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? Other 26% Forest land 28% Cropland 20% Rangeland 26% % of U.S. Land Cover

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 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 Private Landowners 49% State and local 9% Forest Industry 9% 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 Roundtables Technical Work Group sponsored workshops in Spring Leading scientists evaluated options for C&I measurement and reporting. Options for measuring C&I data for the National Report posted at

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.