches through integrated forest management. However, there are also a number of factors that hinder their implementation. In particular there is a mismatch between the demands placed on rangers and the support provided to them regarding time, more flexible timber targets, and financial as well as personnel resources. We argue that the practical implementation of integrative nature conservation requires more favorable conditions which can actually facilitate the balancing of multiple demands through integrated forest management.     

The ecological sustainability of tropical forest management: evaluation of the national forest management standards of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, with emphasis on the need for adaptive management

From a conceptual point of view, national forest management standards in Latin American countries have progressed significantly in recent years. Examples include the Costa Rican Standards and Procedures for Sustainable Forest Management and Certification, developed by the National Commission for Forest Certification and in Nicaragua, the National Institute of Forestry proposal of principles, criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management. In line with general approaches worldwide, these national standards primarily focus on the fulfillment of sound forest practice. There is comparatively little emphasis on the assessment of management outcomes or changes in key components of the eco- and social-systems that result from management impacts. Essentially, there is little emphasis on adaptive management, though arguments that management cannot be sustainable if it is not adaptive are persuasive. This study sought to contribute to the development of standards that include elements for adaptive management that define, communicate and evaluate sustainable forest management in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Elements from the national standards and the CIFOR generic C&I template (predominantly focused on forest management outcomes) were used as a starting point. The basic research process consisted of three phases of evaluation (in-office, desk and field). The evaluations were carried out by multidisciplinary, international groups of experts in forest ecology, management and policy. This study demonstrated the value of forums and workshops that facilitate exchange between forest scientists and policymakers; the innovation and application of a practical, applicable and scientifically based methodology for developing national level C&I; and acceptance of this methodology by key players in the fields of forest management and policy. These experiences and the resulting proposals of C&I for the evaluation of ecologically sustainable forest management are expected to be used as points of reference for future development of forest policy in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, and to contribute to the overall understanding of C&I development processes in the region.     

Monitoring and information reporting for sustainable forest management: An international multiple case study analysis

In forest management there has been a proliferation of tools, methods and standards for local-level monitoring and information reporting that has made it difficult for forest managers to promote cost effectiveness, efficiency and confidence building in their day-to-day management. This exploratory study highlights the degree to which 22 case studies, operating in 15 different jurisdictions in North America and Europe, were monitoring and reporting information related to sustainable and adaptive forest management. The results demonstrate a high degree of similarity in forest management practices both within and between different jurisdictions of North America and Europe. They also indicate the potential for greater collaborative research when developing local-level monitoring tools, methods and standards, particularly related to the scale and intensity of forest operations. Finally, they reveal differences in the level of formal monitoring and information reporting being conducted at the smaller scales of forest management when compared to the larger forestry companies. This research suggests that forest management standards need to better reflect the implications of scale and the wider-operating environment of forestry on monitoring and information management practices, particularly when evaluating and comparing ‘best’ practices.     

集体林区阔叶化改造实施组织模式的探讨

为了将集体林生态退化区域阔叶化改造的责任主体落实到农户,解决集体林区阔叶化实施难的问题。本文针对集体林区特点,建立县、乡（镇）、村三级联动组织实施体系,并以稳定的山林经营权为依据,分别探讨了村集体统一实施、农民家庭实施、村户合作实施、招标承包实施和国有林场实施五种模式的具体做法,将农民的愿望与国家生态建设的要求统一起来,推动了集体林区阔叶化进程。     

Contesting national and international forest regimes: Case of timber legality certification for community forests in Central Java,Indonesia

The Government of Indonesia (GoI) and the European Union (EU) have signed a Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT-VPA), which aims to prevent illegal timber products from entering the EU. This agreement recognizes a certification for timber products exported from Indonesia based on FLEGT-VPA standards and implemented through the timber legality verification system, Sistem Verifikasi Legalitas Kayu (SVLK). While the implementation of SVLK complies with the FLEGT-VPA, it has not dissolved pre-existing national systems for forest management and timber trade. Implementing SVLK standards amid multiple forest regimes causes redundancy of administrative procedures in forest management and timber trade in Indonesia. This redundancy, in turn, leads to decrease in cost efficiency, weak legitimation, and low effectiveness of the system, especially in community forests.     

Standards and guidelines for forest plantation management: A global comparative study

The increasing area covered by forest plantations creates a demand for trustworthy mechanisms to ensure they are responsibly established and managed. In the last twenty years efforts have increased to develop standards and guidelines as voluntary-based policy tools for guaranteeing sustainable forest management. However, most are focused exclusively or prevalently on natural or semi-natural forests, while only a few are specific to planted forests or plantations. Many differences can be identified among existing standards and guidelines that can be applied to planted forests and forest plantations. The paper, which main aim is to assess whether and to what extent planted forests are properly considered within the existing sets of standards/guidelines and to identify areas for improvements, is based on a series of comparative analysis. Both quantitative (number) and qualitative (quality in terms of coherency, consistency and completeness) aspects of indicators for addressing environmental, economic and social issues are considered. First, 42 standards/guidelines are classified and compared. Secondly, 3 standards for forest certification and 3 guidelines developed by international organisations are compared. Finally, a gap analysis is carried out with respect to an ad hoc “reference standard” with 386 indicators. Ball-charts, radar graphs and histograms are used to show results.     

浅谈森林经营方案的编制

森林经营方案既是森林经营主体制定年度计划,组织森林经营活动,安排林业生产的依据,也是林业主管部门管理、检查和监督森林经营活动的重要依据。编制和实施森林经营方案是一项法定性工作。本文对森林经营方案的内容、编制的要求和编制要点进行阐述,进而使经营方案的意义与作用显现出来。     

Using landscape metrics and topographic analysis to examine forest management in a mixed forest,Hokkaido, Japan: Guidelines for management interventions and evaluation of cover changes

In this study, we identified the distribution characteristics of a mixed forest of coniferous and broad-leaved trees (a typical forest type in Hokkaido, Japan) using landscape metrics and topographic factors, and attempted to apply this knowledge to examine forest management. This approach provides a new perspective (i.e., the landscape structure) on forest management, which traditionally has been determined on the basis of individual forest stands. We first created a cover type map of the study area by means of aerial photo interpretation. The characteristics of each cover type identified from the photographs were determined using landscape metrics for each cover class. We digitized a forest administrative map (1:20,000 scale) using 20-m contours, and imported this into GIS software to produce a terrain model; on this model, we overlaid the cover types. Our examination of landscape metrics showed that most of the natural forest could be managed similarly. However, our examination of topographic characteristics revealed exceptions (e.g., areas that are difficult to regenerate) that will require particular attention when managing the natural forest. Based on the information we obtained, we proposed a guideline for sustainable forest management. From the land cover map, we proposed an “improved” cover type map to illustrate the development of a high growing stock of forest based on forest management. We compared the current cover map with the “improved” cover map and demonstrated that the improved form would have more significant effects on fauna that do not recognize differences in the proportion of the dominant species types than on those that can recognize these differences. Our results show how the information obtained using landscape metrics and terrain models is an essential tool for various stages of forest management planning.     

广州城市森林分类经营研究

在回顾近年来广州实施森林分类经营情况,分析存在问题及原因的基础上,针对当前广州经济社会快速发展对城市森林建设、保护和管理提出的新要求,力求对城市森林作进一步科学分类,并按照分类指导原则,提出相应的保护和经营对策。       

森林经理学课程试题库系统的设计与实现

在对森林经理学课程的专业特点以及现代试题库系统发展现状研究的基础上,采用visual smdi02008中的C#编程语言以及sql server2000数据库构建了基于C／S模式的森林经理学课程试题库系统。系统主要包括了系统管理、知识点管理、试题、试卷以及考试管理等5个功能模块。该系统的应用真正实现了考、教分离,为森林经理学课程建设提供了良好的技术支持。     

Implementing principles,criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management in Gabon

Sustainable forest management is the process of managing forest to achieve one or more clearly specified objectives without diminishing the forest’s ability to continue providing goods and services in perpetuity. In this paper, we show how the African Timber Organization/International Tropical Timber Organization principles, criteria and indicators for the sustainable management of African forests can help timber companies assess their progress towards this goal in Gabon. Through a partnership between International Tropical Timber Organization project PD 124/01 Rev. 2(M), the World Wildlife Fund, and the ministry responsible for forests in Gabon, audits were conducted between 2012 and 2014 to evaluate the implementation of sustainable forest management in 14 forest concessions in Gabon. In general, results show that Principle 4, linked to the well-being of workers and local populations, proved the most difficult principle to implement, while Principle 3, dealing with maintaining ecological functions, was the least problematic. A number of companies were found to be experiencing significant difficulties in implementing management plans. It is also clear that independent forest certification has become a key element for ensuring the successful implementation of sustainable forest management.     

Performance of forest groups in achieving multifunctional forestry in Flanders

The forest group is a new policy instrument in Flanders (northern Belgium) to realise multifunctional forest management. This group was introduced in 1995 and organises the various kinds of forest owners, private as well as public, on a local basis (mean working area 751 km²), with voluntary participation (as in all forest owner organisations). This study evaluates forest groups in Flanders through an analysis of their relevance, effectiveness, utility and implementation. The targets of forest groups are relevant to the evolving needs and priorities at the local, regional, national and international level. The effectiveness analysis reveals that most indicators — including the quantity of timber harvest, the number of members, the forest area with an accepted management plan, the area under management and the area with small-scale ecological measures — have been improving between 1995 and 2004. The utility analysis emphasises that the owners are motivated because the forest group provides information and increases knowledge, includes the owner into a collective management plan, offers a platform for sharing management experiences and acts as a union force against the government. However, the forest group is not the solution to introduce multifunctional forest management by all forest owners. The implementation analysis identifies a number of impeding factors, including the imbalance between rights and duties, inconsistencies between various policy aims, and failure of forest groups to act as a common forum for all stakeholders in their working area.     

美国的森林动态评价模型及其对中国森林健康评价的启示

应用动态模型评价森林健康状况,预测树木或林分的生长与收获,以及在不同立地条件下采用某些特定的营林技术措施后林分的动态变化,一直是森林健康评价及管理的核心问题.当前在美国应用的两个森林动态评价及决策模型SIMPPLLE和MAGIS主要是用来评价当前林分状况、模拟林分发展以及预测不同经营管理方式下林分未来的动态变化状况,通过分析不同决策下森林植被的收获状况,选择最优化的管理措施以及实施措施的时间及地点制定最优化决策.针对现阶段中国森林健康评价中,以建立评价指标体系进行静态评价、缺乏空间信息数据和森林健康经营动态变化规律模型等问题,提出今后应针对中国实际情况开展切合实际的研究,开发出以促进森林健康经营为目的的动态预测模型和决策模型,提高森林健康的预测能力,完善森林健康经营综合评价技术体系.     

A look at Intact Forest Landscapes (IFLs) and their relevance in Central African forest policy

Tropical forests are major providers of natural resources and ecosystem services but their ecological functions are at threat, due to increasing human pressure linked to economic development. The identification of priority areas for conservation is crucial for land use planning to ensure the protection of biodiversity and ecological function. Intact Forest Landscapes (IFLs), as defined by Greenpeace and World Resources Institute (WRI), are areas of the forest ecosystems not subjected to human activities. They have been identified by mapping human disturbances through remote sensing. Contrary to similar global-scale concepts, IFLs have been integrated into the standards of the certification body Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and therefore have practical implications for forest management policies. The Motion 65, approved in the general assembly of FSC in 2014, mandates the protection of IFLs located in FSC certified logging concessions. Until the implementation of national standards, forestry operations are banished from 80% of the IFL area within each forest management unit. To trace the history and evaluate the suitability of IFLs in the Central African context, we searched for documents related to the IFL method, and related approaches focusing on the identification of areas devoid of human disturbances. The IFL method is simple and cost-effective and allows for a global assessment of the influence of human infrastructures and industrial exploitation on forests. However, the method does not consider the situation below the canopy and those forest components not visible by satellites. For example, hunting, one of the main threats faced by wildlife in Central African forests today, cannot be detected with satellite imagery. On the other hand, other anthropogenic activities which remote sensing may detect may be compatible with forest ecosystem conservation. To better tailor the IFL approach to Central African forests, we recommend (i) the consideration of wildlife communities in the intactness analysis, (ii) a thorough evaluation of the impacts of human activities on forest ecosystems, and (iii) the integration of local stakeholders and governments in the design of land management strategies to respond to social, economic and environmental needs.     

Explaining gender differences in private forest risk management

In many countries, lower levels of forest management activities have been observed among female forest owners compared to male owners. The present study examined potential explanations for gender differences in private forest risk management among forest owners in Sweden (n?=?1482) using a questionnaire. Results from this study confirmed a slightly lower level of forest risk management among female owners in proactively combating damage caused by climate change and animal browsing when compared to their male counterparts. Further gender differences were revealed on a structural level. For example, female owners displayed higher levels of education and were more often non-resident owners and urban owners, as compared to their male counterparts. In addition, female and male owners differed regarding social-psychological variables (e.g. forest values and threat and coping appraisals). However the greatest gender difference was found in involvement in forest planning and forestry work. Even though gender differences were evident on multiple levels, involvement in forest issues and forest planning were found to be most important for explaining gender differences in forest risk management. By disentangling predictors of gender differences in private forest risk management, this study may contribute to a more strategic gender approach to forest risk governance.     

Certification of community forestry enterprises: experiences with incorporating community forestry in a global system for forest governance

This paper discusses the history and present status of community forest certification as an illustration of the growing interactions between global and local processes in forest governance. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification system is analyzed as an illustrative case of the trend towards increased incorporation of community-based forest enterprises (CFEs) into international initiatives for sustainable forest management and global markets. First the paper reviews the development of community-based forest management and the evolution in certification of community-based forest enterprises. Next it discusses the main challenges and opportunities for making CFE certification accessible and beneficial for communities. Finally it illustrates the importance of multi-level and multi-actor partnerships for creating effective interfaces between global standards and community forestry practices. The experiences with FSC certification of community-based forest enterprises demonstrate that community forestry is enlarging its scope from autonomous decision-making on local practice to incorporation in international forest governance systems. This experience also demonstrates that the application of global standards for sustainable forest management requires adaptation to local realities. These lessons are of relevance for further incorporation of community forestry in the newly evolving global programs for forest management and conservation.     

Effect of utilization standard on wood supply and lumber yield

ABSTRACT

Although sustainable forest management is accepted worldwide in concept, challenges in the methods of implementation remain. Using local data sets from Alberta, Canada, we show that a simulation approach can assist the implementation of sustainable forest management by improved understanding of product potential and other forest ecosystem goods and services that forests can provide for a given forest inventory. This will assist facilitating trade-offs among them for an optimal wood utilization strategy to achieve sustainable forest management. In this example, effects of wood utilization standard on merchantable volume, lumber volume, and number of trees that can produce at least one piece of lumber are quantified, and a conversion method for wood volumes under different wood utilization standards is presented. Wood utilization standard is the combination of stump height and diameter inside bark at merchantable height, which considerably influences available volume quantity of forest resource. However, such influences have not been quantified for sustainable forest management implementation. Our results not only confirmed that merchantable and lumber volumes increased with decreasing stump height and diameter inside bark at merchantable height, but also revealed that this trend will not hold when diameter inside bark at merchantable height is less than 7 cm.     

Effects of presenting forest simulation results on the forest values and attitudes of forestry professionals and other forest users in Central Labrador

This research tested whether demonstration of the long term effect of different forest management scenarios in a large forested area changes people's forest values and attitudes. Forestry professionals and other forest users in Central Labrador were shown simulation results of three alternative forest management scenarios illustrating possible long term effects on various indicators. Forest values and attitudes towards forestry were measured before and after the presentation. Our conception of values and attitudes is based on the cognitive hierarchy model of human behaviour which states that values are more enduring and more difficult to change than attitudes. It was thus hypothesized that attitudes would change but not values and that change in forestry professionals would be less than in other forest users since foresters are trained to think about long-term effects and large-scale processes of forest management scenarios. We also hypothesized that a greater number of people would have an opinion on forest management after the presentation. All three hypotheses were partially supported by the results. The results indicated that some attitude change occurred, but that values also changed somewhat. Most of the significant changes occurred when persons with no clear opinion on several forest-related questions formed an opinion. Long-term, landscape simulation results provide valuable information and enhance understanding of both forestry professionals and other forest users. However, being provided the same information, the two groups learned different things. While forest users gained more confidence in the current forest management plan and were motivated to further participate, professionals learned more specific things. This reflects differences between technical and local knowledge.     

Consequences of the Swedish forest policy

This article demonstrates that the opportunity cost (return forgone) of cutting principles imposed by the Swedish forest policy is economically significant. The Swedish Forestry Act of 1979 recommends a management strategy for sustaining high yields of valuable timber referred to here as the Balance Strategy. However, the Forestry Act allows for a range of different forest management strategies. The Act establishes both a minimum cutting volume for a ten‐year‐period and a maximum final cut area referred to here as the Minimum and Maximum Strategies, respectively. These strategies were compared to a management plan, referred to as the Economic Strategy, for minimizing the opportunity cost for the forest owner. Based on data from a recent forest management plan, a simulation model was used to predict yields and economic returns for a period of one hundred years. The results show that at a 4% interest rate the Economic Strategy produces a gain of approximately 8200 SEK ha^‐1. The Economic Strategy, however, emphasizes volume and its implementation results in a forest far different from that developed under the Balance Strategy, in which quality timber is also produced. The Economic Strategy may also have less favourable effects on biodiversity, conservation of the natural environment and the recreational value of the forest.