Principles Of Sustainable Forest Management Research Articles

An assessment of the regulatory framework of the Western Australian sandalwood industry

ABSTRACTAustralia’s sustainable forest management framework provides five indicators to guide the assessment of forestry regulations. In this paper, we use these indicators to assess the legal, institutional and economic support for sustainable forest management principles in the Western Australian native sandalwood (Santalum spicatum) industry. We identify a range of regulatory barriers and risks. Key concerns include a potentially unsustainable harvest quota, short-term funding for regeneration initiatives, practical impediments to the detection of illegal harvesting activities and an overreliance on industry goodwill to ensure support for the interests of Aboriginal people. We also identify important innovations and opportunities. These include certification schemes and increased institutional support for regeneration, agroforestry and the inclusion of Aboriginal people in industry supply chains. We conclude by considering the future role of law and policy in securing the principles of sustainable forest management in the S. spicatum industry.

Удосконалення лісових відносин та лісоуправління в Україні

Державна політика у сфері лісокористування, лісовідновлення та збереження лісів формується переважно залежно від динаміки розвитку суспільно-політичних і економічних відносин у країні, ступеня реформування безпосередньо лісових відносин та відповідності лісогосподарської діяльності науково обґрунтованим засадам сталого управління лісами. Розглянуто і визначено основні напрями вдосконалення лісових відносин та реформування системи управління лісовим господарством за її складовими частинами (управління, планування та фінансування) як природного і соціально-економічного об’єкта. Під час реформування лісової галузі України потрібно використовувати європейські моделі удосконалення лісоуправління з урахуванням вітчизняного досвіду і традицій ведення лісового господарства у країні та опиратися на систему науково обгрунтованих рекомендацій.
 На початковому етапі реформування потрібно науково обґрунтувати стратегію розвитку галузі, що дасть змогу вирішити питання розвитку лісових відносин у перспективі. Цей етап реформування на галузевому рівні треба розглядати як період, пов’язаний з удосконаленням системи державного управління та формуванням відповідної нормативно-правової бази для забезпечення відповідних перетворень у лісовому господарстві.

Методологічні аспекти створення геоінформаційної системи лісових автодоріг

Здійснено аналіз тенденцій розвитку геоінформаційних систем (ГІС) в лісовій галузі та міжнародних вимог стосовно запровадження природозберігаючих технологій на базі оптимальної транспортної мережі як передумови для реального запровадження принципів сталого ведення лісового господарства. Обґрунтовано необхідність наявності об’єктивних даних про транспортну мережу лісових підприємств. Подано методичні підходи до створення ГІС лісових автодоріг, які передбачають подання інформації про лісові автодороги як лінійні об'єкти з відомими координатами вздовж дороги та наявністю певної кількості каліброваних точок, тобто коректно розташованої лінії, що відображає дорогу, і відомостей про неї у вигляді таблиць та фото (креслень), які відображають її технічні та експлуатаційні характеристики. Також висвітлено особливості структури і порядку роботи та операційні можливості дослідної ГІС лісових автодоріг, розробленої для ДП «Осмолодське лісове господарство».

Quality management and certification in sustainable forest management (SFM): The case study of Russia

Sustainable Forest Management is a main part of the Global Sustainable Management. The main instruments for the implementation of the concept of Sustainable Forest Management are Forest Certification and Forest Quality Management. In the article authors investigated the essence, content and principles of Sustainable Forest Management as a key element of the formation and implementation of the Sustainable Development of the Society and its adaptation in the case study of post-communist countries like Russia. Also specific of Forest Certification and Forest Quality Management in Russia was investigated. The obtained result laid the foundation for the review and systematization of the interests of key players in the domestic forest industry, the prerequisites and limitations for the implementation of the Sustainable Forest Management Concept. For this purpose, the authors carried out situational analysis, interviewing, content analysis of media texts. In the article are analyzed 7 top-forestry Russian enterprises and also Russian timber industry complex generally. Based on the results of the study, the interests and priorities of the parties participating in the development of the national concept of sustainable forest management have been identified and systematized. This allowed us to identify incentives and prerequisites, problems and limitations, as well as prospects and directions for the development of forest certification in the territory of the Russian Federation. Based on the research results, it is concluded that Quality Management and Forest Certification are considered by all stakeholder groups as a key tool for ensuring Sustainable Forest Management by the case study of Russia.

Теоретико-методологічні основи оцінювання енергетичного потенціалу деревної біомаси лісів на засадах сталого лісоуправління

Опрацьовано термінологічно-поняттєвий інструментарій та теоретико-методологічний базис для розроблення методики оцінювання енергетичного потенціалу деревної біомаси лісів, що відповідає концептуальним засадам сталого розвитку.
 Розраховано показники енергоємності основних компонентів деревної біомаси. Для їх встановлення використано якісні характеристики компонентів біомаси та кількісні параметри енергоємності однієї тонни вуглецю, депонованого у фітомасі дерев.
 Встановлено, що найвищою енергоємністю характеризується деревина граба звичайного. Найнижчу енергоємність виявлено у компонентів біомаси хвойних деревних видів, які дещо поступаються перед м’яколистяними.
 У ході опрацювання методологічних основ оцінювання енергетичного потенціалу деревної біомаси лісів її диференційовано на три основні складові частини: дров’яна стовбурова деревина, лісові деревні відходи та лісопромислові деревні відходи. Для цих складників запропоновано математичні залежності для оцінювання їх загального енергетичного потенціалу.
 Для забезпечення оцінювання енергетичного потенціалу деревної біомаси на засадах сталого лісоуправління, запропоновано виокремити п’ять його типів: теоретично можливий, технічно доступний, екологічно безпечний, економічно доцільний та соціально зумовлений. Це дасть змогу гармонійно поєднувати питання екологічної безпеки та економічного розвитку регіонів, а також враховувати соціальні особливості життя місцевих громад.

CURRENT ISSUES OF FOREST MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENT IN UKRAINE

The state policy in forest management, reforestation and forest conservation is formed mainly depending on the dynamics of socio-political and economic relations in a country, the degree of forest relations reforming and forestry activity compliance with scientifically grounded principles of sustainable forest management. The paper considers basic directions of forest relationships improvement and forest management system reforming in Ukraine. The forestry sector is needed to be reformed using European models of forest management on the basis of national experience and traditions of forest management in the country. The reformation must rely on the system of science-based recommendations. Improving forest relations and the system of forest management in Ukraine requires appropriate scientific and methodological grounds. The conceptual approaches to reforming the socio-economic system of the country as a whole should be considered methodologically in determining the tendency of forest management and forest relations. Therefore, the forest sector cannot be described as self-regulating closed departmental structure, excluding the impact of socioeconomic factors in Ukraine. In accordance with these principles and European forestry practices, the areas of improvement of forest relations and the system of forest management in modern conditions have been identified. The problem of improving the state policy on forest management, reforestation, and forest conservation covers a wide range of legal, economic, organizational, financial, and environmental issues and requires a comprehensive solution. Forestry sector development strategy has to be flexible; it should be periodically reviewed and adapted to changes in legal, social, economic and environmental conditions of the state taking into account the advanced world trends. A gradual transition of Ukrainian forest sector to European norms of forest management requires a series of measures on adjusting forest policy, improving state forest management, strategic planning and financing of forestry activity.

Развитие лесного хозяйства малолесного региона: опыт и перспективы

The article describes main directions of forestry development in sparsely wooded region. Changes in forest legislation have led to the formation of the model of forest management focused on the development of entrepreneurship in Voronezh region. It is defined, that the main form of forest use in the region is lease of forest lands. The economic mechanism of forest management in these circumstances should be based on the balance of interests of participants of forest relations (the state, society, community, business). At the regional level, the factors restricting development of forestry are high cost of sanitary and health measures and the difficulty of disposing of small merchantable wood and wood fuel after sanitary felling and thinning. It is established that difficulties in the provision of forest land are associated with existing double counting of some lands and forests in Unified state register of real estate. For the analyzed period, the region has developed a stable business trend in the field of forestry to the development of public-private partnerships. It is proved that for the implementation of the principles of sustainable forest management and creation favorable conditions for the development and implementation of economically, environmentally and socially responsible forest development, we need support of business activities, in terms of creating regional infrastructure for support of entrepreneurship in forest sector (sectoral business incubators on the basis of existing research institutes in cooperation with leading forest universities) and ensuring its activities.

Assessment of sustainability of forest management practices on the operational level in northwestern Russia – a case study from the Republic of Karelia

ABSTRACTThe main aim of the article is to assess the consequences of newly proposed legislative initiative on introducing intensive forest management practices in Russia. Implementation of norms and its effect on sustainable forest management practices have been analysed in this study on one enterprise operating in the Republic of Karelia. This meant modelling of forest growth, clear cuts and regeneration within 100 km radius from the mill for two alternative management scenarios with fixed demand of wood based on current norms and decreasing harvesting age to half from the current. Wood demand of the enterprise, structure and accessibility of forest resources, i.e. forest road infrastructure were taken into account in the analysis. Both forest management scenarios decreased the total growing stock significantly, and therefore considered as non-sustainable practices. In addition, forest age structure was more uneven for both scenarios at the end of the simulation period. Comparison of two alternative management practices showed that the implementation of intensive forest management in Russia requires new norms that would be based on principles of sustainable forest management.

Using Goal-Programming to Model the Effect of Stakeholder Determined Policy and Industry Changes on the Future Management of and Ecosystem Services Provision by Ireland’s Western Peatland Forests

Recent studies have highlighted land-use conflicts between stakeholder groups in Ireland. Some of these conflicts can be attributed to European directives, designed with sustainable forest management principles in mind, but imposing incoherencies for land-owners and stakeholders at the local level. This study, using Ireland’s Western Peatland forests as a case study area, focused on the development and implementation of a goal programming model capable of analysing the long term impact of policy and industry changes at the landscape level. The model captures the essential aspects of the changes identified by local level stakeholders as influencing forest management in Ireland and determines the future impact of these changes on ecosystem services provisions. Initially, a business as usual potential future is generated. This is used as a baseline against which to compare the impact of industry and policy changes. The model output indicated that the current forest composition is only really suited to satisfy a single, financial objective for forest management. The goal programming model analysed multiple objectives simultaneously and the results indicated that the stakeholders’ desired ecosystem service provisions in the future will be more closely met by diversifying the forest estate and/or by changing to an alternative, non-forest land-use on less productive areas.

Certification Programme For Sustainable Forest Management

The article describes about cerlification programme for sustainable forest management. Concern for forest problems has increased dramatically over last decade. Sustainable forest management is an inherent aim of certification. It is the ultimate goal to which certified forest should aspire, but such a goal is reached only through a period of transition, during which management standards are progressively established and fine-tuned. The explicit aim of certification is to improve the quality of forest management so as to reach this goal. The aim of certification systems is to make timber production more ecologically and socially responsible and economically viable by grading sources so that consumers can choose on these grounds. The argument is that environmentally aware consumers will be prepared to pay more for products if they know where these come from and how they have been produced. Higher prices will motivate timber companies to implement sustainable forest management principles. There are certain general principles of sustainability which have been agreed, these include emvironmental sustainability social sustainability and economic sustainability. This article describes focus on certification in context, certification in practice, views on certification, overall trends in the certification debate, the sticky issues differing views that need resolving, and the forest certification programme in lndonesia.

Smallholder Forestry in the Western Amazon: Outcomes from Forest Reforms and Emerging Policy Perspectives

The forest reforms unfolding during the last two decades in the western Amazon have embraced policy regimes founded on the principles of sustainable forest management. The policy frameworks adopted for smallholder forestry aimed to clarify forest rights including those of the indigenous people and smallholders, support the adoption of sustainable forest management and put a system in place to assure a legal timber supply. The emerging forest policy regimes have significantly shaped who has access to the forest, how the forest resources are used and the benefits that are utilized. We argue that forest reforms have not addressed some critical constraints facing smallholders in managing their forests either individually or collectively. Informal timber extraction persists with contradictory effects on smallholders and forests. Local participants continue to make a significant contribution in meeting a growing demand for timber through vigorous market networks that combine legal and illegal sources of timber supply. Some recent changes to forest policy frameworks emphasize approaches towards additional integrated forest management, simplification of regulations and incentives for improved forest management. We critically reflect on the scope, implementation and expected outcomes of these policy frameworks.

Addressing biodiversity impacts of land use in life cycle assessment of forest biomass harvesting

Forests are an increasingly important source of feedstock for bioenergy as global efforts to mitigate atmospheric CO2 concentrations increase. In keeping with the principles of sustainable forest management, it is important that feedstock procurement not have negative impacts on the environment, including biodiversity. Impacts of land use, including forest management, can be evaluated along all stages in the production of these goods and services, using life cycle assessment (LCA), which is a potentially powerful tool for organizing and evaluating the impacts of production. There is growing recognition of the need to integrate land‐use impacts into LCA for forest products such as bioenergy, especially on biodiversity. Integrating quantitative indicators of biodiversity into LCAs of biomass production systems is particularly challenging because biodiversity is a multidimensional concept that can never be fully represented by a single number, and yet many proposed approaches rely on this. Reliance on a single metric oversimplifies ‘biodiversity’ and might lead to inappropriate conclusions on local land management practices. LCA is not suited to providing reliable site‐specific assessment of forest product systems in regard to the complexities of biodiversity. Nevertheless, the global and comprehensive nature of LCA makes it a useful tool for preventing a shift in environmental problems or burdens across the value chain because of local land management decisions. In this context, complementary site‐specific and/or regional studies or analyses may help mitigate against inaccurate conclusions being drawn from LCA. WIREs Energy Environ 2016, 5:670–683. doi: 10.1002/wene.211This article is categorized under: Bioenergy > Climate and Environment Energy and Development > Climate and Environment

Manitoba's forest policy regime: Incremental change, concepts, actors and relationships

In response to the emergence of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM), forest operations, policies, and governance have become more inclusive of multiple values and of the people holding these values. To assess the extent to which these types of changes have occurred in Manitoba, government legislation and policy documents were examined and semi-directed interviews were conducted with 29 key actors in Manitoba's forest policy regime. In Manitoba, objectives, principles and concepts relating to sustainability and ecosystem-based management have been incorporated into forest policies but not in forest legislation. Additionally, public involvement opportunities have expanded and more people are now involved in advisory capacities. However, a closed policy network and institutional stability have meant that the provincial government and the forest industry maintain primary policy- and decision-making responsibility in Manitoba's forest policy regime. As a result, parties who would need to be included for SFM ideals to be realized are excluded from the network. For SFM to take a deeper hold in Manitoba in both policy and in management practices, transformative change needs to occur. A broader array of interests needs a voice at the center of the network, and The Forest Act requires amendment to entrench SFM principles and core concepts.

Types of values and valuation methods for environmental resources: Highlights of key aspects, concepts and approaches in the economic valuation of forest goods and services

It is essential to understand and recognize the role that environmental resources such as forest goods and services play in the provision of income to peoples’ livelihoods (especially the poor and marginalized communities). The purpose of this paper is to give a concise account and scientific basis of the importance of the phenomenon of valuation of environmental goods and services which is manifested in two ways. Firstly, it helps policymakers in designing and implementing effective sustainable livelihoods and poverty reduction strategies. Secondly, the size and nature of environmental values have implications for issues of conservation and sustainable resource use. This paper outlines the contemporary models and approaches of valuing the direct use benefits, indirect use benefits and intermediate use services of the forest as an ecosystem and not a mechanical body to produce goods and services for income generation, overlooking the fundamental principles of sustainable forest management and sustainable development. Shortcomings and remedial measures of valuation methods are also summarized. Through appreciating the total value of the forest resources, national governments and local communities would be able to promote sustainable forest resource use across all strata of society and incorporate the value of natural forests and woodlands in their System of National Accounts to avoid unnecessary conversion of forests into other development projects. Key words: Forest goods and services, natural woodland, sustainable, economic valuation, user surveys, non-use values.

Comparing a top-down and bottom-up approach in the identification of criteria and indicators for sustainable community forest management in Nepal

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.

Forest Policy Reform and the Organization of Logging in Peruvian Amazonia

Reform in the forest sector in Peru resulted in a new forestry law, developed with substantial input from international conservation and donor organizations. While it incorporates the principles of sustainable forest management, biodiversity conservation and livelihood improvement, inconsistencies remain between the regulatory mechanisms and actual practices and outcomes in the field, leading some to consider the legal framework a failure. This article suggests that problems in the sector persist because the legal and regulatory frameworks do not incorporate existing local institutions, norms and practices — all of which are rooted in complex historical social, political and economic relationships. Based on information from interviews, data on movement of timber and analysis of secondary information, the authors examine the local structure, actors and dynamics of the concession forestry system in the Peruvian Amazon. The article focuses on how financial, social and political relationships in the network of actors, and particularly the patronage system, have helped actors in the sector adapt to the new policy framework. It is proposed that any further reform in the forest sector must be based on a keen understanding and appreciation of the praxis of timber extraction in the region.

Criteria and indicators for assessment of functioning of forest protection committees in the dry deciduous forests of West Bengal, India

Abstract This paper describes a framework of criteria and indicators to evaluate the status of performance of the forest protection committees of India in managing community forests under the Joint Forest Management programme. The framework consists of 3 principles, 6 criteria, 12 indicators and 18 verifiers and was applied for assessment of forest protection committees operating in south-west West Bengal, India. The study area is dominated by dry deciduous forests, mostly in degraded state. An analysis guide along with a set of questionnaire was prepared to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the forest protection committees. An ecological study was also carried out simultaneously in the forest areas protected by the corresponding forest protection committees to measure the condition of forests. Results from the study suggest that the developed criteria and indicators form an effective framework for assessing the extent of implementation of sustainable forest management principles in the context of community forestry. The methodology used in this study is designed to be simple, easily comprehendible and quantifiable so as to implement it in the grass-root level by field persons without any major difficulty. Regarding performance of the committees, the study reveals that there exists a highly positive relationship between the level of functioning of the committees and the status of health of the forests and vice versa. It is also found that the functional status of a forest protection committee depends mostly on the extent of group cohesiveness present among the members of the committee.

Analysing the Development of Small-Scale Forestry in Central and Eastern Europe

The current state and future prospects and challenges of small-scale forestry in Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine are examined, and Q-methodology for stakeholder evaluation of forest sustainability and pro-market reforms is applied to an example from Ukraine. Small-scale forestry already provides multiple benefits to the countries in transition. However, these countries differ according to the maturity of the reforms, and the continuing process of transition is being delayed in some of them due to institutional weaknesses, e.g. the authority of government with insufficient involvement of rural communities in decision-making. The necessity of linking international and national sustainable forestry policy to management practices at a local level is especially evident in the countries where bottom-up small-scale adaptive forestry is only starting to catch up with the top-down sustainable forest management principles. The paper highlights the necessity of reconciliation of scientific and conventional knowledge for delivering sustainability objectives to small-scale forestry at a local level. It demonstrates that the social and economic pillars of sustainable forestry reform are of a particular importance for successful performance of small-scale forestry in the countries in transition, as is active involvement of stakeholders and local communities in decision-making and policy implementation.

Kerusakan Tegakan Akibat Pemanenan Kayu Konvensional dan Teknik Reduced Impact Logging di Hutan Alam

The objective of this research was to determine the effect of reduced impact logging (RIL) to residual stand damages in natural tropical forest. This research examined the effects of reduced impact logging to residual stand damages in natural tropical forest of West Kalimantan. The effects of RIL to residual stands were studied using the data of three plots with each size of 100 x 100 m, which were placed based on random at landing, middle skiddtrail and tips of skiddtrail, respectively. The degree of residual stand damages based on tree population and stage of vegetation development in conventional logging and RIL was as follow: for poles and trees of 33.15% (moderate stand damage) and of 19.53% (light stand damage). Based on the size of injury of every individual tree, the degree of trees damages caused by timber harvesting in conventional logging and RIL was as follow: trees heavy injury (64.66% and 57.20%), trees medium injury (20.30% and 24.00%) and trees light injury (15.03% and 18.80%). The most type stand damage were the falling dawn 36.84% and 32.01% and broken trees 22.78% and 21.25%. This research indicated that conventional logging in the tropical natural forest caused greater damage on residual stand when compared with a reduced impact logging. Based on the principles of sustainable forest management, the residual stand stocks in the forest was sufficient.

Application of the analytic network process in multi-criteria analysis of sustainable forest management

Over the previous decade, sustainable forest management (SFM) has become a highly relevant topic both in forest and environmental policy. Criteria and indicators (C&I) are primarily used in implementing the principles of SFM at national, regional, and at forest management unit levels. In turning SFM from a conceptual framework into applicable guidelines at the operational scale, several limitations have to be acknowledged: (i) partial lack of knowledge, (ii) deficits about dependencies and feedbacks among system components represented by C&I, and (iii) knowledge gaps regarding impacts and related uncertainties. Several methodologies have been proposed to implement C&I-based SFM. Multi-criteria analysis is often used to analyze and evaluate multiple C&I approaches. This study compares two different multi-criteria analysis approaches: the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) with a hierarchical structure and the analytic network process (ANP) with a network structure. Comparisons are made for evaluating sustainable management strategies at forest management-unit level by using a C&I approach based on the Pan-European guidelines for SFM. AHP and ANP are used to compare four different strategic management options with a set of six criteria and 43 indicators. Differences in evaluation results between AHP and ANP are discussed, as well as strengths and weaknesses of both approaches for SFM. Needs and demands are derived for successful future applications in forestry decision-making.