scholarly journals Local-level criteria and indicators: an Aboriginal perspective on sustainable forest management

2005 ◽  
Vol 78 (5) ◽  
pp. 513-539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin Sherry ◽  
Regine Halseth ◽  
Gail Fondahl ◽  
Melanie Karjala ◽  
Beverly Leon
2011 ◽  
Vol 87 (03) ◽  
pp. 358-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.-C. Adam ◽  
D. Kneeshaw

Developed in the 1990s, the process of criteria and indicators (C&I) has been used to conceptualize, evaluate and implement sustainable forest management (SFM). However, to assess their effectiveness we explore whether their use in management leads to changes, especially at the local level in Aboriginal communities. More specifically, can C&I justify Aboriginal use of C&I? Since local-level C&I are a recent initiative, the effectiveness of the C&I process in assessing progress towards SFM was assessed via interviews with experts associated with the development of local-level Aboriginal C&I frameworks in Canada on use, integration and needs of Aboriginal communities for C&I. Our results suggest that C&I in Aboriginal communities are considered to be “just another reference point” because: 1) Aboriginal objectives are maintained at arm's length from the forest management process; 2) the use of C&I as a negotiating tool has not been sufficient to culturally adapt forest management for Aboriginal values and objectives and 3) Aboriginal values have been restricted to the elaboration of C&I and the Aboriginal definition of SFM, but they are not part of the evaluation nor the implementation of SFM. In contrast to the forest industry, Aboriginal communities identified the following objectives as motivation for using C&I: Aboriginal representation, Aboriginal engagement, capacity building and empowerment. Without explicitly acknowledging these Aboriginal community objectives, C&I becomes a tool restricted primarily to forest managers and thus sustainable forest management becomes unattainable. In effect, the underlying issue is not C&I in themselves but the limited role Aboriginal communities have been allowed to have in the SFM process.


2005 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-386
Author(s):  
S. Denise Allen

This article discusses collaborative research with the Office of the Wet'suwet'en Nation on their traditional territories in north-central British Columbia, Canada, a forest-dependent region where contemporary and traditional forest resources management regimes overlap. In-depth personal interviews with the hereditary chiefs and concept mapping were used to identify social-ecological linkages in Wet'suwet'en culture to inform the development of culturally sensitive social criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management (SFM) in this region. The preliminary results demonstrate how the CatPac II software tool can be applied to identify key component concepts and linkages in local definitions of SFM, and translate large volumes of (oral) qualitative data into manageable information resources for forest managers and decision-makers. Key words: social criteria and indicators, sustainable forest management, qualitative research, Wet'suwet'en


2011 ◽  
Vol 87 (04) ◽  
pp. 488-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Duinker

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.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry A. Fisher ◽  
Yeon-Su Kim ◽  
Sitti Latifah ◽  
Madani Mukarom

Recent expansion of the forestry and plantation sectors in Indonesia has intensified agrarian and natural resource conflicts, and created increased awareness of the social, economic and environmental impacts of these disputes. Addressing these disputes is a critical issue in advancing Indonesia’s commitment to sustainable forest management.  The Forest Management Units (Kesatuan Pengelolaan Hutan, or KPH), have become the pivotal structural element for managing all state forests at the local level, with responsibility for conventional forest management and policy implementation (establishing management boundaries, conducting forest inventory, and developing forest management plans), as well as the legal mandate to communicate and work with indigenous people and local communities.  This paper presents the results of a national survey of all currently functioning KPH units, the first of its kind ever conducted with KPH leadership, to obtain a system-wide perspective of the KPHs’ role, mandate, and capacity for serving as effective intermediaries in managing forest conflicts in Indonesia. The survey results show that the KPHs are still in a very initial stage of development, and are struggling with a complex and rapidly evolving policy and institutional framework. The most common conflicts noted by respondents included forest encroachment, tenure disputes, boundary conflicts, and illegal logging and land clearing.  KPH leadership views conflict resolution as among their primary duties and functions, and underscored the importance of more proactive and collaborative approaches for addressing conflict, many seeing themselves as capable facilitators and mediators. Overall, these results juxtapose a generally constructive view by KPH leadership over their role and responsibility in addressing forest management conflicts, with an extremely challenging social, institutional, and political setting. The KPHs can certainly play an important role as local intermediaries, and in some cases, as facilitative mediators in resolving local conflicts, but only with a more concerted effort from central and provincial government authorities to provide greater consistency in policies and regulations, improved policy communication, and a sustained commitment to strengthening the capacity of individual KPHs. 


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