Local-level criteria and indicators: an Aboriginal perspective on sustainable forest management

As tools for improving the sustainability of forest management,criteria and indicator (C&I) frameworks have grown in popularityover the last decade. Such frameworks have been largely derivedfrom top-down approaches to determining critical measures offorest management success. While useful, they fail to capturemany C&I of critical importance to local populations, whoexperience forest management strategies first hand and who havetheir own definitions of sustainability. Using archival materials,our research begins to identify one First Nation's forest valuesand compares these local-level C&I with three well-knownC&I frameworks for sustainable forestry. We demonstratethat local-level definitions can provide additional C&I,as well as additional levels of detail to C&I that theyshare with the national and international frameworks. Both arecrucial to developing strategies for sustainable managementthat meet local as well as broader needs and desires.     

Local level criteria and indicator frameworks: A tool used to assess aboriginal forest ecosystem values

Although the importance of aboriginal knowledge, values and perspectives in sustainable development has been recognised for many decades, worldwide examples exist showing that aboriginal involvement is less then effective. How and where to include aboriginal needs and goals has however been problematic. Ultimately, aboriginal forest values need to be considered with scientific strategies and their role and compatibility with forest conditions needs to be explored. Criteria and indicator (C&I) frameworks can be used as a platform to include community needs and goals in management decisions. This review compares aboriginal forest ecological perspectives defined by Canadian local level C&I frameworks with non-aboriginal local level C&I frameworks to identify their differences at the indicator level. Three major themes mark the differences between aboriginal and non-aboriginal indicators: (1) aboriginal frameworks introduce ecological indicators of cultural importance; (2) there is an aesthetic concern for forest operations especially if they affect cultural owners; and (3) indicators regarding the access to resources are more complex and include the sustainability of the productivity, proximity, integrity and quality of resources used in traditional activities. Results show that First Nation forest sustainability issues are in effect a combination of forest conditions and values. Inclusion of forest values in C&I frameworks is necessary because: (1) aboriginal communities do not dissociate culture from the environment and thus forest values from forest condition, (2) they have an impact on resulting forest management strategies and decisions, and (3) they offer a holistic approach to sustainability issues and a better picture of local environmental contexts.     

Comparison of sustainable forest management (SFM) trends at global and country levels: case study in Iran

Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) is an integral component of sustainable development. Iran is a Near East country with low forest cover. Iran uses 7 criteria and 65 indicators for regional and national monitoring of forest management. We evaluated the status of SFM in Iran, and a location imaging in its path towards SFM was provided by existing validation data and library references for the Criteria and Indicators (C&I) adopted in the Near East, We identify challenges and opportunities associated with SFM in Iran. Although the information to evaluate the trend of SFM in Iran was incomplete, we compiled some information on the basis of C&I. Comparison of some indicators with the values for the rest of the world revealed that the situation in Iran is very different. Although some indicators revealed a better situation in Iran, Iran lags the rest of the world in the implementation of SFM. Iran, like many countries, is trying hard to find ways to sustainably use its forests. Not all C&I for assessment of SFM in Iran have been determined or defined. However, a consistent and comprehensive framework of criteria and indicators to monitor progress towards SFM is being applied. Defining some C&I is still at an early stage.     

Converging global indicators for sustainable forest management

Policy-makers in most countries now recognise the need to conserve biodiversity, forest productivity and the prosperity of forest dependent communities in the long-term. There is wide recognition of the importance of forested watersheds to hydrological regimes and water quality and the significant cultural, social and aesthetic values of forests. Policies are now directed at achieving sustainable forest management (SFM). Criteria and indicators (C&I) define SFM but obtaining agreement on what SFM is has proven to be a difficult task internationally and nationally. International activities including the work of the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO), the European Union (EU) and the Montreal Process (MP) for temperate and boreal forests outside Europe, have, over the past decade refined C&I for SFM to the point now that there is substantial agreement between them. This paper reviews progress towards defining SFM and shows through a synthesis of the ITTO, EU and MP C&I the emergent consistency in defining SFM. The implication is that there are now sufficiently specific and agreed principles, C&I to guide policy-makers towards SFM. While much work remains to be done to operationalise the C&I, the gap between these agreed criteria and current practice for forest management is so wide that progress can be made within the frameworks while refinement continues.     

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.     

Assessing sustainability for global forests: a proposed pathway to fill critical data gaps

The UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other regional and national policy commitments have motivated an upsurge of interest in concepts and practical methods for monitoring forest conditions and trends at very wide geographic scales. Two approaches to sustainability assessment at a global level are reviewed here. One consists of monitoring change in forest conditions over time—the so-called Criteria and Indicators (C&I) approach. Another approach compares nations at a given point in time. An example is the Yale Environmental Performance Index (EPI). Both approaches yield insights. It is widely recognized, though, that severe data weaknesses afflict forest information over much of the world. These weaknesses include weak or absent information on wood consumption in many regions, poor area estimates, and weak or absent information on key ecological conditions in forests. The purpose of this essay is to introduce these efforts at global assessment, and to argue that an entirely new discipline is needed to supply the information needed. The focus of this new discipline would be to design an ecologically based set of definitions for forest and related ecosystems, and then to build and implement the optimum combination of satellite measurements, air photo interpretation, and field plot measurements needed to measure world forest resource conditions and trends. Examples of this new approach are already appearing. This argument is addressed to members of the global forest policy community concerned with assessment, and to scientists, technologists, and managers in the many technical fields already engaged on one or another aspect of measuring and monitoring forest conditions at a national and regional scale.     

黑龙江省宝清县林业局国有森林资源现状及今后经营利用分析

通过对2008年宝清县国有林区森林资源调查,与前10年资源数据比较,进行数量和质量分析,制定相应发展对策。     

Non-Timber Forest Products Marketing Systems and Market Players in Southwest Virginia

Abstract

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are important in rural southwest Virginia as a source of household income. Marketing system of crafts, medicinal and herbal, and specialty wood products are studied using exploratory and qualitative research methods. Fifty market players at various levels in marketing chains are interviewed to get the information on elements of marketing system -products, product differentiation, value addition, pricing, promotion, distribution, and marketing chains. NTFP trade is a common phenomenon in southwest Virginia. The greatest opportunity exists for local level marketing of crafts and specialty wood products. In the case of medicinal and herbal products, very little local value addition takes place within the region, and as a result local market players have little control. Policy interventions are required to enhance the returns to local collectors, which will also contribute to sustainable management of forest resources.     

Developing and testing of a method for the analysis and assessment of multiple forest use from a forest conservation perspective

The goal of this study was to develop a method for analyzing and assessing multiple forest use from a forest conservation perspective and to test this method as a case study at a local forest management unit (Haliburton Forest & Wild Life Reserve Ltd., Ontario, Canada).The method adopts a model concept and consists of the definition of a target system for forest conservation, the design of a set of criteria and indicators, the assessment of indicator performance, and the formulation of action plans. Implementation of the method, the state of the forest, and the impact of multiple forest use are analyzed and assessed.The formulated target system for forest conservation contains the goal of integrated, sustainable and natural forest management; the objectives of protection of natural processes, naturalness and natural diversity; and operational targets. The development of the set of criteria and indicators including measurement units is mainly based on the concept of protection of natural processes, but is modified and extended.The examined forest management unit shows good to very good performance for most of the indicators. Overall, the state of the forest can be assessed as good to very good, with only minimal impact caused by the multiple forest use operation. The method is suitable for analyzing and assessing multiple forest use. It contributes to the evaluation of new forest management concepts and forest conservation assessment methods, and supports approaches of certification and criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management at the local level.     

北京西山风景林经营分类研究

结合风景林不同景观、林分、功能的特点,以聚类分析、回归分析及数据叠加等多种定量方法为主,定性为辅,将研究区风景林划分为3个等级经营类型,构成了风景林经营分类系统.一级经营分类利用聚类分析方法对具有相似景观特征的斑块类型进行归类;二级经营分类在一级经营分类基础上,结合优势种、立地因子及林分特征,从林分水平进行进一步划分;三级经营分类将同一林分经营类型内具有相同或相似功能特征的分别归类.各个等级的经营类型分别反映了不同景观空间配置特征、林分特征、功能特征.     

Assessing Well-Being in Forest Dependent Communities

Summary

This paper presents a new approach to the conceptualization and assessment of well-being in forest-dependent communities. Studies of well-being in agrarian communities, boomtowns (communities undergoing rapid growth), and forest-dependent communities are examined to highlight common themes in natural resource-dependent community studies. Social indicators are discussed and a summary of weaknesses presented. The county, a commonly used unit of analysis, is rejected in favor of a more socially relevant unit. This new approach to well-being in forest communities begins with definitions of the terms community and forest dependence. The work of Amartya Sen, whose conceptualization of well-being focuses on the real opportunities people have and their achievements in light of their opportunities, forms the foundation of the new approach proposed here. Sen's conceptualization is broadened by focusing on the community and acknowledging the importance of a sense of place. Methodologically, this new approach adds to the evaluation of social indicators an assessment of community capacity that consists of three components: physical, human, and social capital. It also involves evaluating how residents draw on and develop these aspects of their community to meet local needs and create opportunities. This results in a well-being assessment that includes static as well as dynamic measures of how communities respond to and create opportunities to improve local well-being.     

Rapid,non-destructive carbon analysis of forest soils using neutron-induced gamma-ray spectroscopy

Forest soils are pivotal to understanding global carbon (C) cycling and evaluating policies for mitigating global change. However, they are very difficult to monitor because of the heterogeneity of soil characteristics, the difficulty of representative sampling, and the slow time scale of response to environmental change. Here we demonstrate that use of gamma-ray spectroscopy facilitates in situ non-destructive analysis of C and other elements in forest soils. In this approach the element-specific gamma-rays are induced by fast and thermal neutrons interacting with the nuclei of the elements present in the soil. Background gamma-rays emanating from naturally occurring radionuclides in the forest are recorded as well. We applied this approach in a mature northern hardwood forest on glacial till soils at the Bartlett Experimental Forest in New Hampshire, USA. The inelastic neutron scattering (INS) system yielded strong signals in gamma-ray counts/h, from C and other elements present in the soil matrix that included silicon, oxygen, hydrogen, iron, aluminum, manganese and potassium. The INS sensitivity for carbon was 20.656 counts h⁻¹ kg⁻¹ C m⁻² based on current net C gamma-ray counts and the data for the O horizon and mineral soil to a depth of 30 cm obtained from a nearby quantitative soil pit (7.35 kg C m⁻²). We estimate the minimum detectable change to be ∼0.34 kg C m⁻², which is ∼5% of the current soil C content, and the minimum detectable limit to be ∼0.23 kg C m⁻². Eight % reproducibility from 11 measurements was limited, in part, by the large variability in the system counting geometry due to the uneven forest microtopography. The INS approach has the potential to revolutionize belowground monitoring of C and other elements, because the possibility of detecting a 5% change in forest soils has not been possible with destructive sampling methods.     

Perspectives on Community-Based Forest Management in Oaxaca,Mexico

Abstract

This compilation of papers explores various aspects related to community-based natural resource management in a comparative analysis of two communities located in different regions of Oaxaca, Mexico: the Chimalapas and the Sierra Norte. The contrasting histories, cultures, and forest ecosystems in the two communities have led to diverse approaches to managing their natural resources. Our analysis highlights the existence of underlying principles driving participatory management approaches, as well as the importance of adapting these approaches to site-specific local conditions. One theme addressed in these papers is the development of appropriate silvicultural techniques that incorporate both the local peoples' needs and experiences with the ecological characteristics of the forest ecosystem. Other land use activities are then discussed that affect management decisions in the regions such as cattle ranching and the collection of medicinal plants within the context of managing for sustainable forest and human ecosystems in the two regions. Finally, the role of community organization and the formation of partnerships with external institutions in strengthening local management and conservation initiatives are also considered. Together, these papers provide a commentary on the potentials and constraints of emerging participatory approaches to managing high priority conservation areas, and which are providing new alternatives where previous models have often failed.     

云南省松墨天牛危险性分析评估

松墨天牛是松林常见的重要蛀干害虫，也是松材线虫病最主要的媒介昆虫。为加强对云南省松墨天牛的管理，有效控制其危害和在云南省进一步扩散蔓延，采用有害生物危险性分析(Pest Risk Analysis)方法，对松墨天牛在云南省的危险性进行了定性与定量相结合的分析，认为松墨天牛在云南省属于中度危险性的森林有害生物。     

世界森林可持续经营标准与指标发展的现状与趋势*

标准与指标一直是森林可持续经营研究的重点领域 ,同时也是国际社会最为关注的议题之一。文中总结了国际上森林可持续经营标准与指标发展的现状 ,对不同来源和不同层次的标准与指标进行了比较分析 ,同时对标准与指标在实践中遇到的问题以及发展趋势进行了探讨。     

北京市八达岭林场森林健康评价研究

应用SPSS16.0数学统计软件,采用定性与定量相结合的方法确定森林健康评价指标体系,包括结构性指标、功能性指标和适应性指标3大类8个指标,使用层次分析法赋予指标权重,基于ArcGIS9.2对八达岭林场121个小班进行森林健康评价。结果表明,该林场78.24%的林分处于健康和亚健康状态,主要由天然阔叶林、天然灌木林和人工针叶林组成。须采取切实可行的森林经营管理措施,提高经营管理水平,发挥森林更大的综合效益。     

Forest Landscape Development Scenarios (FoLDS)–A framework for integrating forest models,owners' behaviour and socio-economic developments

The FoLDS framework presented in this paper is set up to develop scenarios for forested landscapes with a transparent connection between the broad-scale developments in socio-economic factors and the ecosystem services provided. The forests that provide these ecosystem services are managed by a multitude of forest owners. Different forest owners have their own objectives and will thus adjust their forest management differently to socio-economic developments. The FoLDS framework breaks down the connection from socio-economic developments to the landscape level in three steps. In the first step, a structure is provided for deciding on scenarios combining the socio-economic factors that have most influence on forest owners. In the second step, the scenarios are translated to the distribution of forest management approaches in the landscape by invoking a behavioural matrix of forest owner types and forest management decisions. The third step involves the implementation of these forest management approaches in a forest modelling tool that is tailored to the specific landscape at hand. The results of these calculations are then translated to a set of indicators for the ecosystem services of interest. A survey among researchers experienced with the FoLDS framework indicates that there is an added value in systematically including both qualitative and quantitative scenario methods for forested landscapes.     

Autologistic regression and multicriteria evaluation models for the prediction of forest expansion

Land use changes are complex ecological processes driven by the interaction of biophysical and human related factors. The prediction of forest land use changes is important for sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation. This study investigates the modelling process of the spatial dynamics of a forest ecosystem in north eastern Greece. For the prediction of forest expansion, based on land use data of the study area, a deterministic approach using logistic regression and heuristic methods of multi-criteria evaluation is adopted. The set of factors driving forest expansion are: the slope, the distance to roads, the distance to urban areas, the distance to forest, the soil depth, the soil erosion and the influence from the land uses of the neighbourhood. The spatial autocorrelation of driving factors is addressed using an autologistic regression model. The multicriteria evaluation approach is developed using weighted linear combination (WLC) and ordered weighted averaging (OWA) methods. In WLC method the relative importance of each factor was estimated using the analytical hierarchy process. In the OWA method, decision strategies are generated using a selection of relative linguistic quantifiers, which allow different Risk in decisions. The accuracy of the models produced was tested with real data for the year 2001 using the ROC validation method. All the methods produced satisfactory results. Autologistic regression showed slightly better performance than multicriteria evaluation methods due to higher degree of objectivity in defining the importance of driving factors for forest expansion.     

A Spatial Approach to Participatory Planning in Forestry Decision Making

A method is introduced in which qualitative information obtained in a public participation process is transformed into quantitative spatial decision support for forest management planning. In the first phase, qualitative analysis is implemented by using the tools of qualitative research analysis. Then, a method is developed whereby it is possible to connect the expressed opinions to certain locations, to weight these opinions in a sensible way, and then to combine them in the form of a score map. In this phase, geographic information system (GIS) and preference analysis tools were used. The case study, carried out in the area managed by the Finnish Forest and Park Service, illustrates how to pack huge amounts of unstructured public feedback as decision support. The result of the analysis was a score map ranking pixels in the study area according to the aggregated preferences and norms expressed by public. Based on the case study experiences, it was concluded that most of this kind of public feedback can be illustrated for decision makers by using a few score maps.     

房县退耕还林造林设计立地类型划分研究

本文采用定性与定量相结合的方法 ,以分析立地生态因素地域分异的综合特征及对林木生长的影响为基础 ,结合该县林业生产现状 ,从科学、实用的观点出发 ,以主导因子控制确定退耕还林的立地类型 ,并编制立地类型表