Criteria and indicators for sustainable forestry under Mediterranean conditions applicable in Spain at the forest management unit scale
Abstract
Aim of study: to identify criteria and indicators (C&I) of sustainable forest management (SFM) under Mediterranean conditions. The indicators are meant to monitor changes in the provision of ecosystem services at a local scale (forest management unit, FMU). We support that if a forest provides a bundle of ecosystem services its management can be considered sustainable; thus, we adjust C&I to an ecosystem services classification.
Area of study: La Hunde y La Palomera, a public FMU in the region of Valencia (east of Spain), 100km southwest of the city of Valencia.
Material and methods: first, a literature review of the following themes took part: SFM, features of Mediterranean forests, ecosystem services and C&I. Some C&I were proposed and, later on, a participatory process in Ayora, the municipality where the mentioned FMU is located, was carried out with different stakeholders (forestry professionals, users for recreation, hunters, environmentalists and professionals of cultural and rural development activities) in order for them to value the C&I proposed according to their management preferences for La Hunde y La Palomera.
Research highlights:
- 15 criteria and 133 indicators were identified: a balance has been achieved among economic, social and ecological concerns.
- People value the ecological issues associated to forestry on top and the economic ones at the bottom.
- Results suggest that SFM under Mediterranean conditions is based on more than one product and on the provision of several ecosystem services.
Keywords: Sustainable forest management; ecosystem services; local scale, literature review, participation.
Downloads
References
References
AENOR, 2007a. Gestión forestal sostenible. Criterios e indicadores. Parte 1: Genéricos para la unidad de gestión. Norma: UNE162002-1. Asociación Española de Normalización y Certificación: pp. 18. Madrid, Spain.
AENOR, 2007b. Gestión forestal sostenible. Criterios e indicadores. Parte 2: Complementarios para la evaluación a escala regional. Norma: UNE162002-2. Asociación Española de Normalización y Certificación, pp. 18. Madrid, Spain.
ATO/ITTO, 2003. ATO/ITTO principles, criteria and indicators for the sustainable management of African natural tropical forests. African Timber Organisation and International Tropical Timber Organisation, pp. 27.
Ayala FJ, Olcina J, Laín L, González A, 2006. Riesgos naturales y desarrollo sostenible: impacto, predicción y mitigación. Instituto Geológico y Minero de España. Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia. Madrid, Spain.
Barbati A, Corona P, Marchetti M, 2007. A forest typology for monitoring sustainable forest management: the case of European forest types. Plant Biosystems 1: 93-103. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/11263500601153842
Blackstock KL, Kelly GJ, Horsey BL, 2007. Developing and applying a framework to evaluate participatory research for sustainability. Ecological Economics 60: 726-742. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2006.05.014
Castañeda F, 2000. Criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management: international processes, current status and the way ahead. Unasylva 203 (51): 34-40.
Chiabai A, Travisi CM, Markandya A, Ding H, Nunes PALD, 2011. Economic assessment of forest ecosystem services losses: cost of policy inaction. Environ Resource Econ 50: 405-455. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10640-011-9478-6
Commonwealth of Australia, 1998. A framework of regional (sub-national) level criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management in Australia. Montréal Process Framework of Regional Indicators. Commonwealth of Australia. 120 pp.
Costanza R, d'Arge R, de Groot R, Farber S, Grasso M, Hannon B, Limburg K, Naeem S, O'Neill RV, Paruelo J, Raskin RG, Sutton P, van den Belt M, 1997. The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature 387: 253-260. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/387253a0
de Groot RS, Wilson MA, Boumans RMJ, 2002 A typology for the classification, description and valuation of ecosystem functions, goods and services. Ecological Economics 41: 393-408. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0921-8009(02)00089-7
de Groot RS, Fisher B, Christie M, Aronson J, Braat L, Haines-Young RH, Gowdy J, Killeen T, Maltby E, Neuville A, Polasky S, Portela R, Ring I, 2010. Integrating the ecological and economic dimensions in biodiversity and ecosystem service valuation. Chapter 1 of The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study.
Deshler WO, 1979. Una guía para la aplicación del concepto de uso múltiple. Documento Técnico de Trabajo nº 1. Proyecto FAO/RLAT/TF. Santiago de Chile, Chile.
EC, 1992. Council Directive 92/43/EEC, of 21 May 1992, on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora. European Council. Brussels, Belgium. Official Journal of the European Communities L 206 of 22 July 1992.
EC, 2000. European Landscape Convention. European Council. Florence, Italy. European Treaty Series 176.
EFI, 2010. A Mediterranean Forest Research Agenda 2010-2020 – MFRA. European Forest Institute, Regional Mediterranean Office (EFIMED). Barcelona, Spain.
Eriksson L, Lindhagen A, 2001. A model indicating effects of multipurpose use of forestry on stand level. In: Franc A, Laroussinie O, Karjalainen T (Eds.), Criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management at the forest management unit level. European Forest Institute. EFI Proceedings Nº38, 21-25 March 2000, Nancy (France), pp. 247-260.
EU, 2010. Invasive alien species. Nature and Biodiversity. KH-78-09-558-EN-D. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/pubs/pdf/factsheets/Invasive%20Alien%20Species/Invasive_Alien_EN.pdf
EUROQUALITY, ASEMFO, 2002. Manual para la asistencia técnica en prevención de riesgos laborales. Sector forestal. European Quality Assurance, Asociación Nacional de Empresas Forestales. Madrid, Spain.
Fabbio G, Merlo M, Tosi V, 2003. Silvicultural management in maintaining biodiversity and resistance of forests in Europe – the Mediterranean region. Journal of Environmental Management 67: 67-76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0301-4797(02)00189-5
FAO, 1997. Results of the FAO-CCAB-AP experts' meeting on criteria and indicators on sustainable forest management for Central America. Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
FAO, 1999. Practical guidelines for the implementation of criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management in the Near East Region. United Nations Environment Program, Near East Regional Office. El Cairo, Egypt.
FAO, 2002. Captura de carbono en los suelos para un mejor manejo de la tierra. United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation. Rome, Italy. Informe sobre recursos mundiales de suelos 96. Available at: ftp://ftp.fao.org/agl/agll/docs/wsrr96s.pdf
FAO, 2005. Optimización de la humedad del suelo para la producción vegetal. El significado de la porosidad del suelo. Servicio de Manejo de las Tierras y de la Nutrición de las Plantas. United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation. Rome, Italy. Boletín de Suelos de la FAO 79. Available at: ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/008/y4690s/y4690s00.pdf
FAO, 2006. Global forest resources assessment 2005 – Progress towards sustainable forest management. FAO Forestry paper 147.
Generalitat Valenciana, 1993. Ley 3/1993, de 9 de diciembre, forestal de la Comunidad Valenciana. Valencia, Spain. Diario Oficial de la Generalitat Valenciana, de 21 de diciembre, nº 2168.
Generalitat Valenciana, 2004. Decreto 32/2004, de 27 de febrero, del Consell de la Generalitat, por el que se crea y regula el Catálogo Valenciano de Especies de Fauna Amenazadas, y se establecen categorías y normas para su protección. Conselleria de Territori i Habitatge. Valencia, Spain. Diario Oficial de la Generalitat Valenciana, de 4 de marzo, nº 4705.
Generalitat Valenciana, 2009. Decreto 70/2009, de 22 de mayo, del Consell, por el que se crea y regula el Catálogo Valenciano de Especies de Flora Amenazadas y se regulan medidas adicionales de conservación. Conselleria de Medi Ambient, Aigua, Urbanisme i Habitatge. Valencia, Spain. Diario Oficial de la Generalitat Valenciana, de 26 de mayo, nº 6021.
Generalitat Valenciana, 2010. Pago por servicios ambientales. Una introducción. Conselleria de Medi Ambient, Aigua Urbanisme i Habitatge. Generalitat Valenciana, pp. 16. Valencia, Spain.
Generalitat Valenciana, 2011a. Versión preliminar del Plan de Acción Territorial Forestal de la Comunidad Valenciana (PATFOR). Conselleria de Medi Ambient, Aigua Urbanisme i Habitatge. Generalitat Valenciana, pp. 533. Valencia, Spain.
Generalitat Valenciana, 2011b. Programa valenciano de conservación de recursos genéticos forestales 2011-2020. ECOGEN. Conselleria de Infraestructuras, Territorio y Medio Ambiente. Valencia, Spain.
Gobierno de España, 1985. Ley 16/1985, de 25 de junio, del patrimonio histórico español. Madrid, Spain. Boletín Oficial del Estado, de 29 de junio de 1985, nº 155.
Gobierno de España, 2001. Real Decreto Legislativo 1/2001, de 20 de julio, por el que se aprueba el texto refundido de la ley de aguas. Madrid, Spain. Boletín Oficial del Estado, de 24 de julio de 2001, nº 176.
Gobierno de España, 2002. Plan Forestal Español. Dirección General de Conservación de la Naturaleza. Ministerio de Medio Ambiente. Madrid, Spain.
Gobierno de España, 2003. Ley 43/2003, de 21 de noviembre, de montes. Madrid, Spain. Boletín Oficial del Estado, de 22 de noviembre de 2003, nº 280.
Gobierno de España, 2006. Trabajos forestales. Comisión Nacional de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo. Ministerio de Empleo y Seguridad Social. Madrid, Spain.
Gobierno de España, 2007. Ley 42/2007, de 13 de diciembre, del patrimonio natural y de la biodiversidad. Madrid, Spain. Boletín Oficial del Estado, de 14 de diciembre de 2007, nº 299.
Gobierno de España, 2011. Real Decreto 139/2011, de 4 de febrero, para el desarrollo del Listado de Especies Silvestres en Régimen de Protección Especial y del Catálogo Español de Especies Amenazadas. Madrid, Spain. Boletín Oficial del Estado, de 23 de febrero de 2011, nº 46.
Gómez-Orea, D., 2002. Evaluación de impacto ambiental. Mundi-Prensa. Madrid, Spain.
Gough AD, Innes JL, Allen SD, 2008. Development of common indicators of sustainable forest management. Ecological Indicators 8: 425-430. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2007.03.001
GTC-FSC, 2007. Estándares españoles de gestión forestal para la certificación FSC. Grupo de trabajo español para la certificación FSC, pp. 98. Madrid, Spain.
ILO, 1998. ILO code of practice: safety and health in forestry work. International Labour Organisation. Geneva, Switzerland.
ILO, 2005. Guidelines for labour inspection in forestry. International Labour Organisation. Geneva, Switzerland. MELIF/2005/8.
International expert meeting on monitoring, assessment and reporting on the progress towards sustainable forest management, 2001. Tarapoto Process on the Amazon forest's sustainability criteria and indicators, pp 16. Yokohama, Japan.
ITTO, 2005. Revised ITTO criteria and indicators for the sustainable management of tropical forests including a report template. International Tropical Timber Organisation, pp. 41.
Kotwal PC, Omprakash MD, Gairola S, Dugaya D, 2008. Ecological indicators: imperative to sustainable forest management. Ecological Indicators 8: 104-107. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2007.01.004
Kurka T, Blackwood D, 2013. Participatory selection of sustainability criteria and indicators for bioenergy developments. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 24: 92-102. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2013.03.062
MA (MILLENNIUM ECOSYSTEM ASSESSMENT), 2005. Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Synthesis. Island Press. Washington DC, pp. 137. United States.
Mackay E, 1949. Fundamentos y métodos de la ordenación de montes. Segunda parte: ordenación técnica, condiciones de aplicación, inventario dasocrático, métodos de ordenación. Escuela Especial de Ingenieros de Montes. Madrid, Spain.
Madrigal A, 2003. Ordenación de montes arbolados. Dirección General de Conservación de la Naturaleza. MARM. Madrid, Spain.
Maes WH, Fontaine M, Rongé K, Hermy M, Muys B, 2011. A quantitative indicator framework for stand level evaluation and monitoring of environmentally sustainable forest management. Ecological Indicators 11: 468-479. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2010.07.001
MARM, 2008. Anuario de estadística forestal 2008. Dirección General de Medio Natural y Política Forestal. Madrid, Spain.
MARM, 2010. Evaluación de los recursos forestales mundiales 2010. Informe nacional, España. Dirección General de Medio Natural y Política Forestal. Madrid, Spain.
Maroto C, Segura M, Ginestar C, Uriol J, Segura B, 2013. Sustainable forest management in a Mediterranean region: social preferences. Forest Systems 22(3): 546-558. http://dx.doi.org/10.5424/fs/2013223-04135
Marraco S, 2004. Gestión forestal sostenible: retos y dificultades. 7ª edición del Congreso Nacional de Medio Ambiente (CONAMA VII). Madrid, Spain.
Mendoza GA, Prabhu R, 2000. Multiple criteria decision making approaches to assessing forest sustainability using criteria and indicators: a case study. For Ecol Manage 131: 107-126.
Menzel S, Nordström EM, Buchecker M, Marques A, Saarikoski H, Kangas A, 2012. Decision support systems in forest management: requirements from a participatory planning perspective. Eur J Forest Res. 131: 1367-1379. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10342-012-0604-y
MMA, 1999. Estrategia Forestal Española. Dirección General de Conservación de la Naturaleza. Madrid, Spain.
Montréal Process, 2007. Criteria and indicators for the conservation and sustainable management of temperate and boreal forests. Annex F. Third Edition. The Montréal Process, pp. 12.
Moote MA, McClaran MP, Chickering DK, 1997. Theory in practice: applying participatory democracy theory to public land planning. Environ Manage 21: 877-889. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s002679900074
Mrosek T, Balsillie D, 2001. Development and testing of a criteria and indicator system for sustainable forest management at the forest management unit level: case study at the Haliburton Forest and Wild Life Reserve Ltd., Ontario, Canada. In: Franc A, Laroussinie O, Karjalainen T (Eds.), Criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management at the forest management unit level. European Forest Institute. EFI Proceedings Nº38, 21-25 March 2000, Nancy (France), pp. 247-260.
Mrosek T, Balsillie D, Schleifenbaum P, 2006. Field testing of a criteria and indicator system for sustainable forest management at the local level. Case study results concerning the sustainability of the private forest Haliburton Forest and Wild Life Reserve in Ontario, Canada. Forest Pol Econom 8: 593-609. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2004.11.002
Osem Y, Ginsberg P, Tauber I, Atzmon N, Perevolotsky A, 2008. Sustainable management of Mediterranean planted coniferous forests: an Israeli definition. Journal of Forestry, January/February 2008: 38-46.
Pemán J, Navarro R, 1998. Repoblaciones forestales. Edicions de la Universitat de Lleida. Lérida, Spain.
Plana E, Meya D, 1999. La certificación forestal como instrumento de política forestal, hacia una gestión sostenible de los bosques. IV Forum de Política Forestal (conference). Centre Tecnològic Forestal de Catalunya. Solsona, Spain.
Pokharel RK, Larsen HO, 2007. Local vs. official criteria and indicators for evaluating community forest management. Forestry 80(2): 183-192. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/forestry/cpm005
Pokorny B, Adams M, 2003. What do criteria and indicators assess? An analysis of five C&I sets relevant for forest management in the Brazilian Amazon. Internat Forest Rev 5(1): 20-28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1505/IFOR.5.1.20.17434
Quine CP, Bailey SA, Watts K, 2013. The UK National Ecosystem Assessment: a practitioner's perspective. Sustainable forest management in a time of ecosystem services frameworks: common ground and consequences. J Appl Ecol 50: 863-867. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12068
Rodriguez-Piñeros S, Lewis DK, 2013. Analysis and deliberation as a mechanism to assess changes in preferences for indicators of sustainable forest management: a case study in Puebla, Mexico. J Environ Manage 128: 52-61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2013.04.051
Rowe G, Frewer LJ, 2000. Public participation methods: a framework for evaluation. Sci, Technol Human Values 25(1): 3-29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/016224390002500101
Ruano JR, 2003. Viveros forestales. Manual de cultivo y proyectos. Ediciones Mundi-Prensa. Madrid, Spain.
Scarascia-Mugnozza G, Oswald H, Piussi P, Radoglou K, 2000. Forests of the Mediterranean region: gaps in knowledge and research needs. For Ecol Manage 132: 97-109.
SFI, 2010. Requirements for the SFI 2010-2014 Program. The Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc, pp. 119.
Thompson I, 2011. Biodiversidad, umbrales ecosistémicos, resiliencia y degradación forestal. Unasylva 238 62 (2): 25-30.
Tolosana E, Ambrosio Y, Vignote S, 2004. Aspectos económicos de la certificación forestal, particularidades del sector (Parte I). Revista del Colegio de Ingenieros de Montes 77: 33-35.
Tuler S, Webler T, 1999. Voices from the forest: what participants expect of a public participation process. Soc Nat Resource 12(5): 437-453. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/089419299279524
UN, 2010. Proposal for a Common International Classification of Ecosystem Goods and Services (CICES) for Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting. Fifth Meeting of the United Nations Committee of Environmental-Economic Accounting. Department of Economic and Social Affairs. pp. 30. New York.
UNCED, 1992. Non-legally binding authoritative statement of principles for a global consensus on the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests. United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
UNDP/FAO/SADC, 1999. Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management in SADC countries within the Framework of the Dry-Zone Africa Process. Meeting between the United Nations Development Program, the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the South African Development Community, pp. 8. Lilongwe, Malawi.
Valls P, Jakesová L, Vallés M, Galiana F, 2012. Sustainability of Mediterranean Spanish Forest Management through Stakeholder Views. European Countryside 4/2012: 269-282.
Varma VK, Ferguson I, Wild I, 2000. Decision support system for the sustainable forest management. For Ecol Manage 128: 49-55.
Wijewardana D, 2008. Criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management: the road travelled and the way ahead. Ecological Indicators 8: 115-122. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2006.11.003
© CSIC. Manuscripts published in both the printed and online versions of this Journal are the property of Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, and quoting this source is a requirement for any partial or full reproduction.
All contents of this electronic edition, except where otherwise noted, are distributed under a “Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International” (CC BY 4.0) License. You may read here the basic information and the legal text of the license. The indication of the CC BY 4.0 License must be expressly stated in this way when necessary.
Self-archiving in repositories, personal webpages or similar, of any version other than the published by the Editor, is not allowed.
