FINAL REPORT. ASEAN-FAO Collaboration on Strengthening ASEAN online and offline Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting (MAR)

Transcription

1 FINAL REPORT -FAO Collaboration on Strengthening online and offline Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting (MAR) Activities implemented under the Letter of Agreement (LOA/RAP/2009/32) between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Secretariat of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations () August 2010

2 Final Report -FAO Collaboration on Strengthening online and offline Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting (MAR) Activities implemented under the Letter of Agreement (LOA/RAP/2009/32) between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Secretariat of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations () 1. Introduction August 2010 Vision 2020, released in December 1997, underlines the region s commitment for a common understanding to promote the forestry sector as a model in forest management, conservation and sustainable development. In addition, the Roadmap for an Community, , adopted at the Fourteenth Summit in Cha-am, Thailand, on 1 March 2009, calls for actions to enhance the capacities and human resources, including research and development, in the forestry sector to achieve sustainable forest management. At the recommendation of the Senior Officials on Forestry (ASOF), the Twenty-Ninth Meeting of the Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) held in Bangkok, Thailand on 1 November 2007 endorsed the Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests ( C&I), and the Monitoring, Assessment, and Reporting Format for Sustainable Forest Management in (MAR Format). In support of strengthening online and offline Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting (MAR) systems in, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Secretariat signed a Letter of Agreement (LOA) in October Under the LOA, the FAO project Strengthening Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting on Sustainable Forest Management in Asia (MAR-SFM) (GCP/INT/988/JPN) have committed to make a financial contribution of US$ 73,010 (Seventy three thousand and ten United States Dollar) to the Secretariat for the implementation of the following activities: (i) Improvement of online and offline MAR formats and application in region; (ii) Organise a Regional Training Workshop (Vientiane, Lao PDR) on the application of offline MAR format for SFM for Forest Management Units () in ; (iii) Organise a Regional Coordination Workshop (Yogyakarta, Indonesia) to conduct a comparative analysis between regional and national Criteria & Indicators frameworks and MAR implementation mechanisms; and (iv) Provide recommendations on follow-up activities for identification of capacity building needs of Member States on the application of MAR. 2

3 The report covered the activities implemented and the recommendations made under this LOA. A certified financial statement as of 16 August 2010 is attached as ANNEX Activities 2.1. Improvement of online and offline MAR formats and application in region An online MAR format was launched on 5 April 2009 and all Member States had identified focal points to familiarise with the Online system and further testing with data entry. With the support of FAO and -German Regional Forest Programme (ReFOP), Forest Research Institute Malaysia organized a followup Regional Training Workshop on Strengthening Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting on Sustainable Forest Management in on 5-7 May 2009 in Kuala Lumpur and officials from the Member States as well as the Secretariat attended the Workshop. An Offline MAR format was also introduced during the Workshop. As recommended by the Workshop and agreed by the 12 th ASOF Meeting for further improvement of the Online and Offline MAR formats, modification, revision and improvement of the formats have been carried out since 2009 and continued under this LOA in In particular, the improvement of Offline MAR format was made following the regional training workshop held in January 2010 in Lao PDR. The improved version of Offline MAR format has been distributed to all Member States for their domestic use at Forest Management Unit () level. Regarding the improvement of Online MAR format and system development, there has been a technical difficulty for the IT personnel from Secretariat in handling the software developed by the former developer of online MAR system and therefore, a substantial time would be needed for them to learn and undertake the task of further improvement of Online system. In this regard, no further activities will be pursued under this LOA Regional Training Workshop on the application of offline MAR format for SFM for Forest Management Units () in, January 2010, Vientiane, Lao PDR The Regional Training Workshop on the Application of Offline Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting (MAR) Format for Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) for Forest Management Units in was held in Vientiane, Lao PDR, from January A total of 35 participants representing Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as the Secretariat, FAO and members of the Lao PDR organizing Committee attended. Prior to holding the Workshop, each Member State was requested to prepare a country report entitled Criteria and Indicators Used for Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting at the Forest Management Unit and Progress in Implementation. The country report would elaborate the status of development and 3

4 the progress in implementing the criteria and indicators (C&I) for SFM at the forest management unit () level vis-à-vis the 7 criteria and 52 indicators of the Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests, 2007 ( C&I) that are applicable at the level; the user-friendliness in using the offline MAR Format, and actions required to fully use the C&I and the offline MAR Format (software) for monitoring and reporting sustainable forest management at the level. The participants of the Workshop were welcomed by Dr. Silavanh Sawathvong, Director-General of the Department of Forestry and ASOF Leader of Lao PDR, who reminded the participants that the Vision 2020 calls for the promotion of forestry as a model for sustainable development by harmonizing environmental, social and economic policies between the 10 Member States (AMS), as well as creating conditions favourable to Sustainable Forest Management that would provide an entry point for governance reform - a key national and regional public management challenge facing foresters today. In this regard, Welcome Addresses were also delivered by Mr. Htain Lin, Senior Officer (Forestry), of the Secretariat, Jakarta, Indonesia, and Mr. Masahiro Otsuka, Forestry Officer for the Strengthening Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting on Sustainable Forest Management in Asia, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand Workshop Deliberation A total of 11 reports/papers were presented at the Workshop, including a paper on Monitoring, Assessing and Reporting Format (MAR) - Offline Module for Forest Management Units and another on Criteria and Indicators for Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting on Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests at the Forest Management Unit in, besides the nine AMS country reports. Mr. Htain Lin from the Secretariat in his presentation on Monitoring, Assessing and Reporting Format (MAR) - Offline Module for Forest Management Units informed the Workshop that MAR is important to as all the Member States are pursuing sustainable forest management, and that this is in accordance with the Vientiane Action Plan, and the Community Blueprints, as well as the Second Initiative for Integration (IAI) Work Plan. He further informed the Workshop that the offline MAR Format would be revised and updated with inputs from the Workshop to ensure its effectiveness in MAR on SFM. In the presentation on the Criteria and Indicators for Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting on Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests at the Forest Management Unit in, Mr. Thang Hooi Chiew, the Resource Person from the Secretariat, pointed out that only 52 indicators under the 7 criteria of the C&I will be used to assess change at the level in AMS, both in the forest itself (outcome indicators) or in the environmental and forest management systems used (process indicators). He underscored that no single criterion or indicator is alone an indication of sustainability. Rather, the set of criteria and indicators should be considered as an integral system to assess the practice of sustainable forest management. Brunei Darussalam reported that it has adopted the C&I and currently the Forestry Department is in the process of pilot-testing the applicability of the C&I in 4

5 the country. Nevertheless, the 7 criteria provided by the C&I are all applicable to Brunei Darussalam, while a majority of the indicators under the 7 criteria are also applicable to the country. Any recommendations that the pilot-testing provide would be implemented through a phased-approach. Cambodia reported that it has finalized the Cambodia Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Management at both the national and forest management unit levels which are very similar to the C&I as their development were based on it, as well as the ITTO C&I of The way forward to fully implement the C&I in Cambodia is to undertake further review and refine the MAR-SFM Format at both the national and levels; promote the setting-up of a management database, including network for information sharing; and strengthen capacity building of Forestry Administration officials in the use of the national MAR-SFM system. Indonesia informed the Workshop that the implementation of criteria and indicators for SFM is mandatory in Indonesia since 2002, when the Forestry Ministerial Regulation No. 4795/Kpts-II/2002 was issued. Based on sample tests on the MAR Format conducted in two licence holders areas, it was observed that all the 7 criteria as stated in the MAR Format for SFM are implementable, but there are 3 indicators that could not be fully implemented, while another 3 indicators, although implementable, are yet to be implemented as they still require further study/research. Lao PDR reported that a draft national C&I was developed in 1999 and that Lao PDR legislation and guidelines on sustainable forest management cover most of the indicators in Criteria 1 to 5 of the C&I. Nevertheless, to effectively implement the MAR system, several new databases are needed, including a system for forest cover monitoring and change detection, and the development of shared databases, as well as to establish and/or revise databases in other organizations that are under other ministries which are required to provide data requested by the MAR system. Malaysia emphasized that for s which are managed for both production and protection functions, all the 7 Criteria and 52 Indicators of the C&I are applicable for MAR on SFM. However, for s that are managed only for conservation and protection functions, then a number of indicators under Criterion 4 - Productive Functions of Forest Resources and Criterion 5 - Protective Functions of Forest Resources would not be applicable, especially those dealing with resource assessment, silviculture and harvesting guidelines, as well as protective functions in production forests. To ensure the full implementation of the offline MAR Format, Malaysia would further enhance its cooperation with the other forest-related agencies in the country that are also involved in the forestry sector. Myanmar reported that it had developed in 1996 its own C&I for sustainable forest management, based on the 1992 ITTO s C&I, which was subsequently revised in 1998 and 2005 with the last revision undertaken in In this regard, it has been observed that all the 7 criteria of the C&I at the level are almost the same as those in the Myanmar C&I, while all the indicators under Criterion 1 - Extent of Forests Resources; Criterion 3 - Forest Health and Vitality; Criterion 4 - Productive Functions of Forest Resources; Criterion 5 - Protective Functions of Forest Resources; and Criterion 6 - Socio-economic Functions are applicable to Myanmar. The indicators that are not applicable to Myanmar or are not used presently at the 5

6 level are an indicator under Criterion 2 - Biological Diversity and 2 indicators under Criterion 7 - Legal, Policy and Institutional Framework. The Philippines informed the Workshop that the country has basically adopted the ITTO s C&I framework which is very similar to the C&I and that all the indicators under the criterion on Legal, Policy and Institutional Framework are applicable even at the level. However, there is a need to develop and immediately implement a comprehensive capability building program to enhance the capacities of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and forest managers on the application of the C&I for MAR on SFM; facilitate the revision or harmonization of policies pertaining to the management of the tenured areas in the Philippines to fully incorporate the elements of SFM; and establish a dedicated unit within the institution to guide and oversee the enforcement of SFM in all the s in the Philippines. Thailand reported that based on the case study of the TungKwian Plantation it was found that all the 7 criteria of the C&I are applicable, while many, if not all, of the indicators of Criteria 1-7 are also applicable, except for two indicators under Criterion 6 - Socio-economic Functions that could not be evaluated at the level because they refer to implementation at the national scale. Vietnam reported that currently it does not have any official national standards for sustainable forest management, but based on the C&I, the Department of Forestry has issued a non-official guideline on sustainable forest management to be applied by state forestry companies which are involved in the pilot SFM program of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). In addition, based on an assessment of the applicability of the C&I at both the national and levels, it was found that there are 28 indicators at the national level and 32 indicators at the level that are applicable, while 29 indicators at the national level and 18 indicators at the level are only partially applicable. It was also found that two indicators could not be applied at both the national and levels because of their complexity in implementing them The Way Forward A number of issues and challenges were identified for further enhancing the application of the offline MAR Format for sustainable forest management at the level in which, among others, include the need to fully understand the concept of and recognize the different interpretation of the concept in individual AMS; the lack of information and inadequate research and development (R&D) on endangered, rare and threatened species, non-wood forest products, and values of forest carbon stock; inadequate information on non-pfe areas and inter- and intra-agency collaboration for data collection; lack of internalization in the implementation of the MAR Format through national forest programs (nfps) processes and other integrated programs relevant to forests; and lack of a dedicated or specialized body to fully implement and achieve all the relevant indicators of the MAR Format in individual AMS. Nevertheless, the actions identified by the participants of the Workshop as a way forward for the future development in strengthening the MAR Format at the level in are as follows: 6

7 i. enhance the offline MAR Format to make it more user-friendly and the suggested features for revision are as follows: to add a Remarks Box for the Tables 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 28; to insert a scroll function for Forest Type or provide up to 10 rows for filling-up the different forest types for Table 3; to have a pop-up screen for definitions for primary forest, secondary forest, and degrade forest land for Table 6; the 15 listed human activities most damaging to the PFE and non-pfe in Table 12 should be clearly readable (to enlarge the font size); the 7 listed natural causes most damaging to the PFE and non-pfe in Table 13 should be clearly readable (to enlarge the font size); to add a column for unit of measurement between the existing column 1 (products) and column 2 (harvesting quantity), and a column for total (quantity harvested from PFE and non-pfe), as well as to delete the words Forest Type per in Table 16; to delete the words per permit in the heading for PFE and non-pfe in Table 18; to ensure that the Grand Total Value of Table 31 reflects the correct summation of the various sources of funds in Indicator 7.3; and to replace the sentence If yes, give the name of each economic instrument/incentive, a short description of how it is used, and main institution(s) responsible for its implementation with the sentence If yes, describe the communication strategies and feedback mechanisms, and a short description on their effectiveness in the Indicator 7.7. ii. iii. iv. further organize regional training for trainers at the level, including the concept of in the overall context of sustainable forest management; enhance the application of the offline MAR Format through awareness raising programs, including preparing the MAR Format in local languages; undertake further research in the assessment of endangered, rare and threatened species, including forest-dependent fauna and flora; quantification of non-timber forest products; and valuation of environmental forest ecosystem services, such as carbon stock; as well as identification of possible sources of funds to undertake research and development activities (R&D); v. undertake further research to find synergy with the standard for Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) of carbon emission from deforestation and forest degradation in conservation forest, protection forest and production forest; vi. vii. enhance the capacity of Member States to implement the IUCN Endangerment Status Categories and the Protected Area Management Categories; further develop and establish effective coordination mechanisms at all levels for improved inter- and intra-agency collaboration, especially in the provision of information and/or data required by the indicators; 7

8 viii. ix. enhance the implementation of the MAR Format through a national database and information sharing network; including through more effective internalization of nfps processes and other integrated programs relevant to forests; develop policies, plans and strategies, including a dedicated or specialized body to fully implement and achieve all the relevant indicators of the MAR Format at the level in individual Member State; x. improve the offline MAR Format to enable it to assess and analyze progress and the direction of change over time of individual or group of indicators, either towards or away from sustainable forest management, in individual s of Member States, as well as facilitate reporting; xi. xii. facilitate cross-learning and exchange of experiences between Member States in the application of the offline MAR Format through the Forest Clearing House Mechanism (CHM); and encourage the Secretariat to produce periodic synthesis reports on progress in implementing the offline MAR Format in Member States Regional Coordination Workshop on regional and national Criteria & Indicators frameworks and MAR implementation mechanisms The Regional Coordination Workshop on Regional and Criteria and Indicators Frameworks and Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting (MAR) Implementation Mechanisms was organized by the Forestry Research and Development Agency (FORDA), Indonesia, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia from April 2010 with the support of the Secretariat and FAO. A total of 20 participants representing Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam attended, including personnel from the Secretariat and members of the Indonesian Organizing Committee. Prior to the holding of the Workshop, each AMS was requested to prepare a country paper on the Similarities and Differences of Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management as compared to the Criteria and Indicators in their respective countries according to the guideline provided by the organizer of the Workshop. The country papers would report on the number and type of indicators under each of the 7 criteria of the C&I that could be reported to the Secretariat through the Online MAR Format, the similarities and differences of each AMS national level C&I as compared to the C&I, and MAR implementation mechanisms, including phased approaches. The participants of the Workshop were welcomed by Dr. Bambang Trihartono, Director of the Center for Plantation Forest Research and Development, Forestry Research and Development Agency (FORDA), Ministry of Forestry, Indonesia who delivered the Welcome Remarks from the Director-General of FORDA and the ASOF Leader of Indonesia where he stressed that the Workshop would provide the opportunity for AMS to share progress in implementing the C&I framework on SFM, as well as constraints and problems faced in implementing the MAR Format. 8

9 Mr. Htain Lin, Senior Officer (Forestry), on behalf of the Secretariat, in his Welcome Remarks expressed his thanks to FORDA for the excellent arrangements made for the Workshop and to FAO for the financial support for organizing the Workshop, He further informed the participants that FAO has, among others, also supported the improvement of the Online MAR Format at the national level and the Offline MAR Format at the level Workshop Presentation A total of 10 papers were presented at the Workshop comprising a presentation on Updates on Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting for SFM in by the Secretariat and nine country papers on similarities and differences of national level criteria and indicators of AMS as compared to the C&I, as well as constraints and impediments encountered by AMS in implementing their country level criteria and indicators and those of the C&I. Mr. Htain Lin from the Secretariat in his presentation on the Updates on Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting (MAR) for Sustainable Forest Management in stressed that it was important that a comprehensive comparison on the implementation between AMS national level criteria and indicators with the C&I be conducted as the MAR Format would be used to report the status of attainment of SFM by AMS in regional events, such as ASOF and other related meetings. Cambodia reported that the FA has finalized the Cambodia Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Management at both the national and forest management unit levels and that the way forward for its full implementation is to further refine the MAR-SFM Format at both the national and levels, and promote the establishment of MAR through the setting-up of a management database system as it was found that a total of 7 indicators are only partially implemented and that non-pfe is not relevant in the application of the MAR-SFM Format at the national level. Indonesia informed the Workshop that its C&I for SFM 2009 were developed in accordance with international standards, particularly the ITTO s C&I for SFM, and adapted to national specific situation. They consist of 4 criteria (enabling conditions, production, ecology, and social aspects) and 24 indicators as compared to the 7 criteria and 59 indicators in the C&I. However, both standards have incorporated key aspects of SFM and therefore can be used for assessing and reporting progress in achieving SFM. Malaysia informed the Workshop it has formulated a total of 64 activities and 57 indicators at the national level under the 7 criteria of the ITTO for assessing progress towards the achievement of sustainable forest management which are very similar to the C&I, except for 2 indicators dealing with timeliness of dissemination of information and collaboration in research activities and information exchange as they are not found in the ITTO C&I. However, certain information/figures need to be rectified further when dealing with non-prfs, particularly for stateland forests, while the classification of forest functional classes according to the IUCN categories has to be undertaken, and further research is also needed to estimate the value of forest carbon stock. 9

10 Myanmar reported that it had developed in 1996 its own set of C&I for sustainable forest management, based on the 1992 ITTO s C&I, which was subsequently revised with the last revision undertaken in 2007 and as such the criteria and indicators are almost the same as those in the C&I, except for some differences in the order of presentation and use of words. However, a number of constraints and impediments are encountered in implementing the national level criteria and indicators, among them, the lack of policy and legislative review; policy conflict with other sectors; data at the level are outdated for compilation and use at the national level; insufficient manpower and budget; limited inventory information on non-wood forest products (NWFP); and the lack of standardized methods for calculating market value of environmental services provided by forests. The Philippines informed the Workshop that the Philippines C&I for SFM were developed based on the ITTO s C&I protocol, and as such it is composed of 7 criteria and 57 indicators with 52 of the indicators being applicable at the level and are currently being used to prepare and submit reports to ITTO. In this regard, the C&I and the national C&I for SFM in the Philippines are basically similar, although there are 2 indicators under criterion 7 in the set that are lacking in the Philippines national C&I, namely on timeliness of information to increase public awareness about forest policies, legislation and sustainable forest management practices; and on collaboration in research activities and information exchange. However, they are considered relevant by the country. Singapore informed the Workshop that it does not have in place national level criteria and indicators to implement MAR on SFM, and hence it could gear towards adopting the C&I. Furthermore, the forests of Singapore are not exploited commercially for timber and there is no indigenous people dependant on the forests for subsistence. As such, many of the indicators in the AEEAN C&I are not relevant to Singapore, for example, indicators that relate to production forests. Nevertheless, out of the 59 indicators from the 7 criteria under the C&I, 30 indicators can be fully implemented based on current records and data availability, leaving 3 indicators that are partially implementable and the remaining 26 as not applicable or relevant to Singapore. Thailand informed the Workshop that currently it does not have an official C&I for SFM framework, and as such it has adopted the ITTO C&I for implementation at both the and national levels which are very similar to the C&I. Hence, differences are not in the ITTO and C&I but on how best to manage the different existing, types, sources, of data and how to adapt them to the C&I. Vietnam informed the Workshop that in early 1998 the Vietnam Working Group on Sustainable Forest Management and Forest Certification (NWG) was established to develop a set of national standards for SFM in accordance with the Forest Stewardship Council's (FSC) principles and criteria where the ninth and final draft was completed in 2008 with consultation from relevant stakeholders. Notwithstanding this, the constraints encountered in managing the forest resources in Vietnam are, among others, the values of the forest are not properly valuated; the forest policy system is not suitable for forest socialization and in addressing market mechanisms; the quantity, capacity and qualification of the managerial, scientific and technical staff could not yet meet the needed requirements; and forestry development has mainly relied on the state budget and has yet to mobilize resources of non-state sectors and environmental services provided by forests. 10

11 2.3.2 Comparative Analysis A comparative analysis between the C&I and each of the AMS C&I for SFM at the national level was conducted during the Workshop which resulted in the Comparative Matrix between the C&I and Member States C&I for SFM at the (Comparative Matrix). In this regard, the information in the Comparative Matrix was further checked by the representatives of AMS on their return to their capitals, while information from Brunei Darussalam was requested through correspondence as no representative from Brunei Darussalam participated in the Workshop. Under Criterion 1: Extent of Forest Resources, all the 6 indicators are implementable in all the AMS, although in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam the information on extent of forest areas and types is only for the PFE, while in Malaysia the information on degraded primary forest, secondary forest, and degraded forest lands is not available for non-pfe. In the case of Myanmar, forest condition of the PFE and non-pfe can only be classified as area of closed and open forest. A number of indicators under this criterion are also not found in the national C&I of Indonesia, but they are implementable. Under Criterion 2: Biological diversity, all the 7 indicators are implementable in all the AMS, except for Indicator 2.2 requesting information on the number and percentage of protected areas connected by biological corridors or stepping stones under the various IUCN Protected Area Management Categories which is not relevant to Indonesia because of different concept being used, while in Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam this indicator could only be implemented partially at the national level. In addition, Indicators 2.6 and 2.7 that deal with the protection and conservation of biological diversity in production forests are not relevant to Singapore and that in all AMS the protected areas are not classified according to the IUCN Protected Area Management Categories, but according to their own national classification systems. Under Criterion 3: Forest health and vitality, all the 2 indicators are implementable in all AMS although only in the PFE of Singapore and Thailand. Both the indicators are not found in the national C&I of Indonesia, but they are being implemented. Under Criterion 4: Productive functions of forest resources, all the 12 indicators are implementable in the 9 AMS as Singapore does not undertake any forest harvesting and conversion activities although it does implement partially Indicator 4.4 that deals with carbon stored in forest stands like the rest of the 9 AMS which are also only partially implementing this indicator as the information requested by this indicator requires more research to reflect local conditions. Furthermore, in most AMS silvicultural and harvesting procedures are implemented only in the PFE which are under sustainable forest management practices. Under Criterion 5: Protective functions of forest resources, all the 5 indicators are implementable in all the AMS, although Indicators 5.1, 5.2 and 5.5 that deal with forest area managed exclusively for the protection of soil and water, procedures to ensure the protection of downstream catchment values, and areas in the production PFE that have been defined as environmentally sensitive and protected respectively 11

12 are not found in the national C&I of Indonesia. As Singapore has no production forests and do not undertake any forest harvesting activities, Indicators 5.3, 5.4 and 5.5 are not relevant to Singapore as these 3 indicators deal with activities in production forests in terms of soil and water protection. Under Criterion 6: Socio-economic functions, all the 14 indicators are implementable in all the AMS, although only Brunei Darussalam, Philippines and Thailand could provide information on percentage contribution of the forestry sector to both GNP and GDP as requested in Indicator 6.1, while the other 6 AMS could only provide information on GDP only. This indicator is, however, not relevant to Singapore as it does not have a forestry sector per se. Information requested by Indicator 6.2 that deals with value of domestically produced wood, non-wood forest products and environmental services could only be implemented partially by 8 AMS because of the lack of information on value on environmental services. In this regard, Indonesia is able to implement this indicator fully although it is not in its national C&I for SFM, while in Singapore this indicator is not relevant as it has no production forests. The other indicator that is only partially implemented in Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam is Indicator 6.13 that deals with indigenous knowledge used in forest management planning and implementation, as information is still being collected and documented. A number of indicators under this criterion is not relevant to Singapore as the situations for the application of the indicators do not exist in Singapore, such as those dealing with forest industries; equitable sharing of benefits; people who are dependent on forest for subsistence uses and traditional and customary lifestyles; and tenure and use rights of communities and indigenous peoples over publicly owned forests. Under Criterion 7: Legal, policy and institutional framework, all the 13 indicators are implementable by all AMS with most of them fully implemented. However, Indicators 7.11 and 12 that deal with timeliness of information to increase public awareness; and collaboration in research activities and information exchange respectively are not found in the national C&I of Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines and Thailand. In this regard, Indicator 7.2 that deals with the extent of forest tenure and ownership is also not found in the national C&I of Indonesia and Lao PDR, while Indicators 7.3 and 7.4 that deal with the amount and sources of funding in forest management, administration, research and human resource development; and implementation of economic instruments and other incentives to encourage sustainable forest management respectively are not found in the national C&I of Indonesia. Furthermore, Indicator 7.8 that deals with the application of technology to practise sustainable forest management and the utilization and marketing of forest products is not relevant to Singapore. In summary, an estimated 76.3 percent or 45 of the 59 indicators under the 7 criteria of the C&I at the national level are implementable by all the AMS, that is, including indicators where information still need to be updated and those requesting information but not applicable to the AMS as the situations do not exist, as well as those that are not relevant, especially in Singapore because of its uniqueness where the permanent forest reserves are sustainably managed and used for conservation, water catchment, education, recreational and research purposes only. 12

13 2.3.3 Implementation Mechanisms In view that an estimate 23.7 percent or 14 of the 59 indicators still require information to be collected or further work and/or research to be conducted, such as the need to classify protected areas according to the 6 IUCN Protected Area Management Categories, and the quantification of forest carbon stock as called for in Indicators 2.2 and 4.4 respectively, the participants of the Workshop proposed that reporting on the application of the C&I using the Online MAR Format be implemented through a phased approach. In this context, the Workshop agreed that AMS should submit their first reports in implementing the C&I for those indicators that are currently implementable in AMS using the information and data for the calendar year 2009, except for Myanmar which will follow its fiscal year (1 April March 2010) on or before 31 March 2011; and for the other indicators which are currently partially implementable in AMS within 3 years. The Workshop further agreed that a review be conducted at the end of March 2011 to assess and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness in inputting information into the Online MAR Format, especially the quantitative information as requested by the C&I. 3. Recommendations To further enhance the application of the national level criteria and indicators of the C&I, as well as reporting its progress through the Online MAR Format for sustainable forest management at the national level in, It was recommended that: i. Simplify the number and/or improve the indicators used in the C&I for Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests, 2007, to assess sustainability of forest resources based on the experience and knowledge gained in implementing national level C&I for assessing, monitoring and reporting progress towards the achievement of sustainable forest management by the Member States. ii. iii. iv. Prepare a set of instructions, as compendium to the Online MAR Format on Sustainable Forest Management at the national level, on the ways and means to provide the information requested by the C&I for Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests, 2007, especially the quantitative information. Document the good practices of Member States in implementing C&I for assessing, monitoring and reporting sustainable forest management at both the national and forest management unit levels, and share these practices among the Member States through appropriate fora. Study the impediments encountered by Member States in implementing the C&I for Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests, 2007, especially technical constraints to fully implement them, including limited human and financial resources, poor or lack of cross-agencies (horizontal) 13

14 coordination, and in particularly, on sharing of land-use information, and identify the needs required to enhance their full implementation. v. Consider future support with a focus in strengthening technical capacity at the national level through bilateral means (or projects), as well as consider a regional component for aligning/streamlining the national and C&I for SFM. vi. vii. viii. ix. Provide high resolution satellite imageries for the Member States to enable them to further identify and provide accurate classification of land-use patterns and status of forest conditions by forest types and formations. Encourage Member States which are members of the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), namely, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines and Thailand to share their reports submitted to ITTO on their progress in implementing the ITTO C&I for the Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests with the non-itto Member States. This is in view that the C&I for Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests, 2007 were developed based mainly on the Revised ITTO Criteria and Indicators for the Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests, including Reporting Format that was adopted at the Thirty-seven Session of the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC) held in Yokohama, Japan, from 13 to 18 December Request Member states to submit their progress in implementing the C&I for those indicators that are currently implementable in Member States through the Online MAR Format at the national level using the information and data for the calendar year 2009, except for Myanmar which will follow its fiscal year (1 April March 2010) on or before 31 March 2011; and for the other indicators which are currently partially implementable in Member States within 3 years. Review at the end of March 2011 the efficiency and effectiveness in inputting information into the Online MAR Format on Sustainable Forest Management at the national level, especially the quantitative information as requested by the C&I for Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests, Attachment-1: Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests ( C&I) Attachment-2: Monitoring, Assessment, and Reporting Format for Sustainable Forest Management in (MAR Format) 14

15 CRITERIA AND INDICATORS FOR SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF TROPICAL FORESTS Approved by 10 th Meeting of Senior Officials on Forestry Vientiane, Lao PDR, July 2007

16 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS INTRODUCTION SCOPE AND FORMAT DEFINITIONS CRITERIA AND INDICATORS CONCLUSIONS 26 Annex 1 - Definitions of World Conservation Union (IUCN) Protected Area Management Categories 28 Annex 2 - IUCN Endangerment Status Categories 31 Annex 3 - Land Ownership Categories 33 2

17 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS AEG-IFPP AMAF ASOF C & I Eurostat FAO FSC GDP GNP ha ILO ITTC ITTO IUCN MAR PFE SFM UN UNECE UNFF VAP Experts Group on International Forest Policy Processes Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry Association of Southeast Asian Nations Senior Officials on Forestry Criteria and Indicators Statistical Office of the European Communities Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations Forest Management Unit Forest Stewardship Council Gross Domestic Product Gross Product hectare International Labour Organisation International Tropical Timber Council International Tropical Timber Organisation World Conservation Union Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting Permanent Forest Estate Sustainable Forest Management United Nations United Nations Economic Commission for Europe United Nations Forum on Forests Vientiane Action Programme % percent 3

18 CRITERIA AND INDICATORS FOR SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF TROPICAL FORESTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management were developed to provide countries with a framework for defining sustainable forest management and assessing progress towards this goal. They are tools to help identify trends in the forest sector and the effects of forest management interventions over time, and to facilitate decision making in national forest policy processes. The ultimate aim of these tools is to promote improved forest management practices over time, and to further the development of a healthier and more productive forest resource base. 1.2 In this context, the Experts on Regional Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management was established and held its meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 6-7 May 1999, pursuant to the decisions of the First Senior Officials on Forestry (ASOF) meeting held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from May 1998, and that of the Special Senior Officials Meeting Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (SOM-AMAF) held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, from April 1999, to develop a set of regional criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management for the region. 1.3 The work of the Experts on Regional Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management culminated in a set of Regional Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Management of Natural Tropical Forests in October 1999 which was developed based on the 1998 International Tropical Timber Organisation Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Management of Natural Tropical Forests. This set of regional criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management was later endorsed by the Third ASOF Meeting held in Yangon, Myanmar, from10-12 July 2000, and the Twenty-second Meeting of AMAF held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from October With the adoption of the Vientiane Action Programme (VAP), , which, among others, calls for the development and adoption of common criteria for sustainable forest management in, and eradicating unsustainable practices and related activities, as well as the adoption of the Revised ITTO Criteria and Indicators for the Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests, including Reporting Format at the Thirtyseven Session of the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC) held in Yokohama, Japan, from December 2004; the participants at the Workshop on Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting (MAR) for Assessing Progress Towards Sustainable Forest Management in the Region held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from 7-9 December 2005, agreed to use the revised version of the ITTO C&I for SFM to refine the regional C&I of 2000 and for possible C&I for MAR in. 1.5 The purpose of this document is to present a set of Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests, taking into account the decisions of the Workshop on MAR for Assessing Progress Towards Sustainable Forest Management in the Region, and the seven elements or the seven common thematic 4

19 areas of the International Conference on the Contribution of Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management: The Way Forward (CICI-2003) that was held in Guatemala City, Guatemala in 2003, namely, (i) extent of forest resources, (ii) biological diversity, (iii) forest health and vitality, (iv) productive functions of forest resources, (v) protective functions of forest resources, (vi) socio-economic functions, and (vii) legal, policy and institutional framework, as well as the follow-up Experts Consultation on Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management held in Cebu City, the Philippines in SCOPE AND FORMAT 2.1 This document covers criteria and indicators for both natural and planted forests at the national and forest management unit () levels, and those applicable at the level. All the criteria are applicable at the national, and levels. In the case of indicators, although all are valid at the national and levels, some are only applicable at the level. The three sets are presented together. The level at which an indicator applies is noted with a ; if it does not apply, with a The document has also adopted the seven thematic areas of the CICI-2003 as the seven criteria for sustainable forest management for the region, while the indicators have been drawn from the Revised ITTO Criteria and Indicators for the Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests, including Reporting Format, taking into account the Regional Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Management of Natural Tropical Forests that was endorsed by the Twenty-second Meeting of AMAF held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from October It is important to address criteria and indicators at both the national and levels for two reasons. First, the overall sustainability of the management of a nation s forests depends substantially upon actions taken at the national level, such as legislation and landuse planning. And, secondly, the evaluation of sustainable forest management at the national level depends upon the quality of management of the aggregate of all forest management units. 2.4 Within these two broad classes (the national and the forest management unit), criteria and indicators fall into two categories which are different in kind. First, there are many that are technical in nature they refer to the state of the forest itself, such as its extent, the quality of its management and the goods and services actually derived from it. Secondly, there are others which may be better described as enabling conditions and mechanisms, where in the absence of these, sustainable forest management is unlikely to succeed. Examples are institutional matters such as sufficient qualified personnel and adequate research, sufficient financial resources and social considerations such as wide consultation, especially on use rights and land tenure. In both sets, quantitative indicators have been suggested wherever possible but, in some instances where this is not possible, qualitative or descriptive indicators are used. 2.5 In this regard, Criterion 7 on Legal, Policy and Institutional Framework is rather different from the others. It is concerned with the general legal, economic and institutional framework without which actions included under the other criteria will not succeed. Criteria 1 and 3 on Extent of Forest Resources and Forest Health and Vitality respectively, are concerned with the quantity, security and quality of forest resources. The remaining 4 criteria deal with the various goods and services provided by the forest, including Biological Diversity, Productive Functions of Forest Resources, Protective Functions of Forest Resources, and Socio-economic Functions. 5

20 3.0 DEFINITIONS The following are key definitions of some of the most important terms used in this document and, unless otherwise stated, are adopted from the Revised ITTO Criteria and Indicators for the Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests, including Reporting Format. Annual allowable cut Biodiversity Biological diversity Criterion Degraded forest land Ecosystem Forest degradation Forest-dependent species Forest management unit () Forest stakeholders Forest type The amount of timber that is permitted to be harvested annually from a given area. See biological diversity. The variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems. (Source: Convention on Biological Diversity). An aspect of forest management that is considered important and by which sustainable forest management may be assessed. Former forest land severely damaged by the excessive harvesting of wood and/or non-wood forest products, poor management, repeated fire, grazing or other disturbances or land-uses that damage soil and vegetation to a degree that inhibits or severely delays the re-establishment of forest after abandonment. A community of all plants and animals and their physical environment, functioning together as an interdependent unit. (Source: FSC Principles and Criteria for Forest Stewardship, April 2004). The reduction of the capacity of a forest to produce goods and services. Capacity includes the maintenance of ecosystem structure and functions. Species unable to complete at least one part of their life cycle outside the forest. A clearly defined forest area, managed to a set of explicit objectives according to a long-term management plan. Any individuals or groups who are directly or indirectly affected by, or interested in, a given forest and that have a stake in it. A naturally occurring community of trees and associated plant species of definite botanical composition with uniform physiognomy (structure) and growing in uniform ecological conditions whose species composition remains relatively stable over time. 6