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.     

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.     

Multicriteria and Critical Threshold Value Analyses in Assessing Sustainable Forestry

Abstract

This paper presents different models designed to operationalize the principle of forest sustainability. Concepts such as resource or environmental utilization space, carrying capacity, and critical thresholds are defined. The paper also describes an application of the qualitative and quantitative multicriteria models in assessing forest sus-tainability. Sustainability analysis was done in three stages: Stage 1 involves the development of an appropriate set of criteria and indicators (C&I); Stage 2 involves the use of multicriteria analysis (MCA) models for estimating relative importance of each C&I; and Stage 3 involves the qualitative and quantitative assessment of each C&I. The qualitative model is based on a simple flagging method where C&I elements are evaluated and assigned appropriate flag colors depending on the experts' judgments on their criticality. Similarly, the same set of C&I elements were also evaluated quantitatively using a scaled scoring system. These models were applied in a case study involving a community-managed forest in the Philippines. An assessment team consisting of representatives from various disciplines, local institutions, and local stakeholders was organized and served as the expert team that provided the assessment information used in the analysis. Feedback received from the assessors indicate that the models were found to be useful, transparent, and helpful tools not only in generating relevant sets of C&I, but more importantly, in evaluating these C&I with respect to overall forest sustain-ability.     

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.     

Introduction of sustainable management tools in central Zagros forests of Iran

Zagros forests are one of the vegetative regions which have been located in the west of Iran. The investigation of sustainable forest management in Zagros is one of the key issues which make us to consider the challenges concerned with the protection of forest resources and socioeconomic problems of local people. Demand for criteria evaluation and indicators for sustainable forest management from local to national level to conduct administrative affairs have been increased. The aim of the present study is to evaluate 7 criteria and 65 sustainable indicators which have been utilized in the Near East. Accordingly, a questionnaire, with its reliability confirmed by experts, was distributed among involved participants. The results indicated that the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the questionnaire was 0/729. Then, using DEMATEL model, the sustainability criteria were prioritized and the significant correlation among them determined. Likert scale was also utilized to rank all the indicators, and in terms of their relative weight they were compared with. The result indicated that the most significant criteria were legal, political, and institutional frameworks, and protective functions of forest criterion were the most influential factor. By analyzing the experts’ attitudes, reliance on natural regeneration indicator with the relative weight of 31/15% was the most significant criteria in the region. The existence of number of seed provenance with the relative weight of 9/17% was the least significant role. At the end, 27 verifiers, 25 threshold values, and the most significant indicators in this research were determined.     

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。     

A criteria and indicator prognosis for sustainable forest management assessments: Concepts and optional policy baskets for the high forest zone in Ghana

ABSTRACT

This article establishes principles conveyed by criteria and indicators as a useful tool for measuring progress made toward sustainable forest management (SFM). Pedagogically, the conceptual construction raises questions on the following topics: (a) the various management practices and policies that exist in the high forest zone, (b) how criteria and indicators for assessments are selected, and (c) how progress made toward SFM is measured. Performance scores are established for indicators identified within the three sectors (forest ecosystems, forest communities, and the economy) for sustainability assessment. Measuring progress toward SFM operations are quantitatively performed with estimated maximum and minimum thresholds levels at which resource-use would be sustained using the Measure of Forest Resource-Use Sustainability Scale (MoFRUSS). The outcome of the measurement operations, as depicted by MoFRUSS, reveals the actual extent to which stakeholder’s initiatives toward sustainable forest management has progressed and in which direction it is moving. It also offers optional policy baskets for resource management interventions from which the socio-eco economic bundle is recommended if the forestry sector of Ghana’s Vision 2020 (sustainable development) is to be achieved with improved societal well-being, improved environmental health and vitality, and improved economic growth and development.     

Assessing the sustainability in community based forestry: A case from Nepal

Community based forestry is seen as a promising instrument for sustainable forest management (SFM) through the purposeful involvement of local communities. Globally, forest area managed by local communities is on the rise. However, transferring management responsibilities to forest users alone cannot guarantee the sustainability of forest management. A monitoring tool, that allows the local communities to track the progress of forest management towards the goal of sustainability, is essential. A case study, including six forest user groups (FUGs), two from each three community based forestry models—community forestry (CF), buffer zone community forestry (BZCF), and collaborative forest management (CFM) representing three different physiographic regions, was conducted in Nepal. The study explores which community based forest management model (CF, BZCF or CFM) is doing well in terms of sustainable forest management. The study assesses the overall performance of the three models towards SFM using locally developed criteria (four), indicators (26) and verifiers (60). This paper attempts to quantify the sustainability of the models using sustainability index for individual criteria (SIIC), and overall sustainability index (OSI). In addition, rating to the criteria and scoring of the verifiers by the FUGs were done. Among the four criteria, the FUGs ascribed the highest weightage to institutional framework and governance criterion; followed by economic and social benefits, forest management practices, and extent of forest resources. Similarly, the SIIC was found to be the highest for the institutional framework and governance criterion. The average values of OSI for CFM, CF, and BZCF were 0.48, 0.51 and 0.60 respectively; suggesting that buffer zone community forestry is the more sustainable model among the three. The study also suggested that the SIIC and OSI help local communities to quantify the overall progress of their forestry practices towards sustainability. The indices provided a clear picture of forest management practices to indicate the direction where they are heading in terms of sustainability; and informed the users on issues to pay attention to enhance sustainability of their forests.     

Psychological values and cues as a basis for developing socially relevant criteria and indicators for forest management

Criteria and indicators (C & I) have proven an essential tool for managers implementing sustainable forest management, but have been less effective for communication with the wider community. We demonstrate a new bottom-up approach to developing socially relevant C & I using social analysis and psychology-based concepts and methods. Our conceptual framework links the concepts of valued attributes and environmental cues with, respectively, criteria and indicators. We illustrate our approach using thirty-six semi-structured interviews of individual members of the general public and of stakeholder groups in Victoria, southern Australia. The interviews included a modified cognitive mapping task to identify attributes of forests valued by the interviewees, as well as cues used by them to know if a valued attribute was present or had changed. Seven broad valued attributes of forests were identified: Natural; Experiential; Productive; Setting; Social/Economic; Learning; and Cultural. Four broad categories of cues were identified: Biophysical; Social/Psychological; Economic; and Management/Planning. Cues were translated into a set of measurable ‘socially relevant’ indicators of forest management. Comparison with existing frameworks revealed some similarities, but that an important component of public evaluations, Experiential and Setting valued attributes, was largely absent from C & I used in Victoria, which are based on the Montreal Process framework. Some socially relevant indicators aligned with existing indicators, but others were poorly represented, particularly sensory indicators that are concerned with subjective experiences of forests. Our approach demonstrates a new way of developing C & I and has a strong conceptual basis that enables more explicit consideration and communication of a comprehensive range of social values and cues in environmental management systems.     

Implementing Sustainable Forest Management Using Six Concepts in an Adaptive Management Framework

Certification and principles, criteria and indicators (PCI) describe desired ends for sustainable forest management (SFM) but do not address potential means to achieve those ends. As a result, forest owners and managers participating in certification and employing PCI as tools to achieving SFM may be doing so inefficiently: achieving results by trial-and-error rather than by targeted management practices; dispersing resources away from priority objectives; and passively monitoring outcomes rather than actively establishing quantitative goals. In this literature review, we propose six concepts to guide SFM implementation. These concepts include: Best Management Practices (BMPs)/Reduced Impact Logging (RIL), biodiversity conservation, forest protection, multi-scale planning, participatory forestry, and sustained forest production. We place these concepts within an iterative decision-making framework of planning, implementation, and assessment, and provide brief definitions of and practices delimited by each concept. A case study describing SFM in the neo-tropics illustrates a potential application of our six concepts. Overall our paper offers an approach that will help forest owners and managers implement the ambiguous SFM concept.     

Bryophytes as potential indicators of forest integrity

Forest integrity has been proposed as one conservation endpoint that integrates desirable characteristics such as natural biodiversity, stand structure and continuity. Although its defining criteria are still under discussion, any surrogates must effectively represent or predict their status, and be easier to measure than the criteria themselves. Bryophytes have been proposed as such surrogates, because they are important components of forest integrity, and considerable research indicates that some groups are sensitive to the changes associated with specific forest management regimes. The objectives of this paper are (1) to review the issues in determining indicators of forest integrity, including desirable qualities in such indicators, (2) to review the state of knowledge concerning bryophytes as components of forest integrity (i.e. their responses to forest management practices), and (3) to assess bryophytes as potential indicators of forest integrity, in terms of both qualities desirable in indicators and our understanding of bryophyte response patterns. Although bryophytes possess some characteristics that suggest potential indicator value, many challenges prevent their reliable application. I highlight key areas in which research is required to identify operational bryophyte indicators of forest integrity. Along with a standardized protocol to select and calibrate such indicators, we urgently require strategic research to compile data on undisturbed reference forests on which to base selection of endpoints; species-specific ecological tolerances, with consideration of complex interactions; mechanisms of response to disturbance, with consideration of temporal aspects; population viability thresholds; and recruitment effects on community assembly. Whether we succeed in finding bryophyte indicators of forest integrity, this research would also provide the data to monitor and interpret the integrity of the bryophyte community.     

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.     

ISO 14001环境管理体系对我国森林可持续性经营的影响

森林经营无论是采伐林木或是营造人工林都会对自然环境造成一定的影响,这些影响又反作用于森林的生长和可持续性利用.为了实现森林的可持续性经营,一些发达国家的森林经营组织在经营管理上采用ISO14001环境管理体系标准.本文通过论述ISO14001的要求和森林可持续性经营目标之间的联系,针对我国森林经营的具体情况和存在的问题,对我国采用ISO14001标准实现森林可持续性经营提出了建议.     

Decision-making for the selection of a best wood extraction method: An analytic network process approach

The importance of environmental and economical aspects in sustainable forest management (SFM), demands a continuing need for the application of efficient methods in this field. In this paper, we applied analytic network process (ANP) with benefits, opportunities, costs, and risks (BOCR) to evaluate four existing wood extraction methods (rubber-tired skidder, tracked skidder, cable logging and animal skidding) and select the best one based on SFM strategies in the Caspian (Hyrcanian) Forest, in northern Iran. The required data were obtained either from the previous studies or through pairwise comparisons conducted by a panel of forest engineering experts. Based on the BOCR subnetworks and their corresponding criteria, four alternatives were synthesized. ANP analysis indicated that the benefits and risks were more important in terms of decision-making, compared to the opportunities and costs. Finally, the alternative of ‘rubber-tired skidder’ was selected as the most suitable method for meeting SFM strategies. The decision framework proposed in this study offers a means for the reorganizing and planning of timber harvesting operations as an integral step toward SFM. By making minor adjustments for local conditions, this decision framework can be adapted for many other regions and countries.     

A European Network in Support of Sustainable Forest Management

Summary

Today, sustainability is a political priority at the regional, national, and international levels. It is thought to be attained by political instruments and adequate management. The Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE) is the European forum and reference for sustainable forest management (SFM). The MCPFE has developed criteria and indicators for implementing SFM in Europe. However, there is a gap between policy makers, stakeholders, and researchers with regard to the implementation of the criteria and indicators. A research strategy is proposed by the COST Action E25-European Network for Long-Term Ecosystem and Landscape Research, whereby these gaps are identified, and means for bridging these gaps are suggested. For example, economic and social-cultural criteria and indicators are poorly developed or missing-there is a need for disciplinary and multidisciplinary research. Furthermore, the knowledge base of forests and forestry is well developed in Europe, but could be better communicated to parties involved. Decision-support systems and “landscape laboratories” are suggested as tools for bridging this gap. Furthermore, resources are scarce, so new approaches should be developed that take advantage of existing resources and experiences. Information systems for maintaining and developing long-term information, and increased European collaboration are needed to harmonize existing and future initiatives.     

Local vs official criteria and indicators for evaluating community forest management

Processes to develop criteria and indicators (C and I) for sustainableforest management are often expert driven. Although the long-termobjective of the Nepalese forest policy is sustainable forestmanagement, no national level C and I specifically for thishave been developed. However, the Ministry of Forests and SoilConservation awards an annual prize to successful communityforest user groups (CFUGs) based on evaluation according to10 criteria. This study explored local C and I for successfulforest management in Nepal through six meetings with CFUG members.A total of 14 local criteria and 52 indicators for awardinga prize to successful CFUGs were identified, and comparisonwith official C and I was undertaken. Most conspicuously, localC and I focus more on environmental and governance-related aspectsthan the official list, and the official list leaves much tothe discretion of the evaluator. The study concludes that developmentof a national level C and I for sustainable forest managementcould benefit from involvement of local forest users.     

2010年全球森林资源评估特点与启示

介绍了由联合国粮农组织(FAO)牵头开展的2010年全球森林资源评估内容指标、技术方法和主要结果,总结了2010年中国森林资源评估和国家报告编报情况及其成效。从我国实际出发,分析了我国林业监测统计面临的紧迫问题,结合世界各国和FAO等国际组织森林资源监测评估经验,提出了增强全国监测评估结果时效性和说服力、提升我国林业应对森林可持续经营评价、森林碳汇计量和REDD+等全球气候变化焦点议题能力的途径和措施。     

永林公司森林可持续经营目标指标体系研究

以实现永林公司森林可持续经营为目标,针对公司的资源状况与经营实践,提出由6大标准共43个指标构成的林业企业级的森林可持续经营目标指标体系,以期为南方集体林区林业企业的森林可持续经营提供借鉴。     

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.     

人工林可持续经营认证标准与指标问题

阐述了森林认证对于人工林可持续经营的必要性。依据黑龙江森工林区人工林经营实践和森林认证在该地区的发展情况，讨论了FSC原则和标准框架下本区域森林可持续经营认证的人工林标准与指标问题。认为标准与指标应该针对本区域天然林破碎严重，人工林树种单一、稳定性差、生长量低、生态效益不好等一系列问题，提出了人工林标准与指标的基本内容。