Appendix A : Forest accounts and sustainability indicators for forestry

In recent years, there have been a number of efforts to develop C&I for sustainable forestry, based on economic, social, ecological and institutional statistics. There is considerable overlap between work on sustainability indicators and SEEA, although these two efforts have proceeded, for the most part, independently of one another. One of the advantages of SEEA is that it produces both indicators as well as the detailed statistics needed for analysis. The relationship between SEEA and one set of forest C&I, the Montreal Process indicators, is described below.

The Montreal Process represents one attempt to develop and implement internationally agreed C&I for the conservation and sustainable management of temperate and boreal forests. (See their website http://www.mpci.org for more information.) The Montreal Process has identified a set of criteria: categories of conditions or processes by which sustainable forest management may be assessed. Each criterion is characterized by a set of related indicators, quantitative or qualitative variables that can be measured or described and which, when observed periodically, demonstrate trends. Table 8.10 shows the relationship between the Montreal Process C&I and the information provided by SEEA.

Many of the Montreal Process indicators are provided by SEEA, notably those associated with conservation of biological diversity, maintenance of productive capacity of forest ecosystem, maintenance of forest contribution to global carbon cycles and maintenance and enhancement of long-term multiple socio-economic benefits to meet the needs of societies. SEEA does not provide information for the legal and institutional aspects of forest health and provides only partial information about social aspects of forests. To provide some of the indicators, a more comprehensive set of forest-related accounts is necessary, which would include comprehensive land, water and pollution accounts.

Table A.1: Correspondence between sustainability indicators and SEEA

Criteria and indicators for sustainable forestry	SEEA source of indicator
Criterion 1: Conservation of biological diversity
Indicators
Ecosystem diversity
a. Extent of area by forest type relative to total forest area	Forest asset accounts, physical
b. Extent of area by forest type and by age, class or successional stage	Forest asset accounts, physical
c. Extent of area by forest type in protected area categories as defined by IUCN or other classification systems	Forest asset accounts, physical
d. Extent of areas by forest type in protected areas defined by age, class or successional stage	Forest asset accounts, physical
e. Fragmentation of forest types	Can be included in forest asset accounts
Species diversity
a. Number of forest‑dependent species	Forest service accounts for biodiversity protection, physical
b. Status (threatened, rare, vulnerable, endangered or extinct) of forest‑dependent species at risk of not maintaining viable breeding populations, as determined by legislation or scientific assessment	Forest service accounts for biodiversity protection, physical
Genetic diversity
a. Number of forest‑dependent species that occupy a small portion of their former range	Could be calculated from changes in forest service accounts for biodiversity protection
b. Population levels of representative species from diverse habitats monitored across their range	Forest service accounts for biodiversity protection, physical
Criterion 2: Maintenance of productive capacity of forest ecosystems
Indicators
a. Area of forestland and net area of forestland available for timber production	Forestland and land asset accounts, physical
b. Total growing stock of both merchantable and non‑merchantable tree species on forestland available for timber production	Forest asset accounts, physical
c. Area and growing stock of plantations of native and exotic species	Forest asset accounts, physical
d. Annual removal of wood products compared to the volume determined to be sustainable	Forest flow accounts for timber, physical
e. Annual removal of non-timber forest products (e.g. fur bearers, berries, mushrooms, game) compared to the level determined to be sustainable	Forest flow accounts for non-timber goods and services, physical
Criterion 3: Maintenance of forest ecosystem health and vitality
Indicators
a. Area and percent of forest affected by processes or agents beyond the range of historic variation, e.g. by insects, disease, competition from exotic species, fire, storm, land clearance, permanent flooding, salinization and domestic animals	Only that part attributable for economic activities, such as land clearance and salinization
b. Area and percent of forestland subjected to levels of specific air pollutants (e.g. sulphates, nitrate, ozone) or ultraviolet B that may cause negative impacts on the forest ecosystem	Forestland accounts, land accounts, pollution accounts, physical
c. Area and percent of forestland with diminished biological components indicative of changes in fundamental ecological processes (e.g. soil nutrient cycling, seed dispersion, pollination) and/or ecological continuity (monitoring of functionally important species such as fungi, arboreal epiphytes, nematodes, beetles, wasps, etc.)	Forest degradation accounts (flow and/or asset), physical
Criterion 4: Conservation and maintenance of soil and water resources
Indicators
a. Area and percent of forestland with significant soil erosion	Land and forestland accounts by ecological characteristics, physical
b. Area and percent of forestland managed primarily for protective functions, e.g. watersheds, flood protection, avalanche protection, riparian zones	Forestland accounts, physical
c. Percent of stream kilometres in forested catchments in which stream flow and timing has significantly deviated from the historic range of variation	NA Could be obtained from SEEA water accounts
d. Area and percent of forestland with significantly diminished soil organic matter and/or changes in other soil chemical properties	NA
e. Area and percent of forestland with significant compaction or change in soil physical properties resulting from human activities	NA
f. Percent of water bodies in forest areas (e.g. stream kilometres, lake hectares) with significant variance of biological diversity from the historic range of variability	NA
g. Percent of water bodies in forest areas (e.g. stream kilometres, lake hectares) with significant variation from the historic range of variability in pH, dissolved oxygen, levels of chemicals (electrical conductivity), sedimentation or temperature change	NA
h. Area and percent of forestland experiencing an accumulation of persistent toxic substances	NA
Criterion 5: Maintenance of forest contribution to global carbon cycles
Indicators
a. Total forest ecosystem biomass and carbon pool and, if appropriate, by forest type, age, class and successional stages	Forest carbon storage accounts, physical
b. Contribution of forest ecosystems to the total global carbon budget, including absorption and release of carbon (standing biomass, coarse woody debris, peat and soil carbon)	Forest carbon storage accounts, physical
c. Contribution of forest products to the global carbon budget	Forest carbon storage and flow accounts, physical
Criterion 6: Maintenance and enhancement of long-term multiple socio-economic benefits to meet the needs of societies
Indicators
Production and consumption
a. Value and volume of wood and wood products production, including value added through downstream processing	Forest wood flow accounts, supply and use table, physical and monetary
b. Value and quantities of production of non-wood forest products	Forest non-timber flow accounts, physical and monetary
c. Supply and consumption of wood and wood products, including consumption per capita	Forest wood supply and use accounts, physical
d. Value of wood and non-wood products production as percentage of GDP	Forest flow accounts for goods and services, monetary
e. Degree of recycling of forest products	Forest wood supply and use accounts, physical
f. Supply and consumption/use of non-wood products	Forest non-timber flow accounts, physical
Recreation and tourism
a. Area and percent of forestland managed for general recreation and tourism, in relation to the total area of forestland	Forestland asset accounts, physical
b. Number and type of facilities availa ble for general recreation and tourism, in relation to population and forest area	Forest asset accounts, memorandum items for fixed capital
c. Number of visitor days attributed to recreation and tourism, in relation to population and forest area	Forest flow accounts for services, physical
Investment in the forest sector
a. Value of investment, including investment in forest growing, forest health and management, planted forests, wood processing, recreation and tourism	Forest flow accounts + environmental expenditure and resource management accounts for forests
b. Level of expenditure on research and development and education	Environmental expenditure and resource management accounts for forests
c. Extension and use of new and improved technologies	Memorandum items to the asset accounts (fixed capital in the forest sector)
d. Rates of return on investment	Calculated from forest flow accounts, monetary
Cultural, social and spiritual needs and values
a. Area and percent of forestland managed in relation to the total area of forestland to protect the range of cultural, social and spiritual needs and values	NA
b. Non-consumptive use forest values	Forest flow accounts for services, physical
Employment and community needs
a. Direct and indirect employment in the forest sector and forest sector employment as a proportion of total employment	Forest flow accounts, memorandum items
b. Average wage and injury rates in major employment categories within the forest sector	Wages: Forest flow accounts, memorandum items
c. Viability and adaptability to changing economic conditions of forest-dependent communities, including indigenous communities	NA
d. Area and percent of forestland used for subsistence purposes	Forest flow accounts, memorandum items
Criterion 7: Legal, institutional and economic framework for forest conservation and sustainable management
Indicators for extent to which the legal framework (laws, regulations, guidelines) supports the conservation and sustainable management of forests	NA
Indicators for extent to which the institutional framework supports the conservation and sustainable management of forests	NA
Indicators for extent to which the economic framework supports the conservation and sustainable management of forests	Capacity provided by complete SEEA forest‑related accounts
Capacity to measure and monitor changes in the conservation and sustainable management of forests	Capacity provided by complete SEEA forest‑related accounts
Capacity to conduct and apply research and development aimed at improving forest management and delivery of forest goods and services, including:	Capacity provided by complete SEEA forest‑related accounts
a. Development of scientific understanding of forest ecosystem characteristics and functions	NA
b. Development of methodologies to measure and integrate environmental and social costs and benefits into markets and public policies and to reflect forest-related resource depletion or replenishment in national accounting systems	Capacity provided by complete SEEA forest‑related accounts
c. New technologies and the capacity to assess the socio‑economic consequences associated with the introduction of new technologies	Capacity provided by complete SEEA forest‑related accounts
d. Enhancement of ability to predict impacts of human intervention on forests	Capacity provided by complete SEEA forest‑related accounts
e. Ability to predict impacts on forests of possible climate change	NA