Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Management of Central American Montane Oak Forests

Abstract

The evolution of the concept of forest management, from its traditional focus on timber and wood harvesting toward more sustainable practices, has been attributed to changes in the social perception of nature (Sheil et al. 2004). Over the last decades, modern society has come to value and recognize that forests are not only sources of timber, but also critical ecosystems for water production, as sources of medicinal products, as carbon sinks and reservoirs, areas for recreation, and landscapes of great scenic beauty (Dawkins and Philip 1998). The multifunctional characteristic of forests has been recognized in several national and international forums, and is reflected by current definitions of sustainable forest management (Castaneda 2000). One of the most widely accepted definition was purported by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO): “Sustainable forest management is the process of managing permanent forest land to achieve one or more clearly specified objectives of management with regard to the production of a continuous flow of desired forest products and services without undue reduction of its inherent values and future productivity and without undue undesirable effects on the biophysical and social environment” (ITTO 1992). Within the framework of a number of international efforts and agreements, initiated after the 1992 United Nations Conference for Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro, a significant number of countries (from the developed and developing world) have generated principles, criteria and indicators (C&I) to assess and monitor their progress in implementing sustainable forest management (Castaneda 2000). Noteworthy, global-scale events that have engaged in this growing area of interest and