Advancing the cause? Contributions of criteria and indicators to sustainable forest management in Canada

The aim of the paper is to take stock, based on my personal scholarly and practical experiences, of the progress made in Canada with criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management (C&I-SFM). Some developmental history is reviewed, and applications at national and local levels are summarized. In my opinion, Canada's work in developing and applying C&I-SFM has been beneficial, particularly in focussing forest-sector dialogues, in sensitizing people to the wide range of forest values, and in retrospective determinations of progress in SFM. Improvements over the next decade are needed in several areas: (a) improving data-collection programs; (b) linking C&I-SFM more directly into forest policy development; (c) shifting from retrospective to prospective sustainability analysis; and (d) applying C&I-SFM to non-industrial forests such as protected areas and urban forests. The C&I-SFM concept is sound. We have yet to tap its full potential in the pursuit of forest and forest-sector sustainability.

Download Full-text

Reviewing Canada's National Framework of Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management

The Forestry Chronicle ◽

10.5558/tfc81073-1 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 81 (1) ◽

pp. 73-80 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

S R.J. Bridge ◽

D. Cooligan ◽

D. Dye ◽

L. Moores ◽

T. Niemann ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Forest Management ◽

Sustainable Forest Management ◽

National Level ◽

Sustainable Use ◽

Forest Sector ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Criteria And Indicators ◽

Broad Array ◽

Canadian Council ◽

Tools And Techniques

The Canadian Council of Forest Ministers' (CCFM) framework of Criteria and Indicators (C&I) for Sustainable Forest Management, published in 1995, provide a science-based framework to define and measure Canada's progress in the sustainable management of its forest. In 2001, the CCFM launched a review of its C&I to ensure the continued relevance of the indicators to Canadian values and to improve the ability to report on indicators. This paper describes the threestep review process, which engaged a broad array of representatives of various sectors of society. First, focus groups were used to identify public values, issues and concerns with respect to the sustainable use of Canada's forest. Second, technical experts from across the forest sector revised the indicators. Third, the revised C&I were validated with users of the framework. The revised framework, released in September 2003, consists of six criteria and 46 indicators. The number of indicators has been reduced, compared to the 1995 framework, by focusing on indicators that are most relevant to Canadians' values, are most often measurable with available data, and are understandable to policy makers, forest managers and an informed public. Links between criteria are better defined and, in some cases, indicators address multiple values under different criteria. A number of tools and techniques originally developed for use at the sub-national level were adapted for use at the national level in this review. Canada's experience with reviewing its indicators may serve as an example and model to other countries now considering reviewing their national C&I frameworks. Key words: Canada, Canadian Council of Forest Ministers, criteria and indicators, C&I, sustainable forest management, review

Download Full-text

Would harmonizing public land forest policies, Criteria and Indicators, and certification improve progress towards Sustainable Forest Management?: A case study in Alberta, Canada

The Forestry Chronicle ◽

10.5558/tfc84410-3 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 84 (3) ◽

pp. 410-419 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

P J Golec ◽

M K Luckert

Keyword(s):

Forest Management ◽

Sustainable Forest Management ◽

Forest Policy ◽

Public Land ◽

Local Conditions ◽

Criteria And Indicators ◽

Forest Policies ◽

Management Standards ◽

Potential Benefits

As the concept of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) has evolved, governments and other stakeholders have pursued three important frameworks for defining and pursuing SFM: public land forest policies, Criteria and Indicators and certification. In Canada, these three approaches frequently operate simultaneously as policy frameworks for private firms managing forests on public lands. Harmonization of these three frameworks could create potential benefits by simplifying a complicated array of sometimes conflicting forest management standards. But there are also potential costs of harmonization that could arise out of the diverse conditions that embody SFM. The diversity of social values and ecological conditions associated with forests creates difficulties in designing processes that are representative of stakeholders' interests. Moreover, this variety poses challenges to designing standards that are sufficiently flexible to address local conditions, yet useful in contributing to SFM planning and reporting at regional, provincial and national scales. Within this context, we suggest that the diversity inherent in SFM will continue to be accommodated by multiple management frameworks, unless a single framework arises that shows itself capable of being trusted by stakeholders and of being sufficiently flexible to accommodate various definitions of Sustainable Forest Management. Key words: Sustainable Forest Management, forest certification, Criteria and Indicators, public forest policy, harmonization of Sustainable Forest Management frameworks, case study, Canada, Alberta

Download Full-text

Institutional vacuums in Canadian forest policy: Can criteria and indicators and certification of sustainable forest management fill the void?

The Forestry Chronicle ◽

10.5558/tfc85277-2 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 85 (2) ◽

pp. 277-284

Author(s):

M.K. (Marty) Luckert ◽

Peter C Boxall

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Forest Management ◽

Property Rights ◽

Sustainable Forest Management ◽

Forest Policy ◽

Forest Industry ◽

Criteria And Indicators ◽

Current Thinking ◽

Policy Frameworks ◽

Forest Lands

This paper discusses the potential of certification and criteria and indicators (C&I) of sustainable forest management (SFM) for filling voids in forest policy in Canada. These processes have promised advances towards SFM that the current property rights conveyed on the forest industry, through existing systems of tenures, may simply not allow. In general, the broad social welfare approach that current thinking in sustainable development supports, and that certification and criteria and indicators appear to employ, is not consistent with the incentives, rights, and responsibilities that private forestry firms currently hold. There is a fundamental mismatch between the property rights that have been conveyed to private firms operating on public forest lands and what the policy frameworks of certification and C&I are expected to deliver. The conclusion is that if the voids in forest policy are to be successfully filled by certification and C&I, the underlying property rights currently held by firms will need revision. Key words: sustainable forest management, criteria and indicators, certification, Canadian forest policy, forest tenures

Download Full-text

Wicked problems and metaforestry: Is the era of management over?

The Forestry Chronicle ◽

10.5558/tfc78505-4 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 78 (4) ◽

pp. 505-510 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Sen Wang

Keyword(s):

Forest Management ◽

Key Words ◽

Adaptive Management ◽

Sustainable Forest Management ◽

Forest Policy ◽

Wicked Problems ◽

Criteria And Indicators

The world's forests have all the characteristics of "wicked problems" that are complex, tricky and thorny. Decades of sweeping changes that have taken place worldwide at various levels have resulted in the emergence of "metaforestry" which transcends the field of conventional forestry in response to the need to deal with ulterior and more fundamental problems concerning the forest. Being an overarching objective of metaforestry, sustainable forest management calls for a new line of thinking to promote collaboration in international forums concerning global forest policy. Key words: adaptive management, criteria and indicators, ecosystem, global forest policy, sustainable forest management

Download Full-text

Monitoring and evaluating participation in national forest programmes. The Catalan case

Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen ◽

10.3188/szf.2006.0438 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 157 (10) ◽

pp. 438-444 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Glòria Domínguez ◽

Jordi Tena

Keyword(s):

Forest Management ◽

Sustainable Forest Management ◽

Forest Policy ◽

Monitoring And Evaluation ◽

Raw Material ◽

Decision Making Process ◽

National Forest ◽

Multiple Use ◽

Goods And Services ◽

Wide Range

In recent years, sustainable forest management has become the paradigm for forest policy. In this context, national forest programmes (NFP) are defined, in the broad sense, as planning instruments to achieve sustainable forest management at both national and subnational levels. The challenges for forest policy is to increase the number of agreed strategies and improve communication relations with the wide range of stakeholders involved, as well as those posed by the multiple use of forests, which are perceived not only as a source of raw material but also of goods and services for society in general. Although the definition and the contents of NFPs in Europe is in a permanent process of improvement, redefinition and discussion, it seems clear (since it appears implicit in several of their principles) that their formulation and implementation must entail a greater involvement of society in the decision making process, and more emphasis will have to be placed on the aspects of participation. The umbrella of participation covers a wide range of different processes and in this context the need emerges to monitor and evaluate this participation. This paper describes the monitoring and evaluation and shows the main results of the participation conducted in the framework on the national forest programme of Catalonia during the years 2003 – 2005.

Download Full-text

Forest policy goals in Poland in light of the current forestry aims in Europe Part 2. Forest policy priorities in Europe

Forest Research Papers ◽

10.2478/frp-2018-0018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 79 (2) ◽

pp. 169-179

Author(s):

Adam Kaliszewski

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Forest Management ◽

Policy Development ◽

Sustainable Forest Management ◽

Forest Policy ◽

The European Union ◽

Policy Goals ◽

Almost All ◽

Council Of Ministers

Abstract The aim of the paper was to evaluate the priorities set for policy-making in forestry formulated under the Forest Europe process and in programmes, policies, strategies and legal acts of the European Union after 1997, which is also the year when the Polish ‘National Forest Policy’ was adopted by the Council of Ministers. During the last two decades, rapid policy development has been occurring Europe-wide. Forest policy goals defined within the Forest Europe process have also been reflected in EU’s strategic documents and legal acts and both processes are complementary as well as influencing each other. Forest policy priorities after 1997 cover all three major aspects of sustainable forest management (SFM): ecological, economic and social. However, the main emphasis has been put on economic and social aspects of SFM. The key priorities defined in numerous Forest Europe and EU documents are the following: enhancing the role of forests and forest management in mitigating climate change including the promotion of production and wide use of wood; adapting forests to climate change and changing environmental conditions; conserving, protecting and enhancing forest biodiversity; enhancing the role of forests and forest management in rural development; fostering coordination and cross-sectoral cooperation within forestry. The need for enhancing forest research has been pointed out in almost all analysed Forest Europe commitments as well as in numerous EU documents.

Download Full-text

Perspectives of four stakeholder groups about the participation of female forest landowners in forest management in Georgia, United States

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0256654 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (8) ◽

pp. e0256654

Author(s):

Jacqueline Miner ◽

Puneet Dwivedi ◽

Robert Izlar ◽

Danielle Atkins ◽

Parag Kadam

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Forest Management ◽

Policy Development ◽

Sustainable Forest Management ◽

Forest Policy ◽

The United States ◽

Future Generations ◽

Educational Outreach ◽

Forest Landowners ◽

Stakeholder Groups

As the number of female forest landowners (FFLs) in the United States continues to rise, there is an increasing need to understand the perceptions of stakeholder groups about opportunities and challenges faced by FFLs in the context of sustainable forestland management. This study utilizes the technique of SWOT-AHP (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Treats—Analytical Hierarchy Process) to understand the perceptions of four stakeholder groups (FFLs, private foresters, government representatives, and non-profits) in Georgia–a significant forestry state located in the Southern United States. Sixteen factors (four under each SWOT category) were selected through a comprehensive literature review and detailed interviews with individuals from the identified stakeholder groups. A survey was created using these factors that asked stakeholders to compare them in their respective SWOT categories. An additional survey was created for each stakeholder group where survey participants compared the highest-ranking factors in each SWOT category. We found that all stakeholder groups prioritized weaknesses over the other SWOT categories. Results showed a significant need for relevant educational outreach programs that cater specifically to FFLs. Additionally, researchers found a need to promote the interest of future generations in forestland management as all stakeholder groups felt that limited interest from future generations was the most important threat. This study will directly feed into regional, national, and international attempts to increase the participation of minority family forest landowners in sustainable forest management through integrated forest policy development.

Download Full-text

Forest management in New South Wales, Australia

The Forestry Chronicle ◽

10.5558/tfc73578-5 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 73 (5) ◽

pp. 578-585 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

David G. Brand

Keyword(s):

Forest Management ◽

Sustainable Forest Management ◽

New South ◽

New South Wales ◽

Forest Policy ◽

Management Policy ◽

Forest Sector ◽

Native Forest ◽

The Past ◽

South Wales

Forest management policy in New South Wales, Australia, has been dramatically changing during the past two decades in response to public controversy and widening expectations of the values that the forest should provide to society. The nature of NSW forest management today is a reflection of the unique Australian forest ecology, the nature of the forest sector, and the emergence of conflict and polarized views on forest management in the past two decades. Recent efforts have made progress in resolving the forest debate. The key elements have included an expanded protected areas reserve system, expanded reliance on plantation forests for wood supply, increased wood security for native forest industries in return for a commitment to value-adding and the implementation of an ecologically sustainable forest management framework. Like other Australian States, NSW is currently negotiating Regional Forest Agreements with the Commonwealth Government that will set the stage for future directions in forest management. Key words: forest policy, Australia, New South Wales forest management

Download Full-text

Canadian Council of Forest Ministers: Champions of sustainable forest management

The Forestry Chronicle ◽

10.5558/tfc79748-4 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 79 (4) ◽

pp. 748-751 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

André H Rousseau

Keyword(s):

Forest Management ◽

Sustainable Management ◽

Sustainable Forest Management ◽

Well Being ◽

Forest Sector ◽

Criteria And Indicators ◽

Canadian Council ◽

International Issues ◽

National Framework

The Canadian Council of Forest Ministers (CCFM), established in 1985, is composed of the federal, provincial and territorial Ministers responsible for forests. Its role has evolved into one that stimulates the development of policies and initiatives for strengthening the forest sector, including the forest resource and its use. One of the most important functions of the CCFM is that it sets the overall direction for the stewardship and sustainable management of Canada's forests by addressing issues and stimulating joint initiatives. Under its guidance, four successive National Forest Strategies and three Forest Accords have been developed. Another major achievement has been the development of the CCFM Criteria and Indicators Framework: Defining Sustainable Forest Management A Canadian Approach to Criteria and Indicators. Today, the CCFM works under five strategic themes: sustainable forestry; international issues; forest communities; science and technology; and information and knowledge. The ongoing, positive cooperation between the two levels of government helps maintain healthy and productive forests and their sustained contribution to Canadians' economic, environmental and social well-being over the long term. Key words: stewardship, governments, collaboration, national framework for action, criteria and indicators, integrated information

Download Full-text

Wie nachhaltig ist die Schweizer Forstpolitik? Das Nachhaltigkeits-Assessment der Schweizer Forstpolitik: Vorgehen und wichtigste Resultate | How Sustainable Is Swiss Forest Policy? The Sustainability Assessment of Swiss Forest Policy: Approach and Main Results

Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen ◽

10.3188/szf.2000.0472 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 151 (12) ◽

pp. 472-479 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Ingrid Kissling-Näf

Keyword(s):

Forest Management ◽

Sustainable Forest Management ◽

Sustainability Assessment ◽

Forest Policy ◽

Sustainability Indicators ◽

International Level ◽

Definition Of ◽

International Experts

A group of international experts evaluated whether the aims and instruments of Swiss forest policy are suitable for the promotion of sustainable forest management based on the pan-European criteria. Approach and main results are presented as well as the method developed for the definition of sustainability indicators as an instrument for the evaluation of sectoral policies and the possibility of a transfer of methods and indicators on an international level.

Download Full-text