Montreal Process Working Group Criteria for Sustainable Forest Management

International concerns have prompted the development of a set of universal "criteria" that establish a standard framework for the definition and evaluation of sustainable forest management. A set of detailed "indicators" is developed to address specific aspects of each criterion. One example of such a set of standards for sustainable forestry is the criteria and indicators developed by the Montreal Process Working Group (MPWG) for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forests that was initiated at the UN Conference on the Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janiero in June, 1992. The MPWG criteria cover a wide range of potential goods and services that may be obtained through forest management. Here we include a brief description of each criterion

The Montreal Process Working Group Criteria for Sustainable Forestry

Criterion #1. Conservation of biological diversity

Criterion #2. Maintenance of the productive capacity of forest ecosystems

Criterion #3. Maintenance of forest ecosystem health and vitality

Criterion #4. Conservation and maintenance of soil and water resources

Criterion #5. Maintenance of forest contribution to global carbon cycles

Criterion #6. Maintenance and enhancement of long-term multiple socio-economic benefits to meet the needs of societies

Criterion #7. Legal, institutional, and economic framework for forest conservation and sustainable management

Criterion # 1. Conservation of biological diversity:
Ensure that ecosystem, species, and genetic diversity are maintained. Conserving biodiversity through forest management has at least three different components:

• Maintaining sufficient amounts of all native habitats across the landscape so that no species becomes endangered. This is referred to as the "coarse filter" approach (Hunter 1990).
• Addressing specific habitat and other needs of already endangered species--the "fine filter" approach (Hunter 1990).
• Providing some form of reserve areas (e.g., National Parks, Wilderness Areas) for each forest type.
  

Criterion # 2. Maintenance of the productive capacity of forest ecosystems:
Ensure that timber and other forest resources are not being harvested unsustainably from a given forest area. In addition, ensure that one forest area is not providing so few products that forests elsewhere in the world must be overharvested to compensate for the lack of production. It is important to note that sustainability issues apply not only to volume production, but also to wood quality and non-wood forest products.

Criterion # 3. Maintenance of forest ecosystem health and vitality:
Ensure that forests do not lose their ability to provide goods and services as a consequence of being exposed to processes (e.g., fire, wind storms, floods) or agents (e.g., insects, diseases) outside the range of historical variation. In addition, ensure that basic ecosystem processes such as nutrient cycling or seed dispersal are operating within the range of historical variation.

Criterion # 4. Conservation and maintenance of soil and water resources:
Ensure the protective and productive capabilities of forests with respect to soil and water resources. Catastrophic forest fires, poor farming practices, erosion from overgrazing, and stream damage and soil compaction through poor timber harvesting practices can reduce water quality and soil productivity.

Criterion # 5. Maintenance of forest contribution to global carbon cycles:
Forests can temporarily sequester carbon (i.e., remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere) as they grow. Conversely, as trees rot or burn they return carbon to the atmosphere. Using wood products instead of steel, aluminum, brick, or concrete (which require the consumption of large amounts of fossil fuels to make) can permanently keep carbon out of the atmosphere.

Criterion # 6. Maintenance and enhancement of long-term multiple socio-economic benefits to meet the needs of society:
Ensure that forests provide social benefits such as employment, recreation opportunities, cultural and spiritual values and at the same time provide such economic benefits as timber/non-timber resources and investment in the forest sector. People who live and work directly in the forest and with forest products and services are most capable of providing certain forest values. Such people are entitled to be able to achieve a dignified, economically viable life (free of poverty) without being forced to migrate to urban areas. In addition, forest owners should be allowed to profit economically from providing the various values.

Criterion # 7. Legal, institutional, and economic framework for forest conservation and sustainable management:
Sustainable forest management is contingent upon the existence of rational social agreements that promote and protect responsible management, public awareness, property rights and other socio-cultural functions. These functions may be encouraged and enforced through legislation, social institutions, or economic incentives (or penalties).

Whereas there is general consensus regarding many of these general criteria, developing a robust set of specific indicators is proving time consuming, perhaps impossible, and probably not necessary because of the innate nature of hierarchical systems (see Systems:Hierarchies). The variations among the world's forests create extreme variations in how the criteria can be measured. The landscape approach to ecosystem management may ultimately result in each region and subregion developing its own region-specific indicators for these generalized criteria