After the Brundtland report and the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992, the concept of sustainable development was adopted in the forest arena, recognizing the importance of forests to the whole world. As a consequence, forest management was changed going from sustainability, in terms of sustainable use of timber production, to the multifunctional role of forests and up to the definition of the concept of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM). The acknowledgment of the multifunctional role of the forest has led to an increase in the importance of forest resources, and forestry has become a very complex field. The numerous benefits that society receives from forests result in the increased interest of stakeholders, which are often in conflict. The increase of pressure on the demand for multiple uses of forest in the same lands has emphasized the need for new tools for forest management. In response to these issues, many efforts have been made by researchers, although there is still much to do and to learn, because of the current global issues concerning climate change, loss of biodiversity, water scarcity, and energy. SFM plays a crucial role in maintaining healthy, diverse, and productive forests ensuring the supply of forest services for human needs. Forest planning represents a very important tool to support SFM, but often the traditional knowledge and management tools are not capable of satisfying all the stakeholders’ needs. The formulation of Forest Management Plans, which is acceptable to all stakeholders, requires the balancing of the different interests and decisions because makers have to meet multiple objectives or get an acceptable balance if objectives conflict. Hence large-scale management, such as landscape management is required for a better understanding of the joint production or multiple benefits which forest ecosystems provide to human welfare. In the latest years, new tools of forest planning have been developed, with particular emphasis on the ecosystem approach and the importance of scale management. Territorial Forest Plan (TFP) represents a new and helpful tool of forest planning to support SFM, aiming to the improvement of ecological connectivity and ensure the production of forest ecosystem services. This work stresses the important role of forest planning at the territorial level, with particular emphasis on the Natura 2000 site, for allowing the production of ecosystem services such as biodiversity conservation and water conservation in terms of quality and quantity. Furthermore, it shows three main tools to support SFM with three different case studies. Firstly it demonstrates the role of Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies in monitoring the sustainable management models of forest resources in the Logone Valley between Chad and Cameroon (Africa). The second describes the Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis approach for mapping forest areas with the same priority forest function. Finally, the participatory approach through the application of Indicators Analytic Networks has been described.
MANAGEMENT TOOLS FOR IMPROVING FOREST ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT AT LOCAL LEVEL
SANTOPUOLI, Giovanni
2012-01-01
Abstract
After the Brundtland report and the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992, the concept of sustainable development was adopted in the forest arena, recognizing the importance of forests to the whole world. As a consequence, forest management was changed going from sustainability, in terms of sustainable use of timber production, to the multifunctional role of forests and up to the definition of the concept of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM). The acknowledgment of the multifunctional role of the forest has led to an increase in the importance of forest resources, and forestry has become a very complex field. The numerous benefits that society receives from forests result in the increased interest of stakeholders, which are often in conflict. The increase of pressure on the demand for multiple uses of forest in the same lands has emphasized the need for new tools for forest management. In response to these issues, many efforts have been made by researchers, although there is still much to do and to learn, because of the current global issues concerning climate change, loss of biodiversity, water scarcity, and energy. SFM plays a crucial role in maintaining healthy, diverse, and productive forests ensuring the supply of forest services for human needs. Forest planning represents a very important tool to support SFM, but often the traditional knowledge and management tools are not capable of satisfying all the stakeholders’ needs. The formulation of Forest Management Plans, which is acceptable to all stakeholders, requires the balancing of the different interests and decisions because makers have to meet multiple objectives or get an acceptable balance if objectives conflict. Hence large-scale management, such as landscape management is required for a better understanding of the joint production or multiple benefits which forest ecosystems provide to human welfare. In the latest years, new tools of forest planning have been developed, with particular emphasis on the ecosystem approach and the importance of scale management. Territorial Forest Plan (TFP) represents a new and helpful tool of forest planning to support SFM, aiming to the improvement of ecological connectivity and ensure the production of forest ecosystem services. This work stresses the important role of forest planning at the territorial level, with particular emphasis on the Natura 2000 site, for allowing the production of ecosystem services such as biodiversity conservation and water conservation in terms of quality and quantity. Furthermore, it shows three main tools to support SFM with three different case studies. Firstly it demonstrates the role of Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies in monitoring the sustainable management models of forest resources in the Logone Valley between Chad and Cameroon (Africa). The second describes the Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis approach for mapping forest areas with the same priority forest function. Finally, the participatory approach through the application of Indicators Analytic Networks has been described.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
