THE USE AND AUDIENCES OF NATIONAL FOREST SUSTAINABILITY REPORTS by Jari Parviainen Finnish Forest Research Institute, Joensuu Forest C&I Analytical Framework and Reporting Workshop Metla House, Joensuu, Finland May 19-21, 2008
The use and audiences of national reports Questions to be answered 1) how and for what purposes the reports are being used, 2) who are the main users and audiences of the reports, 3) experiences in how to present the results in reports, and 4) in what ways they are the most effectively used in communication
Material for analysis I. The review of national (nine country reports representing MCPFE, Montreal and ITTO processes) reports presented for the Inter C&I Process Harmonization Workshop in 2006 in Bialowieza II. State of Finland s Forests 2007 Evaluation on the use of the report by stakeholder panel in April 2008 Experiences in communication
I. Review of nine country reports in 2006 MCPFE countries: Austria 2004 Switzerland 2005 Finland 2005 (2007) Montreal process countries: USA 2003 Australia 2003 Japan 2003 ITTO countries: Malaysia 2003 Philippines 2005 Ghana 2004
Characteristics of the national reports 1. C&I provide a balanced compendium of information on SFM 2. C&I provide broader view than the traditional statistics 3. Compilation in various ways 4. Reporting requirements are increasing
1. C&I provide a balanced compendium of information on SFM Forest Resources Forest area Growing stock Age structure/diameter distribution Carbon stock Energy from wood resources Socio-economic functions Forest holdings Contribution of forest sector to GDP Net revenue Expenditures for services Wood consumption International trade in wood Workforce Employment (incl. safety and health) Accessibility for recreation Cultural values Forest Health Deposition of air pollutants Soil condition Defoliation Forest damage 35 INDICATORS FOR SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT Protective Functions in Forest Area Infrastructure Pan-European indicators for SFM 2003 Productive Functions of Forests (Wood and Non- Wood) Increment and fellings Roundwood Non-wood goods Forests under management plans Services Biological Diversity Tree species composition Regeneration Naturalness Introduced tree species Dead wood Genetic resources Landscape pattern Threatened forest species Protected forests
2. C&I broader view than the traditional statistics Trends, descriptive indicators Combination with politics Tables, figures, original data Country report Statistical yearbook
3. Compilation in various ways group of scientists and other stakeholders (panel) group of experts coordinated by governmental authorities by ministries
4. Reporting requirements are increasing, not only for forest purposes overlapping efforts, more coordination required, new aspects, comprehensive reporting is expensive, forest indicators asked for other sector s report
Use and audiences of national reports Main users are governmental officials Linkages with other sector s reports For informing the customers on the state of forests Educational purposes Forest management and certification Excellent tools for science/policy interface
Main users are governmental officials the basic reservoir for reporting and forest policy dialogue presenting status of forests for national and international use
Linkages with other sector s reports only few indicators, not the whole set
For informing the customers on the state of forests Important for exporting countries, such as Finland
Educational purposes
Forest management and certification sustainable forest management can be made both visible and understandable transfer from the paper to the field
Forest certification PEFC is based on the internationally agreed concept on sustainable forest management (thematic areas of nine regional C&I processes) and internationally used rules and procedures on certification processes. The FSC certification system uses ten general principles of good forest stewardship.
Excellent tools for science/policy Reporting highlights information gaps Goal setting of new research agenda Harmonizing the terms and definitions
How to present the results? Value-free or value-based intepretations Diverse views : Austria and Switzerland with political recommendations Australia and Finland without value-based intepretations The evaluation panel of Finland s report: value- free attitude favored, but clear messages on trends and their linkages to policy Other sector s reports need value-free data for their own applications
II State of Finland s Report 2007 Experiences on communication: Third report (1996, 2000 and 2007) Multistakeholder steering group Clear summaries by criteria Presented personally to the Minister supported by a press release Articles with compare to the MCPFE report results Press release on the occasion of fifth MCPFE in Warsaw
II State of Finland s Report 2007 Experiences on communication: Report is considered as a very important because of three aspects: 1) showing long-term trends and changes in the forests, 2) integrating the forest policy goals and decisions with the measurable indicators 3) making a continuous base for the international comparability
Experiences on communication: State of Finland s Forests 2007 Report as such not well suited for public information on forests A brochure with reduced set of indicators positively received by policy makers
Reduced sets of indicators for public audience
Reduced sets of indicators for public audience
Experiences on communication: State of Finland s Report 2007 Report as such not well suited for public information on forests A brochure with reduced set of indicators positively received by policy makers Press release, interviews and articles are been succesful
Interviews
Press release Metsäntutkimuslaitos Skogsforskningsinstitutet Finnish Forest Research Institute www.metla.fi
Articles
Experiences on communication: State of Finland s Report 2007 Report as such not well suited for public information on forests A brochure with reduced set of indicators positively received by policy makers Press release and articles are been succesful The comparision of Finnish situation to the European situation has raised much interest
Articles comparision with European situation succesful
Experiences on communication: State of Finland s Report 2007 Report as such not well suited for public information on forests A brochure with reduced set of indicators positively received by policy makers Press release and articles are been succesful The comparision of Finnish situation to the European situation has raised much interest The internet based communication is the main tool to disseminate the information, findings, graphs and other material (descriptive indicators)
Internet: www.metla.fi/metinfo: www.forest.fi Point of view: Finland's forest protection is the strictest in Europe The area of protected forests has been tripled during 30 years. The protected area is among the most extensive in Europe, writes Dr. (For), Mr. Jari Parviainen. Dr. (For.) Jari Parviainen Director, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Joensuu Unit The first protection areas in Europe were established nearly 150 years ago, often for religious reasons. Either the protected sites were considered holy, or they were protected as the hunting grounds of the nobility or to maintain exceptionally beautiful natural areas. The activity was at its highest during the 1980 s and 1990 s. As a result, the most valuable sites are by now under protection and new, strictly protected forest areas are very rarely established in Europe. Unified classification of forest protection The spectrum and the strictness of protection vary greatly between the European countries. This is because there is much variation in the forest growth. Area and share of strictly protected forests in certain European countries 26,55 Kb The strictness of forest protection in certain European countries 26,88 Kb
Communication: conclusions The communication people consider: the internet based communication as the main tool for the dissemination of the information regarding forest sustainability. The original forest data as numbers is most valuable, while it allows the modifications and illustrations of information for various purposes and audiences. The comparision of country situation to other countries helps the users to understand the messages
Summary of the presentation: The information gathered by indicators is important and unique, however, the report itself has a limited use While demand for various reporting is increasing, the aim should be that the information can be reported and verified once, and then used for many different purposes. These requirements call for customer oriented forest data collection and reporting, such as wood based bioenergy or public wood products procurement reporting Various reports are needed also for various audiences. For professionals and experts comprehensive reports are the most suitable and useful, but for public audiences, top level policy decision makers and other sectors simple messages and reduced number of selected indicators are more relevant
Thank you very much Contact: Jari Parviainen Finnish Forest Research Institute (Metla) Joensuu Yliopistokatu 6, FIN 80100 JOENSUU email: jari.parviainen@metla.fi