Preface

The concept of forest sustainability dates from centuries ago, although the understanding of sustainable forest management (SFM) as an instrument that harmonizes ecological and socio-economic concerns is relatively new. The change in perspective occurred at the beginning of the 1990s in response to an increased awareness of the deterioration of the environment, in particular of the alarming loss of forest resources. The main and most striking cause of this deterioration is the deforestation occurring in some areas of the world. Nevertheless, deforestation is not the only reason for the environmental deterioration, since even in regions in which the forest area has increased, other ecological and socioeconomic functions of forests, such as biodiversity, regulation of water cycles, landscape, recreational functions, etc., have been undermined. In the face of such different conditions it is no wonder that a large number of criteria and indicators (C&I) are established in regional and international processes aimed at sustainable forest management.

The aim of this book is to gather together the experiences of different countries where SFM is being implemented. The book is divided into four sections, each corresponding to a different continent, and results from Africa, America, Asia and Europe are reported.

Four case studies are presented from the African continent. The chapter by Hermansen presents a case study from the forest reserve of Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania) where a catchment forest ecosystem mediating indicator was developed. The purpose of this instrument is to achieve a balance between nature and social values, in which the views of local people must be taken into consideration in the decision-making process. The author concludes that a system based only on measurable indicators does not meet the requirement for local participation and proposes the use of an open, conceptual, learning-oriented systems engineering approach. The paper by Mbatu combines the topic of SFM with that of climate change, and the author reports a case study comparing the current situations in Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The paper by Turyahabwe et al. concerns collaborative forest management (CFM) in Uganda and considers the benefits, implementation challenges and future directions. It gives a good description of the use of CFM in this part of Africa and provides very useful information for forest management in other parts of the world.

### XII Preface

The second section is focused on America and includes three papers from North and South America. Two case studies are presented from Brazil. Gomide et al. provide an overview of SFM in this country and present two case studies involving savanna and candeia forests, respectively. The authors conclude that sustainable management of the savanna and candeia forests can be economically viable, although several ways of increasing the profitability are proposed. The other case study was carried out by Lacerda et al. who examine some of the legal, social, economic and environmental issues related to the reduction in the forests in Southern Brazil and propose the implementation of a "locally adapted participatory sustainable forest management" system focusing on reducing both rural poverty and deforestation. These authors discuss two case studies involving participatory forest management in the south of Brazil. This study aims to deliver scientific expertise translated into practical solutions related to land use and participatory SFM, considering a landscape approach for both large and small properties. The study by Wei and Kimmins assesses whether or not two types of timber harvesting at various rotation lengths would have effects on biogeochemical and biomass that are within the natural range of variation caused by wildfire in Canada. The practical objective of this study was to identify management strategies that would sustain or improve long-term site productivity.

Preface XI

**Jorge Martín-García** 

**Julio Javier Diez** 

Spain

Spain

Sustainable Forest Management Research Institute,

Sustainable Forest Management Research Institute

Forestry Engineering, University of Extremadura, Plasencia

University of Valladolid – INIA. Palencia

University of Valladolid – INIA. Palencia

made in other regions. In the final paper, Hovardas reports an experience from a national forest park in Greece. The author presents a case study exemplifying how forest management can help rural development and biological conservation, although

These studies represent a wide variation of experiences from developing and developed countries, and should shed some light on the current status of SFM worldwide and the problems associated with its implementation. We thank all authors who submitted manuscripts for consideration for publication in this book. We also

new risk situations, such as fire and ecotourism, may arise.

thank the editorial team at Intech for their support and assistance.

Four studies carried out in Asia are presented. An experience from Bangladesh is reported by Muhammed et al., who review the root causes of the conflicts between the indigenous people and forest department with regard to land ownership or resource use, in a region of Bangladesh. The authors also describe the efforts invested in solving these conflicts and propose a model whereby all relevant parties must reach a final agreement under the premise that indigenous people and the migrant population must be equal importance. Implementation of this model may help to solve the conflict and achieve SFM in this region of Bangladesh. The paper by Stier et al. reports that a national set of C&I has not yet been finalized or accepted in Vietnam because of a lack of local consultation. The authors consider whether local perceptions differ from the national C&I in a district in northern Vietnam and whether they differ among different local communities according to different types of forest management. The authors conclude that a combination of expert consultations and local perceptions is required to ensure both scientific validity and the recognition of local values. The paper by Matsushita describes how Japanese forests are considered as an essential resource for agriculture, energy and daily life. The origin of the forest cooperative is described, and the authors report how a small number of people living in a specific area have carried out SFM by following local rules and excluding outsiders. Finally, Chartterjea consider the sustainability of an urban forest in a Nature Reserve in Singapore.

The final section includes two experiences from Europe. The first experience is from Spain, specifically Galicia, a region where fragmented ownership hinders SFM. The paper by Edward et al. describes the Galician SFM strategy framework, its evolution and implementation. The authors conclude by describing five lessons learned from the entire process, which may be useful as regards avoiding the same mistakes being made in other regions. In the final paper, Hovardas reports an experience from a national forest park in Greece. The author presents a case study exemplifying how forest management can help rural development and biological conservation, although new risk situations, such as fire and ecotourism, may arise.

X Preface

The second section is focused on America and includes three papers from North and South America. Two case studies are presented from Brazil. Gomide et al. provide an overview of SFM in this country and present two case studies involving savanna and candeia forests, respectively. The authors conclude that sustainable management of the savanna and candeia forests can be economically viable, although several ways of increasing the profitability are proposed. The other case study was carried out by Lacerda et al. who examine some of the legal, social, economic and environmental issues related to the reduction in the forests in Southern Brazil and propose the implementation of a "locally adapted participatory sustainable forest management" system focusing on reducing both rural poverty and deforestation. These authors discuss two case studies involving participatory forest management in the south of Brazil. This study aims to deliver scientific expertise translated into practical solutions related to land use and participatory SFM, considering a landscape approach for both large and small properties. The study by Wei and Kimmins assesses whether or not two types of timber harvesting at various rotation lengths would have effects on biogeochemical and biomass that are within the natural range of variation caused by wildfire in Canada. The practical objective of this study was to identify management

strategies that would sustain or improve long-term site productivity.

the sustainability of an urban forest in a Nature Reserve in Singapore.

The final section includes two experiences from Europe. The first experience is from Spain, specifically Galicia, a region where fragmented ownership hinders SFM. The paper by Edward et al. describes the Galician SFM strategy framework, its evolution and implementation. The authors conclude by describing five lessons learned from the entire process, which may be useful as regards avoiding the same mistakes being

Four studies carried out in Asia are presented. An experience from Bangladesh is reported by Muhammed et al., who review the root causes of the conflicts between the indigenous people and forest department with regard to land ownership or resource use, in a region of Bangladesh. The authors also describe the efforts invested in solving these conflicts and propose a model whereby all relevant parties must reach a final agreement under the premise that indigenous people and the migrant population must be equal importance. Implementation of this model may help to solve the conflict and achieve SFM in this region of Bangladesh. The paper by Stier et al. reports that a national set of C&I has not yet been finalized or accepted in Vietnam because of a lack of local consultation. The authors consider whether local perceptions differ from the national C&I in a district in northern Vietnam and whether they differ among different local communities according to different types of forest management. The authors conclude that a combination of expert consultations and local perceptions is required to ensure both scientific validity and the recognition of local values. The paper by Matsushita describes how Japanese forests are considered as an essential resource for agriculture, energy and daily life. The origin of the forest cooperative is described, and the authors report how a small number of people living in a specific area have carried out SFM by following local rules and excluding outsiders. Finally, Chartterjea consider These studies represent a wide variation of experiences from developing and developed countries, and should shed some light on the current status of SFM worldwide and the problems associated with its implementation. We thank all authors who submitted manuscripts for consideration for publication in this book. We also thank the editorial team at Intech for their support and assistance.

### **Jorge Martín-García**

Sustainable Forest Management Research Institute, University of Valladolid – INIA. Palencia Forestry Engineering, University of Extremadura, Plasencia Spain

### **Julio Javier Diez**

 Sustainable Forest Management Research Institute University of Valladolid – INIA. Palencia Spain

**Part 1** 

**Africa** 

**Part 1** 

**Africa** 

**1** 

*Norway* 

John Eilif Hermansen

**Methodology for Forest Ecosystem Mediating** 

Communication of ecological and environmental knowledge, values and concerns by means of indicators is widely accepted and adopted as a part of environmental management systems, results-oriented politics and international reporting, and benchmarking initiatives. Application of an indicator system is a normative course of action supported by different professional perspectives and parochial interests, struggling for resource control and ownership, investigation of business opportunities, and political interests. Development and selection of indicator systems is a natural extension of questions of justice and equity regarding resources, and should accordingly be conducted in an open, transparent and

The purpose of this work is to elaborate on the asymmetrical relationship between local and indigenous people dependent on their traditional rights to tropical forest habitation and those global interests who would intervene in their traditional understanding and use of the forest resources. Forest dwellers and native forest service users in developing countries may expect a large gap between their life world and the global actors. A methodology for devising a forest ecosystem indicator system intended to balance the asymmetry and re-allocate some of the knowledge power about the forest resources back to the local community, is

A framework for mediating ecological indicators is evolved in order to keep elements of global versus local interests, nature versus society and epistemology versus ontology together in one system. This construct is referred to as the *Balanced Ecosystem Mediation* 

The framework emerged during a case study of the catchment forest reserve at the southern slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. By using data from a plant ecological investigation of the forest (Hermansen et al., 2008b) an ideal typological indicator was developed to be used in the BEM-framework. The proposed indicator is generally referred to as the *Ecosystem Mediating Indicator (EMI)* and the *Forest Ecosystem Mediating Indicator (FEMI)* when applied on forest ecosystem services. Further, as an illustration of its application to the catchment forest reserve at Mt. Kilimanjaro, a special case is suggested called the *Catchment Forest Ecosystem* 

CFEMI is meant to be an equitable, and ecologically acceptable, instrument for building up a reservoir of transferable knowledge. CFEMI is designed for communication and management

consensus-based process in spirit of enlightenment and democratic traditions.

*Framework* (BEM-framework) (Hermansen, 2008, 2010).

**1. Introduction** 

suggested.

*Mediating Indicator (CFEMI)*.

**Indicator – Case Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania** 

*Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU, Trondheim* 
