Transcript No Slide Title

Roundtable on Sustainable Forests
Roundtable on Sustainable Forests
Why Should the U.S. Move Towards
Sustainable Forest Management?
Forests cover about 750 million acres -- more than a quarter of
the entire United States -- and sustainable management is key to
their future health.
Rangeland
26%
Forest land
28%
% of U.S. Land Cover
Cropland
20%
Other
26%
Roundtable on Sustainable Forests
Threats to Forest Sustainability
Fragmentation = habitat loss
 Exotic & invasive species = native species loss
 Degradation of forest soils, air & water
Demand & consumption
Roundtable on Sustainable Forests
Montreal Process: Seven Criteria
1. Conservation of biological diversity
2. Maintenance of productive capacity of forest ecosystems
3. Maintenance of forest ecosystem health and vitality
4. Conservation and maintenance of soil & water resources
5. Maintenance of forest contribution to global carbon
cycles
6. Maintenance and enhancement of long-term multiple
socio-economic benefits to meet the needs of societies
7. Legal, institutional, and economic framework for forest
conservation and sustainable management.
Roundtable on Sustainable Forests
C&I Provide a Framework For:
 Inventory and monitoring
 National progress reporting
 Common language and understanding
 Research and development planning
 Management planning
 Best management practices
 Adaptive management accountability
Roundtable on Sustainable Forests
Why A Roundtable?
Forest lands in the U.S. are owned and/or managed by myriad public
and private entities. A successful strategy requires partnerships.
U.S. Forest Ownership: 2000 RPA Assessment
Roundtable on Sustainable Forests
The Roundtable on Sustainable Forests:
 Consists of an inclusive partnership of public
and private organizations and individuals;
 Promotes the national goal of sustainable
forests by helping engage forest stakeholders;
 Helps the U.S. implement the Montreal
Process criteria and indicators for sustainable
forest management;
 Leads to increased understanding and better
decision-making about our forests.
Roundtable on Sustainable Forests
Roundtable Criteria & Indicators:
Technical Workshops
 The Roundtable’s Technical Work Group
sponsored workshops in Spring 2000.
 Leading scientists evaluated options for
C&I measurement and reporting.
 Options for measuring C&I data for the
National Report posted at
www.sustainableforests.net
Roundtable on Sustainable Forests
Current Outreach
 March 22, 2002, Washington, DC,
private forest owners focus group.
April 30-May 2, 2002, Portland, OR,
National Report Review Workshop.
 May 29-31, 2002, Washington, DC, National
Report Review Workshop.
Roundtable on Sustainable Forests
C&I Challenges
 Multiple ownerships (government
and private)
 Difficult to obtain and manage data
from many sources
 Lack of widespread understanding of C&I
applications
Lack of some data or monitoring methodologies
clouds ability to assess progress
Roundtable on Sustainable Forests
C&I Relevance to Stakeholders
 Expansion of forest research
 Combining of social and technical sciences
 Links between communities & forests
 New forestry education approaches
 Tools which are accepted and accessible
 Multi-level, coordinated data reporting
 Facilitation of international dialogue
Roundtable on Sustainable Forests
Scales of C&I Application
International
National
 Regional and Ecoregional
 Local & Community
Toward Sustainability
National Sustainable
Development Indicators
International Sustainability
Indicators Network (ISIN)
Sustainability Institute
Sustainable Development
Indicators Team (SDIT)
New York Meeting:
March 10-13: Who Came?
Companies
Government
NGOs (national/state)
Academics
Defining the Need
Integrate across resources.
Make sustainability visible.
Create common language.
Track progress.
Familiar Challenges
Who owns the process?
Who decides?
What data sources fit?
How will we fund this?
Where We Stand Now
Commitment to advance a design.
Commitment to seek funding.
Outreach and engagement.
Institutionalize the idea.