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Forest harvesting and multiresource forestry
The
legacy of UNCED
Purpose
Scope
Approach
How
to write a code of practice
Codes of forest practice are sets of regulations or guidelines developed by governments or other organizations to help foresters and forestry enterprises select practices to be followed when carrying out forest management and utilization operations. Practices that conform to the regulations or guidelines should, at least in theory, achieve a desired outcome such as the harvest of commercial timber from a specified area of forest in a way that meets standards for sustainable forest management.
In some cases, codes of practice are based on legislative mandates. Failure to follow rules specified in such codes of practice may result in fines or other penalties. The administration of mandatory codes of practice is thus relatively simple, at least in concept: rules are written that must be followed, and violations are automatically subject to penalties. The benefit to operators is that, if they correctly apply the required practices, then they are normally released from liability for damages that might occur as a result of those practices. Instead, the government, in specifying the mandatory practices, assumes this liability whenever the practices have been followed correctly.
In other cases, codes of practice may serve as voluntary guidelines. Typically, such guidelines are designed to promote the adoption of practices that should achieve the desired result, without actually mandating those specific practices. Alternative practices achieving the desired result would also normally be considered equally acceptable. Failure to achieve the desired outcome may result in fines or other penalties, however, regardless of whether or not a practice suggested in the guidelines had been followed.
As a general rule, mandatory practices are easier to administer since all that needs to be determined is whether the specified practices were followed. On the other hand, if such practices do not achieve the desired outcome, even when correctly applied, then the government may be liable for resolving the resulting problem. Voluntary guidelines are more difficult to administer because what must be determined is whether or not the desired outcome was actually achieved. But they have the advantage of permitting maximum flexibility so that recommended practices can easily be adapted to fit new knowledge or changing conditions.
Mandatory codes of practice and voluntary guidelines are both intended to achieve certain results. The approach that will work best in a particular country or region depends upon the legal framework within which the rules or guidelines are adopted, the cultural history of the country or region, and even the attitudes of operators toward the results that the rules or guidelines are intended to achieve. Thus it is not possible to make a general statement about which type of code, mandatory or voluntary, is likely to produce better results. Different approaches may be needed in different places and at different times, even within a single country. In the United States, for instance, some states such as Oregon and California have enacted mandatory codes of forest practice, whereas other states such as Alabama and Georgia rely on voluntary guidelines.
In many cases, countries planning to adopt codes of forest practice will probably decide to use a combination of mandatory practices and voluntary guidelines. In situations where certain practices are believed to be absolutely essential or when it is considered difficult or impossible to determine whether a desired outcome has been achieved, then specific practices can be mandated. In other situations a range of practices might be recommended, with the understanding that the responsible agency will monitor operations carefully to determine whether the desired results are being achieved.
Forest harvesting and multiresource forestry
On public lands, and even increasingly in the private sector, forestry no longer focuses exclusively on the production of commercial timber. The importance of forests for biological diversity, non-timber products, cultural values and environmental services is now recognized worldwide, and as a result forestry has become a more complex, more demanding discipline. One consequence of this increased complexity is that it is now more difficult to plan and carry out forest harvesting operations, as these must be designed and implemented in ways that accommodate and, if possible, enhance the multiresource character of the forest. To accomplish this, foresters, planners and logging operators require guidance on the practices that society is willing to accept and on the outcomes that are required in connection with forest harvesting operations. This is an important motive for adopting codes of forest harvesting practice, whether they are mandatory or voluntary. Furthermore, codes of practice will only be acceptable to society if they recognize and provide for the full complexity of modern, multiresource forestry.
Rio Declaration
Forest Principles
International Framework Convention on Climate Change
International Framework Convention on Biological Diversity
Agenda 21
In recent years, several major events have drawn the attention of the public to the importance of forestry and the global environment. Perhaps the most important of these was the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, widely known as UNCED, which was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992. Not only was this the most important conference ever to focus on environmental issues, it was also the largest intergovernmental conference of any kind in history. A total of 178 United Nations member countries were represented, 102 of them by their head of state or government. Also represented were international financing institutions, technical cooperation agencies such as FAO, private companies and associations and approximately 1000 non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
A number of important documents were produced by UNCED that will influence forest policies and guide the work of development-assistance agencies for years to come. The following documents are among the most important of these, with respect to the development of codes of forest practice.
This declaration consists of 27 guiding principles focusing on the rights and obligations of sovereign states with respect to environment and development. The intention is to further elaborate the principles of this declaration in time for the presentation of an Earth Charter at the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations in 1995.
These "non-legally binding" principles are broad statements covering the sustainable management of all forests and recognizing national sovereignty over forest resources as well as the right to develop those resources.
International Framework Convention on Climate Change
This convention was signed by 150 countries as a broad commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
International Framework Convention on Biological Diversity
This convention, signed by 154 countries, formalizes a commitment to maintaining natural biological diversity, especially through measures designed to protect natural ecosystems and endangered species.
This document was developed as an "action plan" for the period 1993 to 2000. It includes 115 programme areas described in 40 chapters. Chapter 11, "Combating deforestation", is specifically devoted to forestry, and, in spite of the apparent emphasis on deforestation suggested by its title, describes a balanced programme that covers four priority areas:
- sustaining the multiple roles and functions of all types of forests and woodlands;
- enhancing the protection, sustainable management and conservation of all forests, and the rehabilitation of degraded areas;
- promoting efficient utilization and assessment to recover the full value of the goods and services provided by forests and woodlands;
- establishing or strengthening capacities for assessing and systematically reporting data on forests and forestry activities, including commercial production and trade.
The second and third priorities are particularly relevant to the development of codes of forest practice, and it is largely under the authority of these provisions that the FAO model code of forest harvesting practice has been developed.
The UNCED documents include a number of additional conclusions and statements that are potentially quite important to forestry. Perhaps the most important of these is the explicit, public recognition by policy-makers at the highest levels that forests are essential for sustainable economic development and also for the cultural legacy and physical well-being of current and future generations. Other important recommendations relating to the development of codes of forest practice include the following:
- true resource and environmental costs should be incorporated into all production and consumption decisions;
- environmentally sound harvesting and processing techniques that are economically practical and technically efficient should be developed and implemented;
- concession agreements should be modified as necessary in order to foster sustainable forest practices and to ensure that a greater share of profits is returned to society;
- the needs and wishes of the local and indigenous population must be considered, and these people should participate directly in decisions about forestry activities and benefit from the revenues from those activities.
The FAO model code of forest harvesting practice is intended primarily to serve as a reference for FAO member countries considering the adoption or revision of their own codes of forest practice. Its overall purpose is to promote harvesting practices that will improve standards of utilization, reduce environmental impacts, help ensure that forests are sustained for future generations and improve the economic and social contributions of forestry as a component of sustainable development.
It should be emphasized that this publication has not been prepared to serve as a reference on logging techniques or to provide details on how to make proper use of harvesting tools and equipment. Many books and other publications on these subjects already exist, some of which are listed in the bibliography.
Furthermore, this document is also not intended as a catalogue of criteria by which to measure the environmental acceptability of various forest harvesting practices. As important as such a catalogue would be, it is probably not possible to develop comprehensive criteria that would be globally applicable and at the same time economically viable, given the current state of knowledge. The focus here, therefore, is on the practices themselves, rather than on criteria by which to assess the effectiveness of those practices. As information from research becomes available, it may eventually be possible to develop criteria for making such assessments.
The principles outlined in this model code of practice should be useful, at least as a starting-point, for countries at all stages of economic development and in all climatic regions. However, no single code of forest harvesting practice can apply equally well to all forests and all nations. Many of the specific practices recommended in this publication will require modification in order to be relevant for use in a particular country or region. Nevertheless, by outlining the important general principles that govern environmentally sound forest harvesting, and by promoting harvesting practices that are in harmony with those principles, a publication such as this can serve a useful purpose.
As its name suggests, the FAO model code of forest harvesting practice focuses principally on harvesting activities. More comprehensive codes of forest practice often include guidelines on silvicultural and other forest practices in addition to those on harvesting practices. The intention in preparing this document was to concentrate on harvesting since it is the component of industrial forestry that is most often subject to complaints relating to environmental damage associated with forestry operations, especially in developing countries.
Because of the global nature of FAO's mandate, its model code of practice is not limited exclusively to one particular type of forest or climatic region. However, most industrialized countries either have already adopted comprehensive codes of forest practice or have long established common-law provisions by which their forest practices are regulated. The greatest need for information on environmentally sound forest harvesting practices, at least as expressed by FAO member countries, is thus in the developing countries. As many of the developing countries with large forest endowments are in the tropics, this document emphasizes practices that would be particularly useful in tropical forests. And although many of the guidelines on forest practices included in this document would apply also to plantation forests, the principal focus is on natural forests. These forests are more complex and often lie in more difficult terrain than plantation forests.
The FAO model code of forest harvesting practice assumes that it is first necessary to establish which practices are technically and economically feasible. Once this is known, political institutions should be used to introduce policies and legislation, in the context of the country's cultural and sociological framework, that will motivate or enforce the adoption of such practices.
A second basic assumption is that it is possible to conduct forest harvesting operations in ways that are consistent with the needs of sustainability. A necessary condition for the sustainable management of forests is that utilization, and the activities associated with it, must not compromise the potential of forests to regenerate properly and to provide products and services that are essential for the well-being of both current and future generations. This condition can be met by following good harvesting practices, although doing so may not be easy. If it were easy, the majority of forest harvesting crews around the world would already be doing it, and they are not.
Insofar as possible, this document attempts to provide flexibility in specifying recommended practices. It is not possible in most cases to know whether a specific harvesting practice will meet requirements for sustainability in all situations. Therefore, users can anticipate that it will be necessary to adapt guidelines on recommended harvesting practices to the local situation and also to changes occurring in both scientific understanding and socioeconomic conditions over time.
In general, four ingredients can be identified as essential in
relation to forest harvesting operations if forests are to be
managed on a sustainable basis:
- comprehensive harvest planning;
- effective implementation and control of harvesting operations;
- thorough harvesting assessment and communication of results to
the planning team and to harvesting personnel;
- development of a competent and properly motivated workforce.
This model code of practice examines each of these ingredients with the intention of providing information on what is known about how to accomplish them in environmentally sound ways that do not require major investments in training and technology. Information is also provided on the potential consequences that might be expected to result from failure to implement these practices.
It should be remembered that it is not the forest harvesting practices themselves that are important, but rather the results that are to be achieved as a consequence of implementing those practices. But in most cases, the goal of sustainable forest management cannot be attained unless improved harvesting practices are widely adopted by logging operators. Thus the emphasis in this document is on the harvesting practices themselves; if these are improved, then it is more likely that the ecological, environmental and cultural value of forests will be retained while simultaneously providing for the sustainable utilization of commercial timber from those forests.
How to write a code of practice
This document is intended to serve as a general model for the preparation of national or regional codes of forest harvesting practice. As such, it utilizes an organizational structure similar to that followed in many actual codes of practice. Sections that should probably be included in most codes of forest harvesting practice are:
- An introduction that briefly explains the purpose of the code of practice, summarizes any relevant legislation or policies and provides information on procedures for satisfying requirements of the code of practice as well as provisions for enforcement and appeals, if relevant.
- A chapter on each of the major categories of practice covered by the code. Each chapter should define the category of practice to which it pertains, summarize the guiding principles that have been followed in developing the recommended set of practices, list objectives that can be achieved if the recommended practices are followed, describe potential consequences of improper practices, and, finally, provide details of the recommended practices.
- A bibliography furnishing information on publications, legal documents and other references that are considered pertinent to the code of practice.
- Annexes that might supply more in-depth information on forest harvesting equipment and methods or that provide locally relevant technical data such as soil stability parameters for various soil types, road-design standards or criteria for selecting drainage structures to be used in stream crossings or cross-drains.
It should be noted that the descriptions of recommended practices in this document are more extensive than would normally be found in an actual code of practice. This is because the model code of practice is intended for use over a wide range of biophysical, socio-economic and political conditions. It is therefore necessary not only to list the recommended practices, but also to explain the conditions under which they apply and the reasons they are considered important. In an actual code of practice, these explanations would not normally be necessary and, in fact, might be distracting to users.
Certain practices have also been included in this model code of practice that will not apply in some countries and could therefore be omitted from a national code of practice. Balloon and helicopter logging, for instance, have relevance only under rather special conditions, and would not need to be covered in the national codes of forest practice that might be developed for many tropical developing countries.
It must be emphasized that effective codes of forest harvesting practice cannot be developed in isolation from potential users and other interested parties. Efforts to develop codes of forest practice should involve government forestry officials, representatives of the forest industry, loggers, leaders of local communities, NGO representatives, technical experts from institutions such as universities or research institutes, and individuals whose livelihood or cultural well-being depends on the sustainability of forest resources.
As a final comment, it should always be borne in mind that laws or policies that are overly prescriptive tend to stifle initiative and make it difficult for practitioners to react to changing conditions. The best codes of forest practice are those that provide a firm foundation for decision making and assessment but also permit sufficient flexibility so that specific guidelines can be amended as more is learned about ecosystem function and silvicultural requirements.