Preparing for C&I testing. C&I testing procedures. Follow-up analysis. The conceptual basis of C&I development. Three case studies. Literature and further reading.

There is increasing pressure on the forestry industry to adopt sustainable practices, but a lack of knowledge about how to facilitate this, and how to measure sustainability. This book reviews current thinking about scientifically based indicators, and sustainable management of natural forests and plantations. Information is applicable to boreal, temperate and tropical biomes. The contents have been developed from papers presented at a IUFRO conference held in Australia, in order to develop a state-of the art report on this subject.

The CIFOR set of Criteria and Indicators (C&I) together with other sets prepared by organisations (ITTO, WWE, SmartWood, LEI) formed the basis for the present evaluation of C7I for the use sustainable management of Acacia mangium plantations. Field testing of C7I was conducted at two sites in Sumatra (Riau and Subanjeriji) and one site in Kalimantan (Pulau Laut) during 1997 and 1998. The C&I identified for each site are summarised in this report.

Community managed forest systems embody a considerable portion of the wisdom, knowledge, and practical skills and management necessary for the sustainability of forest resources globally. These systems, however, are under threat in many ways, including from the rapid rate of change of their political, socio-economic, and biophysical contexts. Adapting forest management sufficiently quickly and effectively to meet these changes is both urgent and very challenging. This Guide introduces criteria and indicators of sustainability for community managed forest landscapes (CMF C&I) as a potential learning and communication tool that can help meet that challenge. It draws on CIFOR’s collaborative research on CMF C&I in Brazil, Indonesia, and Cameroon to propose a flexible step-by-step approach to developing and implementing self or collaborative forest monitoring systems, and gives examples of C&I developed by communities in these countries. The approach is targeted to communities and their partners in forest management, such as NGOs, government, or development projects, who are seeking strategies to improve local well-being and forest sustainability through more effective learning, collaboration, and decision-making in local forest management.