Analysis and deliberation as a mechanism to assess changes in preferences for indicators of sustainable forest management: A case study in Puebla, Mexico

Prescriptions of the Forest Management Planning Manual (FMPM) for Ontario's Crown forests are examined for conformance with the elements of the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers (CCFM) Criteria and Indicators (C&I) of sustainable forest management (SFM). The examination identifies gaps and highlights forest management planning aspects that require gap–bridging interventions at the forest management unit (FMU) level. The three levels (parts) of the FMPM—Management Planning, Annual Operations, and Reporting & Monitoring—are examined. Gaps are categorized in three groups—major, intermediate, and minor gaps. Major gaps are recorded for five out of 22 elements of the CCFM C&I framework, and these gaps indicate inadequate prescriptions for the corresponding elements at all the three levels. Minor gaps are also recorded for five elements, and these gaps indicate inadequate prescriptions at the monitoring level. Intermediate gaps are recorded for 11 elements, and depending on the specific element and indicator, inadequacy of prescriptions may only be for operations, reporting and monitoring, or may also include the planning level. The main findings of the gap analysis are that none of the six criteria of SFM has been fully incorporated in the FMPM; Part C (Reporting and Monitoring) has the highest degree and Part A (Plan Contents) has the lowest degree of non–conformity with respect to CCFM C&I framework; at the criterion–level the Global Ecological Cycles has major gaps while three criteria—Soil and Water Conservation, Multiple Benefits, and Society' Responsibility—have intermediate gaps; and the changes in the FMPM have been incremental while the shift in the concept of forest management from Sustained Yield Timber Management to SFM was a drastic change. Key words: biological diversity, Canadian Council of Forest Ministers, criteria and indicators, ecological cycles, forest management, multiple benefits, society's responsibility

Epiphytic lichen diversity and sustainable forest management criteria and indicators: A multivariate and modelling approach in coppice forests of Italy

Forest resource management planning began in the United States at the turn of the nineteenth century with an emphasis on timber production, sustained yield, and maximum timber growth. A set of well-documented procedures, philosophies, rules, and understandings developed within the forestry profession on the reasons for and requirements of a professionallydeveloped forest resource management plan. For most of the next decade, this framework controlled the development of timber-oriented forest management plans. In the late twentieth century, the forest resource management plans became stewardship- or sustainability-oriented. A broader expansive framework that stressed sustainable forest management developed. However, the framework of both types of plans is fundamentally the same. The natural resource being manipulated is still timber and that is the variable the management plan still focuses on. The set of fundamental underpinnings to the forest management plan has not changed. We describe these underpinnings in terms of both types of forest management plan, as they have remained unchanged over time. Also addressed are the questions of who are the forest owners that plan and what are the differences in the type of forest management plans they prepare.

A forest management plan, the core of forest management, has as its main object the country or forest farm. Implementation of what to factor into annual requirements with a focus on subcompartments is important for research on decision-making support systems of the forest management plan; however, data based on subcompartments is rarely reported. Thus, this study determined a method and technical route for plantation management by compiling subcompartment data to produce management plans. An intelligent selection method of subcompartments needed to establish a management plan was researched, and then a suitability evaluation method of subcompartments and a management plan reasoning method of subcompartments were selected. Next, a Forest Subcompartment Management Plan Assistant Decision-Making System was designed and implemented. The forest management plan was analyzed by forest management experts, and a knowledge base and inference engine of a decision support system were built. This system used production rules according to the state of the stand, site conditions, management objectives, and other conditions to determine management choices. From this an intelligent design and manually aided design were developed using Visual Studio 2008 and ArcGIS Engine 9.3 as developing tools, and Access as the database engine to complete construction of the system. The system could help users intelligently selected management subcompartments based on management assignment, then compiled subcompartments management plan by two ways, which were provided by the system. It could be used in forest farms, solved forest management with effective choices and management plan compilation assistance problems and effectively improved the digital level of forest management.

This extension note is the second in a series of eight that describes a set of tools and processes developed to support sustainable forest management (SFM) planning and its pilot application in the Arrow Timber Supply Area (TSA). It outlines the development of criteria and indicators (C&I), which focus on explicitly defined goals and an objective means of determining success in meeting these goals. Criteria and indicators are used to evaluate the long-term sustainability of forest management through decision support in planning processes and through monitoring and adaptive management activities. The C&I for the Arrow TSA were based on the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers framework and were refined to address specific local issues through an iterative process that included input and review by professionals, academics, and forestry practitioners, and evaluation by stakeholders. The development process was guided by two directives: that performance-based indicators be emphasized and that these indicators should be credible, measurable, cost-effective, and connected to forestry. The resulting C&I are preliminary—their evolution is shaped by testing and application in forest management planning, and by continuing public review.

Family forest lands represent a vitally important economic, environmental, and social resource in the U.S. A study of family forest owners was conducted in Virginia in 2007 to determine the relationship between attendance at Extension Service educational programs and the adoption of sustainable forest management practices. A mail survey was conducted to 3435 randomly selected forest owners, with a usable response rate of 32%. Participation in educational programs was shown to be significantly related to higher levels of adoption for all seven categories of sustainable forest management practices studied. For example, in the woodland management category, participants in workshops offered through the Virginia Forest Landowner Education Program (VFLEP) adopted one or more specific practices at a rate of 94%, significantly greater than 83% for forest owners who attended other general educational programs, which in turn was significantly higher than the 75% adoption rate for forest owners who did not attend any educational programs. Two key indicators of sustainable forest management are the preparation and use of a forest management plan, and the use of professional technical assistance providers. For both of these categories participants in the VFLEP adopted at significantly higher rates, 41% and 73%, respectively.

The Forestry Development Strategy is a key document for establishing the foundations of a unified and functional system for the management and sustainable development of forestry. During its implementation, numerous indicators of forest conditions are used in the preparation of forest area management plans (such as area, habitat, tree species composition, biodiversity, ecosystem services, structure, health status, volume, volume increment, quality, risk factors due to climate change, etc.). These indicators enable the monitoring of trends and forecasting of future changes, and are therefore used in the development of national forestry and other related policies. Changes in the indicators (both qualitative and quantitative) occur as a result of implementing guidelines and measures aimed at achieving strategic goals. Indicators also provide feedback information that can be used to develop operational forest management plans and can serve in planning the management of other resources, sectors, and activities related to forestry. Current issues such as environmental protection, climate change, biodiversity conservation, and renewable energy sources cannot be effectively addressed without monitoring indicators and management plans of a multifunctional character related to forestry. The application of various indicators depends on the size of the forest areas to which they refer, the method of presentation, and the indicator classification system. In the Forestry Development Strategy of the Republic of Srpska, over 50 indicators have been defined, aligned with the Pan-European Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management of the European Union, as covered by the MCPFE process.

Nowadays, forestry is undergoing rapid changes, requiring more timely and accurate data on forest resources for effective management. In response, Lithuania’s forest management planning system is evolving to address these needs. This study presents a critical assessment of the forestry inventory and management planning system in Lithuania, aimed at summarising and explaining its evolution, current status and identifying areas for further improvement. To reconstruct historical context, desktop research, including secondary data analyses from reports, research articles, manuals, and legal publications, was pursued in the study. A quantitative questionnaire survey and qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted to analyse the key factors influenced the development of Lithuanian forest inventory and management planning system, evaluating stakeholders’ perspectives on strengths and weaknesses of the current system and exploring future development options. Current forest management planning is based on stand-wise forest inventory, conducted once per decade in a given area using combination of orthophotographic map interpretation and predominantly visual estimation of compartments’ properties in the field. The system is the product of two centuries of evolution, shaped by a focus on forestry on growing even-aged stands according to classical German principles of normal forests, largely command-and-control forest governance, the dominance of state forest ownership and a preferences for centralised planning with some flexibility in approaches to forest management. In general, the current system is considered adequate in quality for forest management planning, with major strengths in data completeness, user-friendliness, and the quality of forest compartment identification and weaknesses in the volume estimation. Key limitations of current forest inventory and management system are associated with its dependence on methodologically and technologically outdated implementation. The system is the product of two centuries of evolution, shaped by a focus on forestry on growing even-aged stands according to classical German principles of normal forests, largely command-and-control forest management, the dominance of state forest ownership, and a preference for central planning with some flexibility in approaches to forest management. Continuous forest inventory, characterised by seamless and ongoing data updates rather than periodic assessments, is considered a solution to completely replace the conventional inventory in coming years. The transition, incorporating advanced technologies, is anticipated to enhance most forest inventory attributes. However, this shift is accompanied by significant methodological, technological and legal issues. Overcoming these barriers is essential for effective adaptation of forest management planning to current needs. Keywords: forest inventory; management planning; desktop research; questionnaires; in-depth interview

Policy makers, scientists and civil society are involved in the development of criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management (SFM), reflecting the growing worldwide demand for addressing sustainable development and environmental governance management goals. Such frameworks have been largely derived from expert-led or community-based approaches. This article details the identification process of criteria and indicators (C & I) based on the international principles of SFM through the analysis of a hybrid approach that uses both a top-down (TD) and a bottom-up (BU) approach. The aim of this article is to discuss how the two approaches have worked to incorporate the different views, opinions and experiences of experts and stakeholders. National-level C & I are then compared with those at the local level, making specific reference to sustainable community forest (CF) management. For the TD approach, a Delphi survey was conducted where 121 experts shared their knowledge, experience and judgements in assessing a set of 72 indicators with regard to the applicability, practicality and importance of national, regional and CF management in Nepal. For the BU approach, C & I for CF management were developed with the direct involvement of various stakeholders. It was shown that such a hybrid approach is feasible from a methodological point of view, but a framework is needed by the government to more fully utilize the opportunities of the C & I development process in the SFM context. The results of this study also help to bridge the gap between the ad hoc planning of decision makers and the requirement for a holistic management system, which includes participatory processes. Based on the conclusions of this study, general recommendations for the methodological design of C & I development in similar studies are given.

The earliest American forest resource management plans date to the birth of the forestry profession around 1900. For the next half century, these management plans were essentially timber production management plans. Certainly, other forest values, especially watershed protection, were important parts of the planning. But not until the second half of the twentieth century did multiple-use and a wide array of forest values become normal components of a forest management plan. Within the last twenty-five years forest management plans have developed a forest stewardship or sustainable forest management foundation. That is, a forest resource management plan is now expected to consider an entire set of forest values, to have a long-term sustainability focus, and to meet a set of expected management and operational criteria. Often, the forest management plan is the basis of a forest certification scheme. The early forest management plans were primarily timber-based and thus had a commercial or financial focus. Today’s forest management plans are based on multiple forest values and may or may not have a financial focus. We contrast the traditional timber management plan with today’s sustainable forest management plan, realizing the basis of both plans is by definition the forest or the timber. Involving both timber harvesting activities and the operational foundation of the sustainable forest management plan is essentially a timber management plan. One cannot ignore the fact that all forest management plans accomplish silvicultural objectives via manipulation of timber density variables, like stocking and spacing. Management of a forest still involves timber harvests. Our discussion shows that the timber management plan is still very much alive and forms the basis of modern sustainable forest management plans.

Co-operation in forest planning processes for non-industrial private forestry The study includes seven articles. The aim is to describe the regional co-operation network and co-operation practices with stakeholders and forest owners in forest planning processes. The study focuses on the regional forestry programme process and regional forest management planning, which also produces the majority of holding-level forest management plans in Finland. The research methods applied include quantitative survey, formal network analysis, qualitative content analysis, and cognitive mapping. Quantitative results were synthesised using multi dimensional scaling, principal component and clustering analysis. Advocacy orientation was found to be a distinctive feature of the forestry network of Finland’s northern Forest Centres. Theese non-industrial-private-forestry-oriented organizations played the foremost role in the network, and they shared the same opinions about forestry. Environmental organizations, on the other hand, were not involved in the regional forestry programme process in the way they wanted to be involved. This was the case despite a lot effort having been put into the participative policy process as part of the regional forestry programme. The planners taking part in regional forest planning mainly followed the information exchange and marketing oriented co-operation, while having regular contacts almost only with local forest management associations and forest-industry companies. When management plans were constructed for non-industrial private forest owners, the degree of interaction between forest owners and planners varied a lot depending on the forest owners’ interests and the practical constraints that the planners had in implementing interaction. Three types of forest owners were found according to their interaction with the forest planner: multi-objective-learners, multi-objective influential, and economically oriented trusters. The results call for a problem analysis phase to be developed at the beginning of the planning process for adapting the planning process for the owner-specific startingpoints. Some suggestions for developing forest management planning are also presented. The regional forest programme process could follow the principles of collaborative and open participation. In future, more attention should be put on the timing, legitimisation, representativeness, and decision-making procedures of the processes. The co-operation procedures applied in regional forest management planning could focus on information guidance, be situation dependent, and be agreed upon with forest owners. Thus, the main development needs involve dealing with clarification of the roles of society-driven regional data collection and estate specific management planning, and consciousness about optional co-operation needs and procedures.

Since the Rio World Summit of 1992, a new paradigm of sustainable forest management has developed and concerns have been mainly focused on how forest sustainability will be objectively achieved, assessed and measured. Attention has focused on developing criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management and getting forests certified. This study aimed to transform Jeju Experimental Forest, located in the warm temperate zone of Halla mountain on Jeju Island in Korea, into an exemplary model forest by implementing sustainable forest management at the ground level and pursuing forest management certification. As a pre‐requisite for forest certification, an extensive, 900‐man‐day field survey was conducted in 2004 over the 2,741 ha of Jeju Experimental Forest to determine the ecological, social, economic and managerial aspects. Based on the survey results, the database systems for flora and fauna and site conditions of Jeju Experimental Forest were established and a 10‐year forest management plan was developed with greater consideration for intangible forest values such as biodiversity, landscapes and water resources using forest function classification mapping. The forest function classification program was found to be a useful tool for supporting the decision‐making process for forest management planning. The preparation for forest certification became a long process to meet the pre‐requisites for implementation of sustainable forest management at the ground level.

Criteria and indicators (C&I) for sustainable forest management are important tools to improve the quality of forest management. In most cases they have been developed by experts, but the participation of stakeholders is essential if the C&I are to be locally relevant and practicable. We asked four stakeholder groups to apply a set of C&I to a forest management unit in the eastern Amazon basin. The study confirmed the importance of involving stakeholders and demonstrated that effective efforts begin with well-defined and clearly understandable C&I. Stakeholders were better able to apply and adapt measurable verifiers than the more abstract indicators and criteria. Intensive communication about personal experiences and subjective interpretations is necessary to prevent misunderstandings and misinterpretations. Our study also confirmed the general practical applicability of C&I and revealed their potential as instruments of communication and learning.

This chapter explores the different approaches to assess criteria and indicators (C&I) for sustainable forest management (SFM) as a result of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development 1992 and presents a case study of computing indicators at the local scale. It focuses on the international processes and provides an overview of national initiatives for the C&I and forest certification. The chapter focuses on the international processes and provides an overview of national initiatives for the C&I and forest certification. The 10 Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) principles and criteria form the basis for all FSC forest management standards and policies. The criteria at forest management unit level are likely to be identical or very similar to those defined at national level, although they are more flexible. The chapter presents a methodology and a case study for evaluating SFM indicators related with forest structure, timber yield, and biomass, assessed with information from light detection and ranging airborne system.

This extension note is the third in a series of eight that describes a set of tools and processes developed to support sustainable forest management planning and its pilot application in the Arrow Timber Supply Area (TSA). It summarizes the main public involvement processes used to obtain input to the Arrow Innovative Forest Practices Agreement (IFPA) Sustainability Project, contributing to the development and evaluation of criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management (SFM). This early public input guided the selection of criteria and indicators for the SFM pilot basecase analysis in the Lemon Landscape Unit.Sustainable forest management must be sustainable in a social sense and should incorporate public values. This extension note describes and evaluates several methods for involving the public in forest management planning. A standard mail survey was used to gather public perception data across a large geographic area (the former Arrow Forest District and the adjacent community of Nelson). Based on a systematic analysis of stakeholders in the IFPA area, a more focussed multi-criteria analysis (MCA) process was used to investigate stakeholder priorities and preferences for forest management scenarios at the landscape unit level. Although directed at different purposes and levels of detail, the survey and MCA processes identified some similar public values across a range of stakeholders. Both methods offer some advantages over more common public involvement processes used in British Columbia. To incorporate a broad range of public opinion, the use of multiple methods of evaluating public values is suggested in decision-making processes at various scales.