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INTERNATIONAL TROPICALTIMBER COUNCIL

Distr.
GENERAL
ITTC-JC(XLV)/2 – Annex II
26 September 2011
ENGLISHFORTY-SEVENTH SESSION
14-19 November 2011
La Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala

META-EVALUATION OF PREVIOUSLY EVALUATED ITTO
PROJECTS
Lessons learned & good practices towards sustainable
management of tropical forests
Summary Report
7. Criteria and Indicators for sustainable management of tropicalforests

Markku Simula, Hosny El-Lakany and Ivan TomaselliPage 2
THEMATIC SUMMARY REPORT No 7
Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests

1.

INTRODUCTIONThe ITTO Criteria & Indicators for Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests (C&I) were originallypublished in 1992 and since then they have been revised; training and other support have been provided tocountries to facilitate C&I implementation. The purpose of a common set of C&I has been to facilitate
governments, forest managers, communities, smallholders and other stakeholders in monitoring, assessingand reporting on the status of forest management and progress made towards sustainable forestmanagement (SFM) at the national and forest management unit (FMU) levels. The ITTA includes severalObjectives that are related to the implementation of the C&I to promote sustainable management of tropicalforests, including objective (m) Encouraging members to develop national policies aimed at sustainableutilization and conservation of timber producing forests, and maintaining ecological balance, in the context ofthe tropical timber trade and objective (o) Encouraging information sharing for a better understanding ofvoluntary mechanisms such as, inter alia, certification, to promote sustainable management of tropicalforests, and assisting members with their efforts in this area.
The ITTO C&I are aimed at serving as a framework for member countries to develop their own system forassessing and monitoring progress towards sustainability at the national and FMU levels. It is expected thatwhen the indicators are made operational in specific country and local contexts, the information generated
can facilitate policy design and ground-level implementation of SFM.
The C&I is therefore a useful instrument which enables countries and FMUs to report on the progress madewhile revealing areas which need additional efforts to achieve SFM.

2.

KEY ISSUESThere is still a lot of misunderstanding on the purpose and value-added of C&I as a tool for implementing
SFM at national and FMU levels. Clarity is also lacking on what are the necessary enabling conditionsfor SFM in national and local contexts.

National C&I have often been developed through a process which identifies in detail what areappropriate indicators in local contexts. Participation of the development process has sometimes been
limited to the government agencies rather than including other relevant stakeholders like the private
sector, community forest organizations and NGOs.

The governments of tropical timber producing countries have programmes to promote and enforce SFM
policies and practices by the private sector but there is often no comprehensive data on their impacts;

The most critical level for implementing SFM is the forest management unit level. The private sector andforest communities being responsible for a large proportion of tropical timber production are therefore thekey target groups of C&I implementation. However, their participation has been limited in many
producing countries where the focus has been in the government-managed forests.

There is a strong and growing demand among importers and buyers for information on SFM practices ofcompanies producing tropical timber. The C&I is a potentially useful tool for communication but it is still
underutilized and not well understood by target groups in the export markets.

It is the responsibility of the government to ensure a legally defined Permanent Forest Estate, which is afundamental element of C&I and necessary for FMUs to achieve SFM.

The complementary roles of C&I implementation and forest certification processes at local level are notwell understood. However, the C&I can provide a useful framework for national certification standards.

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LESSONS LEARNED

Project design

C&I implementation in ITTO member countries has proved to provide valuable contributions to thecurrent knowledge on SFM at the ground level and major inputs to national policy development. In forest
enterprises implementing C&I, it has been demonstrated that managing forestry operations sustainably
is not only essential but also feasible.

Unless the enabling conditions in national forestry policy and company policies are in place as identified
in the C&I and various ITTO Guidelines, progress in SFM implementation will be slow.

Government commitment to SFM based on C&I can persuade the industry and forest communities toembark on systematic efforts to achieve SFM.

The adoption of C&I as a positive approach has had a powerful psychological and motivational effect on
promoting SFM in many countries. However, good communication is necessary over the entire process
involving testing, adjusting to local conditions and implementation.

During the implementation process it is useful to clarify the link between the government regulations on
the use of natural resources and the C&I. This can greatly assist forest managers to understand what
SFM means in practical forest management.

It is essential that, at the project planning stage, there is sufficient baseline information on the state of
the forest resource as otherwise testing and implementation of C&I may not be meaningful. This would
help stakeholders visualize the scale of the problems and the tasks at hand, to estimate the size andtime span of the project.

The absence of baseline data on the state of the forest, for example, also makes it difficult to measureand evaluate some of the C&I project’s physical outputs;

National level processes in developing and testing C&I can be useful in bringing together government
agencies, the private sector and NGOs and contributing to a fruitful dialogue on what SFM is and what
are the constraints in achieving it. Broad participation strengthens the legitimacy of C&I as a tool to makeprogress towards SFM.

Adopting national level C&I and their integration in the forest monitoring system is an important step in
the implementation process of SFM. A field manual on how to implement SFM in FMUs may be required
to facilitate the operational-level work carried out by forest managers.

The training strategy is critical for follow-up work to be done to integrate C&I into management andinformation systems at different levels. Trainees are expected to play two roles: (a) to serve as a pool of
trainers to train responsible staff of concession companies and work in educational institutions andtraining programmes on SFM, and (b) to work as internal assessors in forest organizations or external
auditors of independent certification and verification bodies. Trainees should also be able to advise
forest managers on corrective actions required to improve present practices.



Human resource development in SFM needs to be understood as a long-term continuous effort andperiodic assessments based on C&I can reveal gaps in the existing skills. In general, countries should
prepare comprehensive national programmes for training on the implementation of SFM targeted atforest managers and communities as well as other stakeholders.

Valuable lessons can be learned from companies and forest agencies in other tropical and non-tropicalcountries which are also engaged in applying SFM measures.

Project implementation
A major risk involved in the implementation of C&I projects has been reluctance of the private sector toparticipate and share their experiences with others. Industry motivation on the implementation of C&I islinked with government shifting from a purely regulatory approach to one that combines regulation with

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incentives and market orientation. There should be clear benefits for companies and communities, suchas e.g. reduced bureaucratic requirements to ensure their full participation.
One reason for reluctance has been the appropriateness of provision of confidential information to othercompanies and stakeholders. This issue needs careful consideration during C&I related project
implementation.

Lack of involvement of some stakeholders in the national C&I processes has been a critical limitation fordissemination and impacts of the project. The private sector, forest communities and NGOs should bebeneficiaries of the results and outputs, and their active participation should be ensured. This involves
ready access to information, regular meetings, effective dissemination and broad participation in training
events.

Community organizations are useful in ensuring peoples' broad participation reducing also project costs
during the C&I development phase. The absence of community groups in the process has limited project
impacts. Specific action is necessary to ensure effective community participation in implementation ofC&I projects

Partnerships have been valuable in C&I projects. Community and NGOs can play a useful role inpromoting SFM and assisting FMUs in their efforts to gain efficiency. Building up strong strategic
partnerships between the government, the civil society and the private sector is a long-term endeavor
which needs to be initiated at the national level during the project formulation stage in order to identify
common objectives and ensure transparency and accountability in the C&I implementation process.

Implications of institutional reforms such as on-going decentralization process, can lead to engaging new
stakeholders (local governments, enforcement and environmental authorities, etc.) in the C&I process.

Many C&I projects have revealed that there is an urgent need to develop better understanding andcoordination between the authorities of the central and local governments to avoid overlapping anduncoordinated interventions targeted at FMUs.

Projects implemented by the private sector often produce important results that would be valuable togovernment policy development. However, the feedback loop has been weak and there should be amechanism, identified at project formulation, for validating and bringing the lessons learned to theattention of government (e.g. national workshops, analytical studies).

Involving representatives from main importing countries in workshops and other phases of C&I projects
has proved to be useful for improving understanding on sustainable management of tropical forests inexporting countries.

4.

GOOD PRACTICES

Project designIn the participatory project planning process, it is important to explain the positive nature of the C&I andhow this tool can help stakeholders in their efforts towards SFM.

Learning from other countries´ experience is useful when the country has limited experience on C&I
implementation.

Project strategy may include development and implementation of national C&I based on ITTO C&I andtheir testing which can be on FMU, sub-national or national level, as appropriate.

The top management of companies participating as pilot FMUs need to be fully informed on theimplications concerning sharing of experience on C&I implementation.

National-level project can preferably be housed in the planning/information unit of the forest agency.

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Project implementation
Strong government commitment to use C&I as a policy tool is critical for achieving the targeted results.

Participation of all the relevant stakeholders is important in the development of national C&I.

Close coordination among involved government agencies is necessary.

Project steering group has a critical role to ensure effective implementation and may be assigned tasks
related to feedback of the results to policy decision-making level.

Multidisciplinary working groups and thematic sub-groups have been useful in elaborating national C&I.



Community forests may need special measures for their involvement in C&I implementation; pilot FMUs
could also include community forests.

Integration of statistical, economic and forest databases contributes to effective C&I implementation.

Statistical requirements of reporting to ITTO and other international bodies need to be considered.

Capacity building and disseminationEffective transfer of knowledge to local specialists avoids dependence on external technical assistance.

Training planning need to cover all the levels and target groups.

Dissemination of the C&I information produced can ensure sustained stakeholder support to periodic
monitoring and other follow-up activities.

Wide dissemination in different forms to all relevant stakeholders is desirable including yearbooks,
information bulletins, newsletters, CD-ROMs, web portals, and other interactive means.

Sustainability
Sustainability in the C&I implementation at national and local levels requires periodic review on theprogress made for identifying corrective action needs.

Pilot projects need to include validation of the results and their implications for policy adjustment shouldbe identified.

Establishment of a partnership engaging the private sector and other stakeholders can ensure theirsustained support to improved systems.

Regional-level sharing of experiences on C&I implementation through networking is helpful for furtherdevelopment.

Page 6SOURCES
This thematic summary is based on the ex-post evaluation reports of the following projects:
PD 48/99 Rev.1 (M,F)
PD 80/01 Rev.6 (M)PD042/00 Rev.1 (F)PD195/03 Rev.2 (F)PD021/97 Rev.2 (F)PD389/05 Rev.2 (F)PD 1/95 Rev.4 (M)

SHARING OF INFORMATION AND EXPERIENCES ON PRIVATE SECTORSUCCESS STORIES IN SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT (MALAYSIA)CONSOLIDATING SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATIONSYSTEMS IN INDONESIATRAINING OF TRAINERS FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE ITTO, AND THE
NATIONAL CRITERIA AND INDICATORS OF SUSTAINABLE FOREST
MANAGEMENT AT FOREST MANAGEMENT UNIT LEVELTO ESTABLISH A NATIONAL MONITORING INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR THEEFFECTIVE CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF
THAILAND’S FOREST RESOURCESDEVELOPING TROPICAL FOREST RESOURCES THROUGH COMMUNITYBASED FOREST MANAGEMENT, NUEVA VIZCAYA, PHILIPPINESAPPLICATION OF THE INTERNAL MONITORING OF SFM PERFORMANCE ATFOREST MANAGEMENT UNIT LEVELTRAINING DEVELOPMENT ON THE ASSESSMENT OF SUSTAINABLEFOREST MANAGEMENT IN INDONESIA