Roundtable on Sustainable Forests. Forests cover about 750 million acres -- more than a quarter of the entire United States -- and sustainable management.

Roundtable on Sustainable Forests

Roundtable on Sustainable Forests

Forests cover about 750 million acres -- more than a quarter of the entire United States -- and sustainable management is key to their future health.

Why Should the U.S. Move Towards

Sustainable Forest Management?

Other26%

Forest land28%

Cropland 20%

Rangeland26%

% of U.S. Land Cover

Roundtable on Sustainable Forests

Threats to Forest SustainabilityFragmentation = habitat loss

Exotic & invasive species = native species loss

Degradation of forest soils, air & water

Demand & consumption

Roundtable on Sustainable Forests

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.

Montreal Process: Seven Criteria

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?

U.S. Forest Ownership: 2000 RPA Assessment

Non-industrial

PrivateLandowners

49%

State and local9%

Forest Industry9%

Federal 33%

Forest lands in the U.S. are owned and/or managed by myriad public and private entities. A successful strategy requires partnerships.

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.

The Roundtable on Sustainable 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 ApplicationInternational

National

Regional and Ecoregional

Local & Community

Toward SustainabilityNational 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.