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INTERNATIONAL TROPICALTIMBER COUNCILDistr.
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
1. Inventory, mapping, zoning and monitoring of the tropicalforest resource

Markku Simula, Hosny El-Lakany and Ivan TomaselliPage 2
THEMATIC SUMMARY REPORT No. 1
INVENTORY, MAPPING, ZONING AND MONITORING OF THE TROPICAL FOREST RESOURCE1.

INTRODUCTION

Elaboration of regional and national forest land management plans starts with an overview of all land uses
and land use changes, of which forest is one important part. Zoning is made based on mapping of thedesignated areas to orient economic and conservation activities. Periodic forest resource assessment
provides information for monitoring on the extent and characteristics of the forests on national andsubnational levels that is necessary for policy design and planning of investments. There is also anincreasing need to integrate forest resource information with complementary biophysical and socio-economic
data for monitoring and planning purposes.
At the level of forest management unit (FMU), detailed mapping and periodic inventories are necessary for
estimating the characteristics of the forest and its production potential of various goods and services. Forest
inventory forms the basis of forest management planning, including zoning of the forest area for production,protection and multiple-use purposes. Inventory also provides baseline information for monitoring of changes
in the extent and characteristics of the forest cover.
The development objectives of most projects in this area focus on the essential role of forest inventory andmonitoring as necessary tools for effective conservation and sustainable management of national forest
resources. The information on the resource is also related to data on production and trade in timber and nontimber forest products to monitor that the utilization of the forest resource is sustainable.

2.

KEY ISSUES

While technologies allow improved precision in assessing and monitoring forest resources, the needs for
information have increased covering also environmental and social aspects. This is associated with
forest management planning becoming more sophisticated, needs to monitor illicit activities in the forest
areas, and necessity to have reliable information on the role of forests in climate change mitigation andadaptation, as well as on other environmental forest services.

Engagement of a broad range of relevant stakeholders in policy development and forest monitoring also
brings new challenges for the accuracy, coverage and timeliness of information on forest resources.

Forest communities, landowners, forest industry and NGOs are major players in the forestry sector, andthey are often identified as beneficiaries of the inventory and monitoring projects. However, they are notalways meaningfully involved in the project design and implementation.

The private sector needs information on national and sub-national forest inventories and resource
assessments for planning their investments. In addition, enterprises are usually obliged to carry out
inventories for forest management planning in areas which they are managing. However, the quality of
their inventory work is not always adequate.

Climate change has become a factor with major implications for SFM, especially issues related toREDD+. Resource assessments and inventories will increasingly have to include quantified informationon the existing carbon stocks and their changes for regular monitoring.

The same holds true with information on biodiversity, water, soil, and other natural resources. Several
indicators on these environmental services can be included in forest resource assessments andinventories but others may require specific baseline studies and tailored monitoring approaches.

Unauthorized activities, illegal logging and mining, and many other factors (often outside forest areas)
impact sustainable forest management and may need to be addressed in the project design on resource
assessment and monitoring.

Markets for legal and sustainably produced timber require that the origin of products can be traced tothe source where trees were harvested. This represents a new challenge for the accuracy of forest

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monitoring systems.
Lack of information or inconsistent and inaccurate data produced by different information systems is amajor problem for policy design and monitoring of progress towards SFM. Inconsistencies are usually
due to the lack of integration of various information systems in the country. A related issue isoverlapping geographic boundaries of administrative units, tenure arrangements, and ecological zoning
which calls for using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) but their establishment may need separate
projects.

Common other issues to address in resource inventory and assessment projects have included3.

‐

insufficient national inter-agency coordination and cooperation in land-use zoning at appropriate
institutional levels‐

lack of formal approval of land-use and zoning plans‐need for tailoring forest inventory in logged over areas, secondary forests and trees outside forests‐

in pilot projects there is a need for provisions for necessary follow-up action to cover the wholecountry‐

inadequate quality of mapping and zoning has reduced the reliability of forest management planning‐weak capacity in data elaboration and analysis‐

inadequate reporting on the status of the forest resources although data may exist‐

limited access to data by relevant stakeholders‐

absence of effective strategies for data dissemination and information sharing

LESSONS LEARNED

Project design

If relevant stakeholders are not involved in the planning of resource assessment, the results are unlikely
to meet their information requirements reducing project impacts and efficiency.

Good planning of the inventory design and implementation in pilot areas can lead to a standardized
methodology to be applied in the whole country.

Adequate Logical Framework Matrix is critical for effective project design and implementation ininventory and monitoring projects.

Project implementationPrevious projects might have already had enabled the country to develop a system for collecting,processing and reporting forest resource data, but had not addressed e.g. establishing baselines orsetting up a monitoring system. In such cases, new projects should fill the gaps in the existing system.

There is often a need to link forest inventory data with other biophysical data and socioeconomic
information (e.g. for elaboration of national natural resources development strategies, environmental
monitoring, or poverty reduction strategies). Many projects have failed or their effectiveness hasremained limited due to the lack of integration with other relevant data.

Climate change needs to be addressed as an integral component of SFM to ensure that the forest
sector can have access to the benefits from associated financing schemes. Considering these links at
the planning phase has improved project effectiveness and efficiency.

In the absence of previous adequate information on the forest resource, the inventory results can lead toPage 4
revisions of forest policy and legislation. Such potential implications should be considered already in theproject design. However, the experience shows that policy change based on the project outcome canonly be possible if there is a political will to adopt necessary changes.
Lack of adequate expertise and specialized human resources in the Executing Agency to implement
forest inventory tasks has often hindered the delivery of key outputs.

If adequate training is not included in the project, sustainability of the inventory and monitoring activity
after the project is not ensured. Rotation of trained specialized staff should be carefully considered as it
can adversely impact project effectiveness and sustainability.

Institutionalization of national forest inventories and associated monitoring of forest resources has
proved to be necessary for the sustainability of projects in this field.

4.

GOOD PRACTICES

Project designForest inventory, mapping and zoning are long-term endeavors to be carried out periodically and theyrequire detailed planning, specialized human resources and adequate financing.

A detailed schedule is needed for inventory design, data collection, programming of fieldwork activities,
as well as data processing, analysis and reporting, allowing effective monitoring of the projectimplementation.

Inventory should be stratified to elaborate results for different geographic levels and forest types. The
use of satellite images is usually necessary for stratification.

Including indicators on biodiversity, water and soil, carbon in forest inventories is necessary for planningand implementing of SFM but it requires additional expertise and resources.

Shortage of professional staff and expertise in key areas can require the use of external specialists.
Their tasks should include training of national staff to ensure sustainability of the project. Staff rotation
should be minimized during the project implementation period.

Over reliance on external inventory and assessment consultants can be detrimental for building up
national capacities and follow-up action in the long run. Adequate provisions in the project design should
therefore be made to develop national capacities. In this regard, close collaboration with universities
which have the expertise would be beneficial in training of relevant staff.

Participation of universities and research institutes can ensure further development of the forest
inventory methods and combining the physical forest data with socioeconomic information.

Strong involvement of the private sector organizations helps obtain information on user needs anddisseminate the project results.

Participation of other relevant stakeholders on national and local levels (i.e. the level on which the datais collected and information is produced) in the project design is useful as they would also be key
beneficiaries.

Project implementation
Institutional strengthening as an explicit element in resource assessment and forest inventory projects
can ensure broad impacts. In addition to the Executing Agency, other relevant institutions responsible
for mapping, land-use planning and zoning, and environmental management can be strengthened.

Analysis of inventory results needs to be related to data on timber production and harvesting of NTFPs
to assess sustainability of forest utilization.

Inventory data on non-commercial lesser-used species allows promotion of their utilization andmarketing.

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A network of permanent sample plots throughout the country can provide on-going monitoring data on
the detailed characteristics of the state (baseline) and change of the forest resource. Permanent plots
would also crucial for continuous development of the inventory methodologies. Re-measurement isperiodically needed and the results should be calculated and reported.

A baseline report on the status of the forest resource should be produced incorporating the data
gathered on socio-economic aspects, biodiversity, wildlife, and human impacts on forests, asappropriate.

Annual budget allocations of the responsible Executing Agency ensure financing of the recurring costsof periodic forest resource assessments, re-measurement of the monitoring plots, as well as data
analysis and reporting. Sustaining adequate budgetary resources may have to involve engagement ofcollaborating agencies and other users of data.

An end-project workshop can validate the results and prepare for the next step. This is particularly
needed in pilot projects to ensure their broader impact and formally incorporate inventory data in SFM
planning processes contributing to project effectiveness and sustainability.

SOURCESThis thematic summary is based on the ex-post evaluation reports of the following projects:
PD 109/90 Rev.4 (I)

ASSISTANCE TO MODERNIZATION, RESTRUCTURING AND DEVELOPMENTOF WOOD-BASED INDUSTRIES IN CÔTE D'IVOIREPD008/95 Rev.1 (F)

MULTIPLE RESOURCES STRATIFICATION, MAPPING AND INVENTORY FORTHE FIRST FOREST ZONE IN GABON - PHASE I
SPECIALIZATION PROGRAM FOR FOREST TECHNICIANS ON SUSTAINABLE
TROPICAL FOREST MANAGEMENT IN BOLIVIAPILOT PLAN FOR THE SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF 10,000 HECTARESOF SECONDARY FOREST IN SAN LORENZO, ESMERALDASINTEGRATED PLAN FOR THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE BAGRE HIGHLANDSBIOLOGICAL CORRIDOR, PROVINCE OF DARIENPROMOTION AND TRANSFER OF KNOWLEDGE ON SUSTAINABLE FOREST
MANAGEMENT MODELS TO TIMBER PRODUCERS

PD063/97 Rev.3 (F)PD049/99 Rev.2 (F)PD014/00 Rev.5 (F)PD023/00 Rev.4 (F)PD 85/01 Rev.2 (I)PD002/93 Rev.1 (F)PD195/03 Rev.2 (F)STRATEGIES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE WOOD-BASEDINDUSTRIES IN INDONESIAINTEGRATED PILOT MANAGEMENT OF THE NGUOA II FOREST NORTH PHASE I: THE PREPARATION OF A MANAGEMENT PLAN
TO ESTABLISH A NATIONAL MONITORING INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR THE
EFFECTIVE CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OFTHAILAND’S FOREST RESOURCES