scholarly journals Current status and future directions of traditional ecological knowledge in forest management: a review

2008 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne Cheveau ◽  
Louis Imbeau ◽  
Pierre Drapeau ◽  
Louis Bélanger

In the last 25 years, the number of published studies that refer to traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) has constantly increased, with now more than 200 papers published each year. The objective of this review was to determine how this knowledge is used in current forest management around the world, and how local communities are involved in forest management planning. Published papers from 1983 to 2005 relating to TEK were found using the ISI Web of Science database. Despite the growing amount of literature published on TEK, we found only 21 studies that specifically address forest management per se. In these studies, TEK integration took different paths: using traditional management rules as a framework (five studies), using value maps to adapt practices in time and space (three studies), or by a zoning process that divides the land into areas in which different land uses are emphasized (six studies). Some community involvements are “active” with co-management committees composed of stakeholders (including community members), each having a voice; some are “passive” with external managers using criteria and indicators previously developed from community values and objectives. Although important changes in mentality and firm political decisions are still required before more efficient partnership between TEK and western science is reached in forest management planning, our review showed that Canadian initiatives proposed promising processes that could ensure better TEK incorporation and improved community participation. Key words: traditional ecological knowledge, TEK, sustainable forest management, community participation, first nations, forest management planning

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 436-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Robson ◽  
Troy Davis

The purpose of the paper is to analyse the extent of policy change and learning in the 20 years following the implementation of Ontario’s forest sustainability legislation. Extent of policy learning and change towards sustainable forest management are measured using a combination of content, co-occurrence, and textual analysis of the previous Crown Timber Act and the new Crown Forest Sustainability Act, as well as the latter’s 1996 and 2009 forest planning manuals. There were four key findings. First, policy change towards sustainable forest management has been limited. Second, although there was an increased number of values mentioned in new legislation and planning manuals, the frequency of timber values remained dominant. Third, although integration occurred among a greater range of values, integration with timber values continued to dominate. Fourth, with respect to policy learning, the achievement of sustainable forest management is now explicit and judged based on evidence regarding the inclusion of a range of values beyond timber. The paper concludes that the transition to the more integrative and responsive policies of sustainable forest management remains a work in progress.


Author(s):  
Andr Eduardo Biscaia de Lacerda ◽  
Maria Augusta Doetzer Rosot ◽  
Afonso Figueiredo ◽  
Marilice Cordeiro ◽  
Evelyn Roberta ◽  
...  

2006 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 512-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Lee ◽  
Shashi Kant

With the recent involvement of a greater diversity of groups working in forest management planning, the identification and understanding of people's forest values and their perceptions of one another's values may be a promising approach to sustainable forest management. This study identifies and analyzes the forest values and perceptions of the members of four groups, Aboriginal People, Environmental Non-Government Organizations (ENGOs), the forest industry, and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR), in northwestern Ontario. Conceptual Content Cognitive Mapping (3CM) was used to identify people's forest values and perceptions and dominant forest value themes were created using hierarchical clustering. Inter-group and intra-group similarities and differences among the rankings of participants' forest values and their perceptions were determined through various non-parametric statistical tests. Participants' perceptions about each group were generally similar, which included the two most prominent themes to be similar across all participants' perceptions of each group. Although the perceptions for a particular group were similar across the participant groups, they differed substantially with that participant group's personal ranking of the forest value themes. Key words: forest values, perceptions, stakeholders, cognitive mapping, sustainable forest management, collaborative decision-making


2001 ◽  
Vol 77 (6) ◽  
pp. 998-1005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Tittler ◽  
Christian Messier ◽  
Philip J. Burton

In keeping with international efforts to encourage sustainable forest management, new legislation, regulations, and certification criteria have been brought into effect across boreal regions of the world in the past decade or less. These initiatives have established hierarchical systems of forest management planning that consider multiple uses of the forest and various aspects of sustainable forest management at different scales. We describe the systems established in Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia, Russia, Finland, and Sweden. Most jurisdictions employ some form of three-level planning framework, in which strategic, tactical, and operational plans and considerations are presented with successively greater detail and spatial explicitness. However, planning scales and time horizons vary considerably, as does the level of consideration given to biodiversity and social concerns. We examine these systems in the context of sustainable forest management, raising a number of questions to be addressed in future research, adaptive management, and policy reform. In particular, we note (1) a need of new landscape and regional planning tools to evaluate the long-term and large-scale impacts of various land uses and (2) a general lack of responsiveness to global carbon and climate change concerns. Key words: forest management planning, sustainable forest management, boreal forest, forest policy, planning hierarchies, hierarchical planning


2002 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 833-836 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah McGregor

Forests continue to play a critical part in the spiritual and cultural life of Aboriginal people. In turn, Aboriginal people are striving to revitalize their role in maintaining a healthy relationship with these ecosystems. In Canada, the past two centuries have seen Aboriginal people largely excluded from forest management activities. This has begun to gradually change due to ongoing Aboriginal efforts in the courts as well as to national and international recognition of the potential contribution of Indigenous Knowledge to sustainable forest management. Such change is bringing about new opportunities for the meaningful involvement of Aboriginal people and Indigenous Knowledge in sustainable forest management activities. The increasing participation of Aboriginal people in sustainable forest management is both called for and reflected in various forest policies, practices and programs in Canada. While this represents a positive development, the degree and type of Aboriginal involvement called for have thus far generally been unsatisfactory from an Aboriginal perspective. Interviews conducted with both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal participants in Ontario's new forest management planning process indicate that this recently developed process has nonetheless yielded some hopeful results in terms of Aboriginal involvement in certain instances. It was found that both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal interview respondents most often described the Aboriginal consultation process to be a success where control over the nature and methods of sharing of information was relinquished to the participating Aboriginal communities. Contexts and implications of these findings are briefly discussed. Key words: Traditional ecological knowledge, native values mapping, Aboriginal forestry, sustainable communities


2021 ◽  
pp. 59-105
Author(s):  
M. del Río ◽  
H. Pretzsch ◽  
A. Bončina ◽  
A. Avdagić ◽  
K. Bielak ◽  
...  

AbstractThis chapter addresses the concepts and methods to assess quantitative indicators of Climate-Smart Forestry (CSF) at stand and management unit levels. First, the basic concepts for developing a framework for assessing CSF were reviewed. The suitable properties of indicators and methods for normalization, weighting, and aggregation were summarized. The proposed conceptual approach considers the CSF assessment as an adaptive learning process, which integrates scientific knowledge and participatory approaches. Then, climate smart indicators were applied on long-term experimental plots to assess CSF of spruce-fir-beech mixed mountain forest. Redundancy and trade-offs between indicators, as well as their sensitivity to management regimes, were analyzed with the aim of improving the practicability of indicators. At the management unit level, the roles of indicators in the different phases of forest management planning were reviewed. A set of 56 indicators were used to assess their importance for management planning in four European countries. The results indicated that the most relevant indicators differed from the set of Pan-European indicators of sustainable forest management. Finally, we discussed results obtained and future challenges, including the following: (i) how to strengthen indicator selections and CSF assessment at stand level, (ii) the potential integration of CSF indicators into silvicultural guidelines, and (iii) the main challenges for integrating indicators into climate-smart forest planning.


2008 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laird Van Damme ◽  
Peter N Duinker ◽  
Dennis Quintilio

Research from scientists embedded within Millar Western’s forest management planning process over the last 14 years was enabled by strong corporate leadership, cooperation by Alberta’s Ministry of Sustainable Resource Development, and funding by the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta. Results of the supporting research are described in the articles that follow and are important contributions to Canada’s commitment to sustainable forest management (SFM). The process is as noteworthy as the results and is the subject of this paper. When scientists and practitioners work closely together in developing a forest management plan, as they have in this case, there is a much greater opportunity for science-based emergent strategies to be created and applied through the personal interactions among scientists and practitioners. For example, input from the science-based collaborators influenced the harvest schedule in the detailed forest management plan to minimize negative effects on water flow, biodiversity and fire risk. This approach to SFM is one of many being developed in Alberta. The diversity of input has clear benefits, not the least of which is the maintenance of innovation and intellectual enterprise in support of SFM. Key words: forest management planning, forest science, innovation, Alberta, biodiversity, timber supply, guidelines


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