1 Global Connections: Forests of the World Activity 6 Seeking Sustainability: A Global Response.

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Global Connections:

Forests of the World

Activity 6

Seeking Sustainability: A Global Response

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Objectives

Identify possible criteria for defining or measuring forest sustainability.

Compare criteria to those included in the Montreal Process.

Find out how sustainability is being measured and monitored locally.

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Searchable Key Words

Agenda 21 Montreal Process Santiago Declaration Statement of Forest Principles Sustainable forest management

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Background

Activity 6

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At the United Nation’s 1992 Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit (also called United Nations Conference

on Environment and Development, UNCED), world leaders from 102 countries adopted two

international declarations that affirm the importance of the forests of the world.

1. Statement of Forest Principles

2. Agenda 21

Rio 92

PS: The summit also produced conventions on biodiversity, climate change and desertification which have implications for forest management.

Activity 6 – Background

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Statement of Forest Principles

The first global agreement on forests and their sustainability

Agenda 21

An international action plan for sustainable development


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Since the meeting in Rio de Janeiro…

• …several national and international programs have been launched to measure progress toward sustainable forest management

• …the most comprehensive and potentially far-reaching of those programs are the regional and international initiatives, which now involve more than 100 countries


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The Montreal Process

• This is one of those international initiatives: twelve countries, from the southern and northern hemispheres, from 5 continents.

• It outlines a way for each of the voluntarily participating

countries to monitor the sustainability of its forests (Temperate and Boreal Forests) .

• It defines criteria, or categories of conditions for sustainable forest management, as well as indicators, or measurable signs of those criteria.

• It has 7 Criteria and 67 Indicators.


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Sustainable Forest Management

Definition: Managing forests to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Activity 6 – Background - Vocabulary

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Indicators and criteria definition:

Criterion: A category of conditions or processes by which sustainable forest management may be assessed. A Criterion is characterized by a set of related indicators which are monitored periodically to assess change.

Indicator: A measure (measurement) of an aspect of the criterion. A quantitative or qualitative variable which can be measured or described and which, when observed periodically, demonstrates trends.


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Local communities: critical partners in forest sustainability

• International efforts toward sustainability help set the stage for how local forests are used.

• Local communities can be the most careful or the most careless stewards of forests.

• Poverty or the promise of short-term gains may motivate local people to overuse their forests. At the same time, local communities have a direct reliance on the forest and often a knowledge of the ecosystem that has evolved through time and close interaction with the forest.


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Ecosystem

The interacting system of a biological

community and its nonliving

environment; the place where

those interactions

occur.

Activity 6 – Background - Vocabulary

Image: http://www.fws.gov/invasives/volunteersTrainingModule/invasives/plants.html

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National Report on Sustainable Forests, 2003

• In 2003, the U.S. Department of Agriculture completed this report.

• It documents the state of its forests and the indicators of progress toward the goal of sustainable forest management.

• It uses the Montreal Process criteria as a basis for analysis.


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The Montreal Process laid the foundation for setting standards for the private sector and

non governmental organizations to develop programs to certify that forests

are well managed .


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Three NorthAmerican certification systems

These systems used the Montreal Process to design their systems:

1. American Tree Farm System (http://www.treefarmsystem.org/)

2. Canadian Standard’s Association (http://www.csa.ca/cm/home)

3. Sustainable Forestry Initiative(http://www.sfiprogram.org/)


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Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC)

http://www.pefc.org/

This is an additional umbrella program that endorses national and regional standards, and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), a global

certification system. http://www.fsc.org/


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All of these standards promote economic, environmental, and social values by including auditable requirements for a variety of issues including, protection of special biological and

cultural sites, management strategies to protect species at risk and wildlife habitat, sustainable

harvest levels, and prompt regeneration.


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Labels• Certification programs offer a

range of product and promotional labels that allow organizations to make claims associated with involvement in the program and in certain instances to make claims related to the certified content in the product they sell.

• This helps consumers identify and give preference to products from well managed forests.


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But still…

… only 10% of the world’s forests are certified.

According to the FAO's State of the World's Forests 2007:

"The problems are fairly straightforward: most deforestation in the tropics is caused by conversion to other land uses rather than by logging; certification is not cheap; and its successful implementation requires a solid institutional governance platform. Moreover, it is yet to be seen whether consumers are willing to pay more for certified products on a large scale."


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Doing the activity

Activity 6

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Now, time to work!

a. Break into 7 small groups.

b. Each group should list factors that influence whether you buy a particular product or not.

c. Categorize the factors into social, economic, and environmental factors.

Activity 1:

Activity 6 – Doing the activity

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Activity 2

Share some of the factors you included in each category.

• What did you experience as you categorized your factors?

• What made some factors easier or more difficult to categorize than others?

• Which category seems to have the most effect in terms of the items we buy?

• If we wanted to make sure that a certain product was available to us on a sustainable basis, what factors would we want to pay attention to?

• How are forest resources* similar to other products? Why might people want to ensure that forest resources are managed sustainably?

* Forest resources: an unprocessed, raw material (such as logs or mushrooms) derived from a forest ecosystem.


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Activity 3:

a. List things a country might do to ensure that its forests are managed sustainably.

b. How would the country know that these actions actually made a difference?

c. What indications would it have that the forests are more sustainable?


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a. Choose one of the actions listed and identify possible indications that this action increases sustainability.

b. Be as specific as possible and consider ecological, social, and economic indicators.

c. Use a graphic organizer for responses

Activity 4:


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Activity 5:

a. Read: “The History of Montreal Process” (pg 84-85)

b. In small groups examine one of the seven Montreal Process criteria

c. Take a copy of the Criteria and Indicator designated to your group.


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List of 7 criteriaCriterion 1 CONSERVATION OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

Criterion 2 MAINTENANCE OF PRODUCTIVE CAPACITY OF FORESTS

Criterion 3 MAINTENANCE OF FOREST ECOSYSTEM HEALTH AND VITALITY

Criterion 4 CONSERVATION AND MAINTENANCE OF SOIL AND WATER RESOURCES

Criterion 5 MAINTENANCE OF FOREST CONTRIBUTION TO GLOBAL CARBON CYCLES

Criterion 6 MAINTENANCE AND ENHANCEMENT OF LONG-TERM SOCIO-ECONOMIC BENEFITS

Criterion 7 LEGAL, INSTITUTIONAL AND ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK FOR FOREST CONSERVATION AND

SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT


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Activity 6:

Make a poster on your criterion including:

a. a description of the criterion

b. a list of its indicators

c. artwork and photos to explain at least three of the indicators.


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Consider the following:

i. How does this criterion relate to forest sustainability?

ii. How does it compare with the indicators your group came up with (in activity 4)?

iii. How well do the indicators measure this criterion?

iv. Is there anything missing?

v. Which indicators would be easy to measure, and which would be difficult?


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Activity 7: Presentation and discussion

a. What is the aim of the Montreal Process?

b. Why is it important?

c. What is included in the Montreal Process, and what is not included?

d. How does the Montreal Process (and other forest initiatives) help move the world’s forests toward sustainability?


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Activity 8: Talking to a representative

Our guest will talk about forest sustainability and about how it is measured in our area.

Consider the following:

a. Is forest sustainability a goal at the state or local level? If so, how is it defined? How is sustainability being measured and monitored?

b. What factors influence how a state or local agency manages forest sustainability?

c. Are people at the local level familiar with the Montreal Process? If so, how is it being used?

d. Is this person or agency involved in any international-related projects?


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Assessment

Write responses to the questions listed below:1. How does this criterion relate to forest

sustainability?2. How does it compare with the indicators

your group came up with (in step 4)?3. How well do the indicators measure this

criterion?4. Is there anything missing?5. Which indicators would be easy to measure,

and which would be difficult?

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Enrichment

Activity 6

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Montreal Process in another country or forest region

Track the Montreal Process in another country or forest region.

You might use the Internet or make phone calls to find out what is being done to further the process.

If the country or region you are investigating participates in a different international initiative, you can compare that one to the Montreal Process.

Activity 6 – Enrichment 1

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The History of the Montreal Process

Investigate how this and the other forest initiatives have affected international discussions on

environmental issues.

Activity 6 – Enrichment 2

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Forest Certification

a. Research and compare different certification systems in our country and abroad, including the basis and criteria of each system and the potential weaknesses or strengths.

b. Ask a variety of local business people whether they use, endorse, or oppose any of the systems and why.

Resource: • United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Forestry (http://www.fao.org/forestry).• American Tree Farm System Certification • (http://www.treefarmsystem.org); • Forest Stewardship Council • (http://www.fscus.org); • Sustainable Forestry Initiative• (http://www.aboutsfi.org); • International Standards Organization or ISO• (http://www.iso.org),

Activity 6 – Enrichment

It is promoted as a way to encourage sustainable forest management by certifying that certain forests have been managed or harvested under specific forestry

standards. Wood from these forests is labeled for consumers as being from a certified forest.

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Technology

a. The Montreal Process and other international initiatives require accurate data for monitoring forests so that changes can be identified and evaluated.

b. Explore technologies used by people as they monitor, manage, or use forest resources.

c. Begin a internet search with the following key words: forest monitoring, forest tools and wood technology.

Activity 6 – Enrichment - Technology

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Resource

• The Montreal Process http://www.mpci.org

• Country report: National Report on Sustainable Forests—2003, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, February 2004 http://www.fs.fed.us/research/sustain.

1 Global Connections: Forests of the World Activity 6 Seeking Sustainability: A Global Response.

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