Previous Page Table of Contents Next Page


Chapter 6. Forest management

ABSTRACT

This chapter provides information on status and trends in forest management by reporting on three selected national-level forest management indicators: whether the country is a member of an international initiative to develop and implement criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management; the area of forest covered by a management plan in each country; and the area of forest certified for sustainable forest management in each country. As of 2000, 149 countries were involved in nine different criteria and indicator processes. The information supplied on areas of forests under management indicate that 89 percent of forests in industrialized countries are being managed "according to a formal or informal management plan". National statistics on forest management plans were not available for many developing countries; preliminary estimates showed that at least 123 million hectares, or about 6 percent of the total forest area, were covered by a "formal, nationally approved forest management plan covering a period of at least five years". The area of certified forests worldwide at the end of 2000 was estimated to be about 80 million hectares, or about 2 percent of total forest area. Most certified forests are located in temperate, industrialized countries. Reliable information on longer-term trends of forest management worldwide is not readily available. The FAO Forest Resources Assessments of 1980 and 1990 and a study undertaken by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) in 1988 provide useful points of reference. In summary, the situation as regards forest management has improved in most regions during the period 1990-2000. Future global forest assessments should provide much improved data, as more countries begin to monitor indicators for sustainable forest management.

INTRODUCTION

Developments in forest management over the past decade have focused on progress towards sustainable forest management, an approach that balances environmental, socio-cultural and economic objectives of management in line with the Forest Principles[6] agreed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992.

These efforts have stimulated changes in forest policy and legislation and in forest management practices in many countries. Public participation in forest management has increased in many countries. Broader approaches to forest management, such as ecosystem management and landscape management, are becoming more widely accepted and implemented. These approaches recognize the dynamism of ecological and social systems, the benefits of adaptive management, and the importance of collaborative decision making. Integrated strategies for forest conservation, in which conservation of forest resources and biological diversity entails management both inside and outside forest protected areas, are increasingly being developed.

On the international level, efforts to encourage sustainable forest management include initiatives to achieve a common understanding of the concept through the development of criteria and of indicators[7] by which sustainability of forest management can be assessed, monitored and reported at national and local levels. In some countries, model and demonstration forests have been established to demonstrate sustainable management in practice for a variety of forest types and management objectives.

As regards production forests, countries are moving towards broader management objectives. Initiatives established in the past decade included the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) Year 2000 Objective, which promoted sustainable forest management in countries that produce and consume tropical timber. A number of regional and national forest harvesting codes were also developed. Certification of forest products, a market-based mechanism devised to encourage the sustainable management of forests, has recently received considerable attention.

Despite these indications that there may be cause for cautious optimism, reliable information on status and trends in forest management worldwide is not readily available. Few attempts have been made in the past to estimate the extent of sustainable forest management in the world as a whole. Given the number of countries and the wide variety of forest types, local conditions and management objectives, this is, perhaps, not surprising. Previous attempts have, as a consequence, focused on specific regions and on specific management objectives and definitions of sustainable forest management.

Past studies which provide useful points of reference include the FAO Forest Resources Assessments of 1980 and 1990 and a study undertaken by ITTO in 1998. A recent assessment of progress towards the ITTO Year 2000 Objective provides valuable qualitative information on the forest management status in all ITTO producer and consumer countries.

Past studies on tropical forests

FRA 1980. The FAO/UNEP assessment of tropical resources in 1980 covered 76 countries in tropical America, Africa and Asia. The area of productive, closed natural tropical forest (comprising broad-leaved, coniferous and bamboo forest) was estimated at 886 million hectares of which an estimated 42 million (4.7 percent) were subject to intensive management for wood production.[8] Almost 80 percent of the area that was intensively managed was located in only one country (India). An additional 169 million hectares (19.1 percent) were subject to harvesting without intensive management and the remaining 674 million hectares (76 percent) were classified as "undisturbed".

No estimate was provided for the management status of "unproductive" closed forests, totalling 315 million hectares of forest unavailable for wood production for physical or legal (including protected status) reasons. Nor was an estimate provided for the management status of open forest formations. (FAO/UNEP1982; FAO 1988).

FRA 1990 did not report information on forest management in tropical countries.

ITTO 1988. In 1988, a study by ITTO (Poore et al. 1989) reviewed the status of forest management in 17 of the then 18 producer country members and concluded that the total area of natural forest under sustained-yield management for timber production[9] was about 1 million hectares[10] out of a potential productive forest of about 690 million hectares, or approximately 0.1 percent. However, the study also concluded that large areas nearly met the criteria for sustainable management.

Both of these studies were limited to production forests in the tropics and reported the area under management in percentage of the potential production forest area, not of the actual area subject to timber harvesting. A large area of the potentially productive forest area was, in fact, classified as "undisturbed" and therefore not in need of being managed for wood production.

Past studies on temperate and boreal forests

FRA 1980. As part of the UNECE/FAO assessment of forest resources of Europe, the Soviet Union and North America, a questionnaire was sent out to 32 countries of the UNECE in December 1981. In addition to providing information on forest cover, 24 countries in Europe (including Cyprus, Israel and the Soviet Union) reported on the area of closed forest being managed according to a forest management plan and on the size of the forest area without a plan but subject to controls relating to management or use. All of these countries reported that all their closed forests were subject to either a management plan or some form of control of management or use. The total area of closed forest in the 24 reporting European countries was estimated at 142 million hectares, of which 83 million hectares, or 59 percent, were reportedly managed according to a management plan. The Soviet Union reported that all of its closed forest area, equalling 792 million hectares, was being managed in accordance with a plan.

FRA 1990. Thirty-four countries were covered in the UNECE/FAO 1990 assessment of forest resources of the temperate zones, and 26 of these (23 European countries, Canada, the United States and Australia) provided information on their forest management status. The total forest area of these 26 industrialized countries in the temperate/boreal zone was estimated at 626 million hectares, of which 347 million hectares, or 56 percent, were considered to be under active management.[11] In Europe, according to the information provided by 23 European countries, the total forest area was estimated at 129 million hectares, of which 92 million hectares, or 71 percent, were reported as being under active management. Although changes in definitions make direct comparisons difficult, a general trend of increase in the percentage of the area under management between 1980 and 1990 was noticeable.

Progress towards the ITTO Year 2000 Objective

This study, undertaken in 2000 and covering all producer and consumer country members of ITTO, assessed progress towards achieving sustainable management of tropical forests and trade in tropical timber from sustainably managed resources (the ITTO Year 2000 Objective). It did not provide quantitative information on the area of forest under sustainable forest management, but recorded a very considerable improvement over the situation recorded in ITTO producer countries in 1988. The study concluded, however, that only six producer countries (Ghana, Guyana, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cameroon and Myanmar) appeared to have established all the conditions that make it likely that they can manage their forest management units sustainably. All consumer countries were found to be committed to sustainable forest management and most European countries were reported as considering that their forests would meet the criteria for sustainable forest management (Poore and Thang 2000).

The present study

The present study does not attempt to estimate the total area of forests under sustainable forest management worldwide, since this would entail extensive field visits to provide a reliable estimate and since discussions on what constitutes sustainable forest management are still ongoing. Rather, it includes information on the following selected indicators demonstrating countries' commitment to working towards sustainable forest management:

Three separate studies provide information on other important indicators: the area of forest classified as protected area (see Chapter 7), the area under approved forest harvesting schemes and the area of forest available for woody supply (see Chapter 9).

Many other relevant and important indicators of sustainable forest management exist but have not been included in the present study because of lack of adequate and comparable information. Efforts will be made to collate information on additional indicators for future reporting.

METHODS

Representatives of the nine ecoregional processes on criteria and indicators provided the information on the number of countries that were participating in these processes during a meeting held in Rome in November 2000.

To obtain updated information on the area of forests under management plans, the topic was specifically included in FRA 2000. The FRA 2000 Guidelines for assessments in tropical and subtropical countries, which were sent to all developing countries, included a table for recording the area of forest subject to a forest management plan[12] according to national forest type classification and main management objective (production, conservation, other) where possible. For the industrialized temperate/boreal countries, information was requested on area of managed forest[13] broken down according to ownership status rather than main management objective. No distinction was made among forest types.

Figure 6-1. Geographical coverage of nine criteria and indicator processes

As the area of forest subject to a forest management plan is not necessarily consistent with the area of forests being managed sustainably, the information provided by FRA 2000 was supplemented with information provided on areas under certification. This information, which is confined to areas being managed for wood supply, was compiled through a desk study from a variety of mostly Web-based sources.

RESULTS

Criteria and indicators

At the end of December 2000, 149 countries were members of one or more of the following nine initiatives: the Pan-European, Montreal, Tarapoto, Dry-Zone Africa, Near East, Central America/Lepaterique and Dry-Forest Asia processes and/or initiatives, and action taken by ITTO and the African Timber Organization (ATO).[14] Refer to Table 6-1 for a regional overview and to Appendix 3 for details. Figure 6-1 illustrates the geographical coverage of the nine processes.

These initiatives and processes are conceptually similar in objectives and overall approach, although differing in detail. National-level criteria of sustainable forest management focus on the following globally agreed elements: extent of forest resources; biological diversity; forest health and vitality; productive functions of forests; protective functions of forests; socio-economic benefits and needs; legal, policy and institutional framework. The indicators vary widely among initiatives owing to differences in forest types and environmental, social, political and cultural conditions.

National-level criteria and indicators are being complemented by the development and implementation of criteria and indicators defined at the forest management unit level in a number of the processes as well as by other actors such as NGOs and the private sector.

The degree of implementation of criteria and indicators at the national level varies considerably. In many cases, action is limited by the lack of trained personnel or institutional capacity for collecting and analysing information and for following up the development and implementation of improved management prescriptions based on the information obtained.

Table 6-1. Regional overview of number of countries involved in criteria and indicator processes

Region

Number of countries/areas

International/ecoregional processes

Total number reported in FRA 2000

Member of one or more criteria and indicators processes

Africa

56

46

Near East, Dry Zone Africa, ATO, ITTO

Asia

49

36

Near East, Dry-Forest Asia, ITTO, Montreal, Pan-European

Oceania

20

5

Montreal, ITTO

Europe

41

40

Pan-European, Montreal, Near East

North and Central America

34

11

Lepaterique; Montreal, ITTO

South America

14

11

Tarapoto, ITTO, Montreal

WORLD TOTAL

213

149*


* Includes four countries being invited to join the Pan-European process as of December 2000 (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, San Marino and Yugoslavia). Belgium and Luxembourg are counted as two countries in this table although reported on jointly in the main table.
As most of the nine processes have begun only in the past few years, it is anticipated that future global assessments will be able to gain significant information on a number of forest management indicators.

Forest management plans

Eighty-three countries, including all major industrialized countries,[15] provided national-level information on forest management as part of FRA 2000 reporting. An additional 14 countries supplied comparable information to FAO's Latin American and Caribbean Forestry Commission in 2000. National figures are, however, still missing from a fairly large number of developing countries, including many of the larger countries in Africa and some key countries in Asia. Data are also missing from many smaller countries in Oceania and the Caribbean. An attempt has been made to obtain information from auxiliary sources, but, as can be seen from the results presented in Appendix 3, information is still lacking from a number of countries.

Disparities in replies from industrialized countries, which are not entirely explicable by differences in national situations, suggest that there is a lack of uniformity in the way in which the definition of forest area managed has been interpreted and applied - notably in the distinction between management for wood supply only and for all forest functions, and between management according to approved management plans and less formal forms of management.[16] There was also uncertainty as to whether areas where a decision has been made not to manage the area at all had always been included in the "managed" category, as was recommended by UNECE/FAO (2000), so figures may not be directly comparable between countries.

The definition used for developing countries, on the other hand, was limited to forest areas subject to a formal and nationally approved forest management plan. This definition appeared to cause fewer difficulties in interpretation and application but precludes a direct comparison of results with those from industrialized countries.

In summary, the results indicate that 89 percent of the forests in industrialized countries (accounting for 45 percent of the total forest area in the world, most of which is located in the temperate and boreal zones) were subject to a formal or informal management plan. National figures are still missing from a fairly large number of developing countries, including many of the larger countries in Africa and some key countries in Asia. Nevertheless, results obtained so far indicated that of a total forest area of 2 139 million hectares in non-industrialized countries, at least 123 million hectares, or about 6 percent, were covered by a formal, nationally approved forest management plan with a duration of at least five years.

In analysing the results provided in the table, it is important to keep in mind that the total area reported to be subject to a forest management plan is not necessarily equivalent to the total area of forest under sustainable forest management. The present study does not indicate whether the plan is appropriate, being implemented as planned or having the intended effects. Some areas reported as being covered by a management plan may thus not be under sustainable forest management. Conversely, many areas may be under sustainable forest management without the existence of a formal management plan. Furthermore, remote areas with lack of access or very limited human use may not require a management plan or management activities to achieve a management objective of being safeguarded for the future.

Qualitative information on status and trends in silviculture and forest management is presented for selected countries in the country profiles on the FAO Forestry Web pages (www.fao.org/forestry/fo/country).

Regional overview. In Africa, only seven countries provided national-level information, representing less than 3 percent of the total forest area in the region. Only two tropical moist forest countries were included in this list. The percentage of the forest area under a formal, nationally approved forest management plan in these seven countries in 2000 ranged from 2 to 78 percent, with the total area subject to management plans equalling 15 percent of the combined forest area in these countries. Partial figures were obtained from an additional seven countries. All available figures added up to 5.5 million hectares of forests under management plans, equivalent to only 0.8 percent of the total forest area of Africa. Efforts are currently under way to obtain clarification from a number of countries and to supplement the existing information with data from other sources.

In Asia, national-level information was provided by 21 of the 49 countries and areas reported on, accounting for 30 percent of the total forest cover as information was not obtained from the two countries in the region with the largest forest areas. The percentage of the forest area under a formal, nationally approved forest management plan in these 21 countries in 2000 ranged from 23 to 100 percent.[17] It should be kept in mind that the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), where figures ranged from 82 to 100 percent, reported on the area subject to management with a formal or informal management plan and included areas where a decision had been made not to manage the area at all.[18] The total area in the region reported as being subject to forest management plans (including partial results from two countries, and with the two different definitions used kept in mind) equalled 134 million hectares or 24 percent of the total forest area.

In Oceania, only three of the 20 countries and areas provided national data on the area of forest managed. However, these three countries (Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea) together accounted for 98 percent of the total forest area in the region. The figure for Papua New Guinea was limited to formal forest management plans, whereas the definition used for Australia and New Zealand included areas under informal plans and areas where a decision had been made not to manage the area at all. Including the partial results from Solomon Islands, and with the use of two different definitions kept in mind, the total forest area under management plans was 167 million hectares or 84 percent of the total forest area in the region.

In Europe, 39 countries and areas provided national information on areas of forest managed, including areas subject to informal management plans and areas where a decision had been taken not to manage the area at all. With the exception of Italy, which reported only on areas subject to a formal, nationally approved management plan, the figures ranged from 33 to 100 percent of the total forest area in each country. Quite a large number of countries (19) reported that all their forests were managed according to the definition above, including the Russian Federation, which alone accounted for 82 percent of the total forest area in this region. Looking at the region as a whole, 98 percent of the total forest area was reported as being managed.

Thirteen of the 34 countries and areas reported in North and Central America provided national information on the area of forest under management.[19] The total forest area covered by these countries equalled 99 percent of the combined forest area of the region. Canada and the United States, accounting for 86 percent of the total forest area in this region, used the definition that includes areas under informal forest management plans and areas where a decision had been taken not to manage the area at all. The remaining countries reported on areas subject to a formal management plan. Most of these excluded forest plantations from their reporting to the meeting of the FAO Latin American and Caribbean Forestry Commission in 2000. The reported figures ranged from 2 percent of the total forest area to 74 percent. The total area reported as being under management plans in the region (including partial data and with the two different definitions in mind) equalled 310 million hectares or 56 percent of the total forest area.

Eleven of the 14 countries and areas reported in South America provided information on the size of the forest area subject to a formal management plan. Most of them included only natural forests in their report to the meeting of the FAO Latin American and Caribbean Forestry Commission in 2000. The area subject to a forest management plan varied between 0.1 and 25 percent of the total forest area in each country. For the region as a whole, 26 million hectares, or 3 percent, of the total forest area was reportedly subject to a formal management plan. Given that the countries that reported accounted for 94 percent of the combined forest area in the region, these figures may seem low. However, it should be kept in mind that many countries in this region have large expanses of forests that are located in remote areas with lack of access or with very limited human use, which may not require a management plan. It is also uncertain whether all countries included protected forest areas in their reporting on areas covered by forest management plans.

Certification

Criteria and indicators provide a means to measure, assess, monitor and demonstrate progress towards achieving sustainability of forest management in a given country or in a specified forest area over a period of time. Certification, on the other hand, is an instrument used to confirm the achievement of certain predefined minimum standards of forest management in a given forest area at a given point in time. Certification is essentially a marketing tool, used by forest owners who perceive an economic benefit from undergoing the certification process.

A number of international, regional and national forest certification schemes now exist, focusing primarily on forests managed for timber production purposes. The volume of timber covered by these schemes, while increasing, is still relatively low. Depending on how the term "area certified" is defined, the area of certified forests worldwide at the end of 2000 was estimated at 81 million hectares or about 2 percent of the total forest area.

Whereas certification implies that an area is well or sustainably managed, the total area of well-managed forest is not limited to certified areas. Many uncertified forests, including both those managed primarily for wood production and those with other management objectives, may also be under sound management.

While some important wood-producing countries in the tropics have forest areas certified under existing certification schemes or are in the process of developing new schemes, most certified forests are located in a limited number of temperate, industrialized countries. At the end of 2000, about 92 percent of all certified forests worldwide were located in the United States, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Canada, Germany and Poland. At the same time, only four countries with tropical moist forests (Bolivia, Brazil, Guatemala and Mexico) had more than 100 000 ha of certified forests, for a combined total of 1.8 million hectares.

Table 6-2 provides a regional overview. A breakdown by country is provided in Appendix 3. Note that only selected schemes have been included in these tables. Areas certified according to the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Standard are, for instance, not included in these figures since this standard was not developed specifically to ascertain whether sustainable forest management is being undertaken. Some national certification schemes may also have been left out by oversight. If estimates for these areas were added,[20] the world under certification would be about 110 million hectares (2.8 percent of total forest area).

Some forest certification schemes are now being extended to include certain non-wood forest products (NWFP). This is proving to be more complex than certifying for timber, as the same forest area may have to be assessed for one or more NWFP, which may have different requirements. It is possible, for example, that a forest is managed for timber in a sustainable way while its NWFP resources are being overharvested, and vice versa.

Table 6-2. Regional overview of size of forest area certified

Region

Forest area certified 000 ha

Africa

974

Asia

158

Oceania

410

Europe

46 708

North and Central America

30 916

South America

1 551

WORLD TOTAL

80 717


Comparison with previous estimates

A direct comparison with previous estimates of the forest management status in tropical and temperate/boreal regions is not possible because of differences in definitions used. However, it is worth noting that in 1980 an estimated 42 million hectares of forest in 76 tropical countries were reported to be subject to "intensive management for wood production purposes". In 2000, information received so far indicates that at least 117 million hectares[21] of forests in these countries were covered by a formal, nationally approved forest management plan of a duration of more than five years. Most, but not all, of these forests were managed for wood production purposes. A reported 2.2 million hectares of forests in these countries had obtained forest certification by third parties by the end of 2000.

The ITTO study referred to earlier estimated that in 1988 a maximum of 1 million hectares of forest in 17 tropical timber producing countries were being managed sustainably for wood production purposes (Poore et al. 1989). Judging from the area under management plans and/or certified in the same 17 countries in 2000, a considerably larger area may now be under sustainable management for wood production purposes. Currently, more than 35 million hectares of forests in these countries are covered by a formal forest management plan, and 1.7 million hectares of forests have been certified by third parties. A considerably larger area is likely to be eligible for certification or under sustainable management for purposes other than timber production. As a case in point, six tropical countries (Cameroon, Ghana, Guyana, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar), with a combined forest area of 206 million hectares, appear to have established all the conditions needed to enable them to manage their forests sustainably in the near future (Poore and Thang 2000).

The situation in temperate and boreal forests appears to have remained stable or to have improved over the past 20 years. In the early 1980s, all areas classified as closed forests in the former Soviet Union were reported as being "managed according to a forest management plan" (UNECE/FAO 1985). In 2000 the Russian Federation and most of the States of the CIS reported that all forests were being "managed according to a formal or informal plan". Nineteen countries in Europe[22] provided information on the forest management situation in the early 1980s, 1990 and 2000 (UNECE/FAO 1985; UNECE/FAO 1992; UNECE/FAO 2000). The proportion of closed forests "managed according to a forest management plan" in 1980 was 64 percent; in 1990, the proportion of forests "under active management" was 71 percent; and in 2000, 95 percent of the forest area was reported to be "managed in accordance with a formal or informal management plan".

The percentage of the forest area under management in Canada and the United States increased from 60 and 41 percent respectively in 1990 to 71 and 56 percent respectively in 2000.

CONCLUSIONS

A total of 149 countries are currently members of one or more of nine regional or ecoregional initiatives to develop and implement criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management. All of these were established within the last ten years.

One of the indicators identified in these initiatives is the extent of the forest area managed according to a management plan and/or for specific management objectives.[23]

All industrialized countries (accounting for 45 percent of the total forest area in the world, most of it in the temperate and boreal zones) have reported on the area of forest managed as part of FRA 2000 reporting. The results indicate that 89 percent of the forests in these countries are being managed subject to a formal or informal management plan. National figures are still missing from a fairly large number of developing countries, including many of the larger countries in Africa and some key countries in Asia. Nevertheless, results obtained so far show that of a total forest area of 2 139 million hectares in non-industrialized countries, at least 123 million hectares, or about 6 percent of the total forest area, are covered by a formal, nationally approved forest management plan with a duration of at least five years.

It must be emphasized that the total area reported to be subject to a formal or informal forest management plan is not necessarily equivalent to the total area of forest under sustainable forest management. The present study does not indicate whether the plan is appropriate, being implemented as planned or having the intended effects. Some areas reported as being covered by a management plan may, therefore, not be sustainably managed, while other areas not currently under a formal management plan may be.

The use of different definitions makes it difficult to compare the situation between industrialized countries and developing countries and to derive a global total of forests under management plans. In addition, some industrialized countries interpreted the definitions in different ways. Moreover, many developing countries did not include forests in protected areas in the area under management, and some countries excluded plantations. These problems suggest a need for further refinement and consistency of approaches in future reporting on the area of forest under management plans.

One way of demonstrating that a particular forest is being managed sustainably for wood production purposes is through the act of third-party certification. A number of international, regional and national forest certification schemes now exist. Depending on how the term "area certified" is defined, the area of certified forests worldwide at the end of 2000 was estimated at around 81 million hectares or about 2 percent of the total forest area. About 92 percent of these forests were located in seven temperate industrialized countries (the United States, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Canada, Germany and Poland). Only four countries with tropical moist forests (Bolivia, Brazil, Guatemala and Mexico) were listed as having more than 100 000 ha of certified forests, for a combined total of 1.8 million hectares.

Whereas certification implies that an area is well or sustainably managed for wood production, the total area of well-managed forest is not limited to certified areas. Many uncertified forests, including both those managed primarily for wood production and those with other management objectives, may also be under sound management.

Notwithstanding the inherent difficulties in comparing FRA 2000 results with those from previous studies because of differences in definitions used and countries included, there are, however, indications that, overall, the situation as regards forest management has improved in most regions over the past 20 years.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

American Forest and Paper Association. 2000a. Report to the joint UNECE Timber Committee & FAO European Forestry Commission. Rome, October 2000.

American Forest and Paper Association. 2000b. Summary of key enhancements to the SFI program in 2000.
www.afandpa.org/forestry/SFI/3pagesummary1.pdf

American Tree Farm System. 2000. Web site.
www.treefarmsystem.org

Argow, K. 2001. Personal communication: areas under green tag certification.

Canadian Sustainable Forestry Certification Coalition. 2000. Certification status in Canada, 21 December 2000.
www.sfms.com/decade.htm

FAO. 1988. An interim report on the state of forest resources in the developing countries. Miscellaneous paper FO:MISC/88/7. Rome.

FAO/UNEP. 1982. Tropical forest resources. FAO Forestry Paper No. 30. Rome.

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). 2000. Forests certified by FSC-accredited certification bodies. DOC. 5.3.3, 31 December 2000.
http://fscoax.org/html/5-3-3.html

National Woodland Owners Association. 2000. What is green tag forestry?
www.nationalwoodlands.org/green_tag.htm

New Zealand Forest Industries Council. 2000. Information note on certification.

Pan European Forest Certification Council (PEFCC). 2000. PEFCC Newsletter No. 4, December.
www.pefc.org/news.htm

Poore, M.E.D. 1990. Sustainability in the tropical forest. Journal of the Institute of Wood Science, 12(2):103-106.

Poore, D., Burgess, P., Palmer, J., Rietbergen, R. & Synnott, T. 1989. No timber without trees - sustainability in the tropical forest - A study for ITTO. London, Earthscan Publications.

Poore, D. & Thang, H.C. 2000. Review of progress towards the year 2000 objective. Report presented at the 28th Session of the ITTC held on 24-30 May 2000, Lima, Peru. ITTC(XXVIII)/9/Rev.2. Yokohama, Japan, ITTO.

Singh, H. 2001. Personal communication: areas under certification and audit in Malaysia

UNECE/FAO. 1983. The forest resources of the ECE Region (Europe, the USSR, North America). Geneva and Rome.

UNECE/FAO. 1992. The forest resources of the temperate zones. The UNECE/FAO 1990 Forest Resources Assessment. Volume 1. General Forest Resource Information. New York, UN.

UNECE/FAO. 2000. Forest resources of Europe, CIS, North America, Australia, Japan and New Zealand: contribution to the global Forest Resources Assessment 2000. Geneva Timber and Forest Study Papers No. 17. NewYork and Geneva, UN.
www.unece.org/trade/timber/fra/pdf/contents.htm


[6] The full title is the Non-Legally Binding Authoritative Statement on Principles for a Global Consensus on the Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development of All Types of Forest.
[7] Criteria define the essential elements or principles against which sustainability of forest management is judged, with due consideration paid to the environmental, economic and socio-cultural roles of forests and forest ecosystems. Each criterion is defined by quantitative or qualitative indicators, which are measured and monitored regularly to determine the effects of forest management interventions over time.
[8] Defined as follows: “The concept of intensive management is used here in a restricted way and implies not only the strict and controlled application of harvesting regulations but also silvicultural treatments and protection against fires and diseases.” (FAO 1988, FAO/UNEP 1982)
[9] Defined in this study as follows: “Management should be practised on an operational rather than experimental scale and should include the essential tools of management (objectives, felling cycles, working plans, yield control and prediction, sample plots, protection, logging concessions, short-term forest licences, roads, boundaries, costings, annual records and the organization of silvicultural work). Management might be at any level of intensity provided that objectives were clearly specified so that one could assess whether they were being attained; and that there was proven performance (indications that the next crop would be satisfactory and that sufficient natural regeneration exists for the following crop)”. (Poore et al. 1989; Poore 1990)
[10] When comparing the figure to the above, it should be noted that India was not included in the ITTO study.
[11] Defined as “Forest and other wooded land that is managed according to a professionally prepared plan or is otherwise under a recognized form of management applied regularly over a long period (five years or more)”.
[12] Defined in this context as: “The area of forest which is managed for various purposes (conservation, production, other) in accordance with a formal, nationally approved, management plan over a sufficiently long period (five years or more)”.
[13] The term “managed” as applied to forest and other wooded land being defined as: “Forest and other wooded land which is managed in accordance with a formal or an informal plan applied regularly over a sufficiently long period (5 years or more). The management operations include the tasks to be accomplished in individual forest stands (e.g. compartments) during the given period”.
[14] At least two additional countries (Cuba and the Lao People's Democratic Republic) have developed national-level criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management without being members of any of the aforementioned ecoregional processes.
[15] Europe (including Cyprus, Turkey and Israel which are listed under Asia in Appendix 3, Table 9), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Canada, the United States, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
[16] Examples of possible deviations from the definition are found in Azerbaijan, where it is assumed that because all forests and other wooded lands are State-owned, they are therefore managed. In Australia, the data on managed forest is limited to areas managed for wood production.
[17] The percentage for the Philippines is above 100 percent as the area figure represents “forest lands”, parts of which are not defined as forests according to the FRA 2000 definition.
[18] The exception being Georgia, which does not include areas classified as “undisturbed” as being managed.
[19] Information was especially lacking from many smaller Caribbean countries with a limited extent of forests.
[20] 27 million hectares in Canada have been certified under ISO 14001 – not counting those areas that have been certified by more than one scheme – and more than 300 000 ha in New Zealand.
[21] National data missing from some countries.
[22] Including Turkey, which is listed under Asia in Appendix 3, Table 9.
[23] The formulation of this indicator varies between initiatives. Most processes includes the extent of forest area (area or percent) subject to a forest management plan, the exceptions being the Montreal Process and the Tarapoto Proposal, which do not specify a management plan per se but rather the percentage of forest area managed for specific objectives. In the Tarapoto proposal, the existence of a forest management plan is, however, one of the indicators at the forest management unit level. The Pan-European Forest Process uses the expression “managed according to a management plan or management guidelines”.

Previous Page Top of Page Next Page