Tag: assessment
Assessing the sustainability of timber harvests from natural forests: limitations of indices based on successive harvests
The concepts of sustainable original harvest (SOH) and sustainable disturbance harvest (SDH), and simple indices such as the ratio of successive harvests do not provide a reliable indication of the sustainability of a harvest. Some limitations of these concepts are illustrated in the context of selection harvesting of timber from natural forests. Four models are used to demonstrate that maintaining an SOH or SDH indicates little about the long-term sustainability of a timber harvest. The concepts may offer greater utility in evenaged systems harvested by clear-felling, but still suffer the limitation that many factors may mask any change in site productivity. Any measure of sustainability should include an appraisal of the condition and vitality of the residual resource. Simple indices based on successive harvests do not consider the residual stand, and can be misleading.
Assessing the opportunities for smallholders to combine pulpwood trees and food crops
Assessing the quality of permanent sample plot databases for growth modelling in forest plantations
Informed plantation management requires a good database, since the quality of information depends on the quality of data, growth models and other planning tools. There are several important questions concerning permanent plots: how many plots, where to put them, and how to manage them. Plot measurement procedures are also important. This paper illustrates graphical procedures to evaluate existing databases, to identify areas of weakness, and to plan remedial sampling. Two graphs, one of site index versus age, another with stocking versus tree size, may provide a good summary of the site and stand conditions represented in the database. However, it is important that these variables, especially site index, can be determined reliably. Where there is doubt about the efficacy of site index estimates, it is prudent to stratify the database according to geography, soil/geology or yield level (total basal area or volume production). Established permanent plot systems may sample a limited range of stand conditions, and clinal designs are an efficient way to supplement such data to provide a better basis for silvicultural inference. Procedures are illustrated with three data sets: teak plantations in Burma, Norway spruce in Denmark, and a clinal spacing experiment in India.
Growth Performance of Tamanu (Calophyllum inophyllum L.) in Relation to Peatland Restoration in South Sumatra and Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
Peatlands store approximately 30% of global terrestrial carbon, and tropical peatlands contribute 10%–30% of the total peatland carbon storage. Indonesia holds approximately 15% of this resource. Given the rapid degradation of these ecosystems, the Indonesian government has promoted revegetation, identifying Calophyllum inophyllum L. (Tamanu) as a promising restoration species. However, long-term studies on Tamanu performance and optimal environmental conditions in actual peatland settings are lacking. This study aimed to identify the environmental characteristics conducive to Tamanu growth. We planted Tamanu at Perigi in South Sumatra and Buntoi in Central Kalimantan and monitored its growth over a five-year period. We assessed the soil properties and hydrological conditions at both sites. Results revealed that Tamanu trees at the Perigi site, with higher soil nutrient levels, initially exhibited greater root collar diameter, height, and stem volume compared to those at Buntoi. However, prolonged flooding in Perigi caused complete mortality at 60 months. In contrast, despite lower soil nutrient levels, the Buntoi site maintained a survival rate of 52% because of the more stable water levels. These findings suggest that hydrological management is more critical than soil nutrient conditions for the long-term survival of Tamanu in tropical peatlands, informing effective peatland restoration strategies.
Guidelines for applying multi-criteria analysis to the assessment of criteria and indicators
Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) is a decision-making tool developed for complex problems. In a situation where multiple criteria are involved confusion can arise if a logical, well-structured decision-making process is not followed. Another difficulty in decision making is that reaching a general consensus in a multidisciplinary team can be very difficult to achieve. By using MCA the members don’t have to agree on the relative importance of the Criteria or the rankings of the alternatives. Each member enters his or her own judgements, and makes a distinct, identifiable contribution to a jointly reached conclusion. This manual is written for an audience that needs a clear, easy to follow manual that can be used in the field to implement MCA. The information is structured so that the reader is first introduced to the general concepts involved before dwelving into the more specific applications of Multi Criteria Analysis. The manual reviews the conceptual framework of C&I and introduces the theoretical basis of MCA, and methods such as ranking, rating and pairwise comparisons in the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). It provides an example of how MCA can be applied to C&I in a Forest Certification context both from a ‘top-down’ perspective as well as in a more ‘bottom-up’ context.
An operational model for implementing conservation action
The preoccupation of many conservation planners with the refinement of systematic assessment techniques has manifested an “implementation crisis” in conservation planning. This preoccupation has provided systematic assessments with well-tested tools (e.g., area selection algorithms) and principles (e.g., representation, complementarity), but our understanding of these techniques currently far exceeds our ability to apply them effectively to pragmatic conservation problems. The science is informative about where one needs to do conservation, but silent on how to achieve it. Operational models, defined as simplified conceptualizations of processes for implementing conservation action at priority conservation areas, are essential for guiding conservation planning initiatives because they assist understanding of how these processes function. Operational models developed to date have largely been linear, simplistic, and focused on the systematic assessment of biological entities. Experience in the real world indicates that operational models for conducting conservation planning initiatives should explicitly complement a systematic conservation assessment with activities that empower individuals and institutions (enabling) and explicitly aim to secure conservation action (implementation). Specifically, implementing effective conservation action requires that systematic assessments be integrated functionally with a process for developing an implementation strategy and processes for stakeholder collaboration while maintaining a broad focus on the implementation of conservation action. A suite of hallmarks define effective operational models (e.g., stakeholder collaboration, links with land-use planning, social learning, and action research). Greater development and testing of the practical application of operational models should lead to higher levels of effective implementation and alleviate the implementation crisis. Social learning institutions are essential for ensuring ongoing improvement in the development and application of operational models that deliver effective conservation action.
Indicators for sustainable bioeconomy: Towards building a monitoring and assessment framework
Bioeconomy holds great promise for transforming how we live, produce, and share resources, with people and the planet at the heart of development. But this potential will not be fulfilled without clear metrics of what counts as sustainable bioeconomy and how it can be monitored and assessed. They must also empower all stakeholders – policymakers, businesses, investors, researchers, communities – to steward biological resources responsibly and ensure that their benefits are equitably shared. This publication introduces a prioritization approach and an accompanying database. They are an important step toward filling this gap, offering a wide and comprehensive range of indicators that users can draw from in ways that are in line with their own strategies and targets and connected to global ambitions such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The G20 High-Level Principles on Bioeconomy are our starting point for assessing and categorizing bioeconomy-relevant indicators drawn from a range of sources across three broad categories (territories, products and value chains, and business and sectoral indicators). The FAO Aspirational Principles and Criteria for Sustainable Bioeconomy allow to identify indicators that cover similar sustainability issues. While there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ set of indicators, the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability as well as good governance principles should be all covered at least once to keep the number of indicators to a manageable yet representative number. A more robust foundation for evidence-based decision-making can lead to improved policy coherence and sustained investment in inclusive, resilient, and sustainable bioeconomy development.
Assessing “participation” in forest management: workable methods and unworkable assumptions
This paper reports the results of a pre-test in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, of four methods designed to assess the level and nature of participation by local people in forest management quickly and easily. Two of the methods – the “Iterative Continuum Method” (ICM) and the participatory card sorting method – were deemed helpful.One method, the communication network analysis, was discarded in its current form.The final method, the researcher guide on the functions of participation, was felt in need of revision. Although the hypothesised firnctions of participation are not wrong, in our opinion, they reflect a way of looking at forest management which, we concluded, needs rethinking.In our discussion of the change needed we make use of Jordan’s concept of “authoritative knowledge” and “social” or “cultural capital” (Berkes and Folke 1994; Ostrom 1994).We also suggest substituting “rights and obligations to manage the forest co-operatively ” for “participation”in places like Danau Sentarum Wildlife Reserve (DSWR), where sustainable forest management is being assessed. Finally we conclude that, given the dynamism and complexity that characterise natural forests and their inhabitants, co-operation among all stakeholders in an ongoing dialogue is probably the only way that sustainable forest management can in fact occur.We urge researchers to continue the search for simple, inexpensive and reliable tools for assessing the issue we have called “participation in forest management.”
Advancing soil health assessment and monitoring in the Global South: a flexible framework for enhancing food security and climate resilience in smallholder farming systems
Soil health is crucial for enhancing food security and climate resilience in smallholder farming systems in the Global South. However, while diverse stakeholders, including researchers, private sector, governments, NGOs, extension services, and farmers, share the common goal of restoring and enhancing soil health, they have different objectives and needs. They also operate at varying spatial and temporal scales. In the context of the Global South, a significant challenge lies in the lack of consensus on effective methods for assessing and monitoring soil health across diverse agroecological contexts and farming systems. This presentation will: 1) explore the needs and challenges of soil health assessment in the Global South, 2) propose an adaptable operational framework for soil health assessment and monitoring that accommodates diverse contexts and engages key stakeholders, and 3) outline actionable steps to advance the practical implementation of the framework, supporting transitions toward sustainable food systems. Key bottlenecks to address include the development and integration of methods for assessing physical, chemical, and specifically biological soil health indicators, with a focus on ensuring their suitability and accessibility for diverse users and contexts, as well as agronomic and environmental outcomes. Furthermore, pathways to accelerate the impact of soil health decision-making will be identified. The goal is to offer essential guidance to advance integrated soil health assessment and monitoring, supporting agricultural innovations that benefit and actively include smallholder farmers and decision-makers in the Global South.