MONITORING FOR FOREST MANAGEMENT UNIT SCALE SUSTAINABILITY:

Transcription

1 USDA FSIMI Report No MONITORING FOR FOREST MANAGEMENT UNIT SCALE SUSTAINABILITY: THE LOCAL UNIT CRITERIA AND INDICATORS DEVELOPMENT (LUCID) TEST TECHNICAL EDITION Principal Author Pamela A. Wright, Ph.D. 1 ' 8smd rtt: iil SUB GSttingen Contributing Authors Gregory Alward, Ph.D. 2 Thomas W. Hoekstra, Ph.D. 2 Brent Tegler, Ph.D. 3 Matt Turner, M.S. 2 1 USDA Forest Service Inventory and Monitoring Institute/METI, Inc., Fort Collins, CO. 2 USDA Forest Service Inventory and Monitoring Institute, Fort Collins, CO. 3 North South Environmental Consultants, Ontario, Canada.

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary i-xii SECTION 1: BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT Chapter 1. The Path to Sustainability Perspectives on Sustainability 4 Sustaining Outputs or Contexts 5 Sustainability as a State or a Process 5 Sustainability or Sustained Yield? 5 What Scale is Sustainable? 6 Sustainability of What, Where, for Whom, for How Long, and at What Cost? 6 Ecological Perspectives on Sustainability 7 Socioeconomic Perspectives on Sustainability 7 Defining Sustainability Through an Interdisciplinary Process 9 Sustainability Monitoring 10 Monitoring and the Adaptive Management Cycle 10 The Focus on Indicators 11 Criteria and Indicators for Sustainability 12 Origins of the C&l Tool 12 Forest Certification 13 The LUCID Project 14 The LUCID Experience: Benefits from FMU-Scale Sustainability Monitoring 14 Why the Forests First Participated 14 Improvements in Collaboration 16 Emerging Benefits: Process and Product 16 Overview of the Report 18 Executive Summary 18 LUCID Report 18 Chapter 2. A Systems Approach to Sustainability Monitoring Framing the Approach to Monitoring for Sustainability 23 An Overview of Monitoring Frameworks 23 The Relationship of Systems Thinking to Sustainability: The Value of a Systems-Based Framework 25 Linkages Between Frameworks 25 An Overview of System Thinking 25 Emergent Properties: The Whole is More Than the Sum of Its Parts 26 Systems, Scale and Hierarchy Theory 26 System Kind or Type 26 Measurement from What Perspective: The Role of the Observer.. 27 Assessing the State of a System 29 The LUCID Experience: Application of a Systems Approach 31 Adaptation of the Systems Framework at the Pilot Level 31 Implications 31 Differences Between a Systems Approach and Traditional Monitoring Approaches 31 Key Advantages to the Systems Approach 32 Chapter Highlights 33 Chapter 3. Scale and Sustainability Monitoring Background: Multiscale Monitoring 37 Temporal Scale and Sustainability 39 Multiple Scales: Measurement and Data Issues 39 Scale-Dependent Measures 40

3 Scale and Data Aggregation 40 The LUCID Experience: Lessons in Scale 41 The Role of Scale Issues 41 Going Beyond Administrative Boundaries 41 Process: Defining the Boundary of Interest 42 The Boundaries for Analysis 43 Coarse versus Fine Scale 44 Temporal Scale Considerations 46 Chapter Highlights 47 SECTION 2: METHODS Chapter 4. LUCID Test Methods Applied Research in Forest Management Unit C&l: The LUCID Test 51 Lessons Learned from Elsewhere 51 Chapter Content 52 Selection of Forest Teams 52 The Value of Six Pilot Tests 53 Methods Overview 54 The Initial LUCID C&l 54 Review, Adaptation, and Development of C&l Through the Test 56 Data Collection 57 Integration and Analysis of Results: Conceptual and Analytical Modeling Tools 57 Reporting 58 Core Team Analysis and Revision 58 Science Review 59 An Interdisciplinary Approach 59 The LUCID Core Team 60 LUCID Forest Teams 60 LUCID Forest Supervisor Team 61 LUCID Experience on Team Composition 62 Chapter 5. Collaborative Approaches to Sustainability Monitoring Background: The Need for Multiple Perspectives 71 The LUCID Experience 72 Implications 73 Who Should We Collaborate With? 73 Potential Roles for the Public 73 Chapter Highlights 75 SECTION 3: CRITERIA AND INDICATOR RESULTS Chapter 6. Monitoring Hierarchies: The Criteria and Indicators Approach Background: The Value and Development of C&l Hierarchical Frameworks..'. 79 Clarifying the Nomenclature of C&l Hierarchies 79 The LUCID Experience: The Principle, Criterion, Indicator, and Measure Framework 80 Common Components of C&l Frameworks 80 Final LUCID Hierarchical Framework for Monitoring 82 Implications 83 Specificity and Consistency 83 Comparisons Between C&l Frameworks 85 Relationship Between the C&l Hierarchy and a Systems Approach: Merging Frameworks 85 Chapter Highlights 87

4 Chapter 7. Development of the LUCID Systems Frameworks Background: The Value of a Systems Framework 91 The Process: Development and Revision of Systems Frameworks 92 Initial Development of the Systems Frameworks 92 Forest Team Testing of the Core Set of Principles and Criteria 93 LUCID Ecological System Framework 93 Kinds of Ecological Systems 93 Structures and Processes of Systems 94 The Spatial Dimension 95 LUCID Forest Team Adaptation of the Ecological System Framework 95 The Final LUCID Ecological Systems Framework 96 LUCID Social System Framework 96 The Relationship Between Social Systems and Sustainability 97 The Initial LUCID Social Systems Framework 98 LUCID Forest Team Adaptation of the Social Framework 101 The Final LUCID Social System Framework 102 LUCID Economic Framework 104 Initial Economic Systems Framework 105 LUCID Forest Team Adaptation of the Economic System Framework 107 The Final LUCID Economic System Framework 108 Chapter Highlights 111 Chapter 8. Indicators Background: What is an Indicator? 115 Integrative Indicators 115 Inter- and Intragenerational Equity Indicators 115 Inclusive Development 116 Indicators or Indices 116 Outcome-Oriented Indicators 116 Short- or Long-Term Outcomes: Sustainability for How Long 117 Management Process and Enabling Conditions Parameters 119 The Process of Development Local-Level Indicators 120 The Role of Indicators in the LUCID Project 120 Development of Indicators Origin of the Core Set 120 The Method of Adaptation 121 The LUCID Experience: Selection, Revision and Adaptation of Indicators 122 Social Indicators '. 123 Ecological Indicators 126 Economic Indicators 129 Implications 132 Management Process and Enabling Condition Indicators 132 Indicators of Interrelationships 133 Identifying a Critical Suite of Indicators: How may indicators are too many? 135 Chapter Highlights 139 Chapter 9. Measures and Data Elements Background: Measures and Data Elements 143 Process: The Approach to Developing Measures 143 The LUCID Experience with Measures 144 The LUCID Measures: Ecological, Social and Economic 144 Measures for Different Purposes 145 Proxy Measures 145 Incorporating Time into Measures: Sustainability for How Long? 146 Measures and Spatial Scale 146 The Use of Indicator Species 147

5 Application Implications 148 The Availability of Existing Protocols 148 Frequency of Monitoring 148 Data Availability and Challenges 149 An Evolving Set of Measures 154 Core or Recommended Measures and Data Elements 154 Chapter Highlights 155 Chapter 10. Reference Values Background 159 What is a Reference Value? 159 Types of Reference Values 160 Do We Need Reference Values? 161 Merits of Using Reference Values 162 The LUCID Experience: The Role of Reference Values 163 Implications for Future Use of Reference Values 164 Suggestions for a Revised Process 164 Fuzzy Logic and Reference Values 169 The Temporal Dimension to Reference Values 170 Spatial Variability and Reference Values 170 Sources and Availability of Reference Values 170 Consistency and Flexibility 171 Remaining Challenges 171 Chapter Highlights 172 Chapter 11. A Core Suite of FMU-Scale Criteria and Indicators Background 175 The Process 175 Development of a Core Suite of FMU Scale C&l 175 Decisions and Assumptions in the Development of the Final C&l 176 The LUCID Experience: The Final Suite of FMU Scale C&l 176 Principles and Criteria 177 Indicators 177 Measures, Data Elements and Reference Values 177 Preliminary Relationships with Corporate Data Sources 181 Supporting LUCID C&l Resource Database 183 Chapter Highlights 184 SECTION 4: ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS Chapter 12. Assessing Sustainability: The Analysis Process Background: Assessing Sustainability 187 The Critical Questions 187 Synthesis and Analysis 188 Assessment vs. Determination 188 The LUCID Experience with Synthesis and Analysis 188 Conceptual Models 189 Assessment Approaches for Synthesis and Analysis 193 Analysis and Synthesis with Numbers and Narratives 197 Chapter Highlights 201 Chapter 13. Assessing Sustainability: Analytical Tools and Issues Background 205 Key Features 205 Knowledge/Logic-Based Models 206 Knowledge-Based Model Components in NetWeaver 206 Hierarchically Constructed 208

6 Hierarchical Attributes of NetWeaver 208 Object-Oriented 209 Object-Oriented Attributes of NetWeaver 209 Spatially Application 210 Spatially Based Requirements of NetWeaver: The GeoNetWeaver Extension 210 A Range of Reference Values: Discrete and Fuzzy Reference Values 212 Fuzzy Logic and NetWeaver 212 Weighting 213 Weighting and NetWeaver 213 Incomplete Models and Missing Data 216 Treatment of Missing Data in NetWeaver 216 Transparency and Documentation 217 Transparency and NetWeaver 217 Interactive and Adaptable 218 Real-Time Modeling and NetWeaver 218 Compatibility 219 NetWeaver and GeoNetWeaver Compatibility with US Forest Service Systems 219 Synthesis and Integration Issues 221 Synthesis and Integration within the LUCID Project 223 Implications 226 Is it possible to conduct a sustainability assessment without the use of technical modeling tools?, 226 Do we need one tool that will perform all of the functions? 227 Where do we go from here? 227 Chapter Highlights 228 SECTION 5: IMPLEMENTATION Chapter 14. Forest Management Unit Scale Sustainability Monitoring FMU-Scale Sustainability Monitoring: The Adaptive Management Feedback Loop 231 Forest Planning, Management and Monitoring 232 Application to Daily Work and Project-Level Activities 234 Contributions to Multiscale Monitoring 235 The Value and Meaning of Multipurpose - Multiscaled Relationships 235 Regional-Scale Assessments 237 National Framework for Sustainable Forests: The Montreal Process C&l 238 Criteria and Indicators and Certification 241 Criteria and Indicators 242 Certification 243 Similarities 244 Differences 244 Different but Complementary 246 Independent Verification: The Potential for Third-Party Auditing 246 What is the benefit or value of third-party auditing of public lands? 247 What is the appropriate scale or application? 247 How feasible is a third-party auditing extension to C&l monitoring? 247 Chapter Highlights 248 Chapter 15. Implementation: Recommendations and Conclusions The Value and Utility of FMU-Scale Sustainability Monitoring 251 Valuable Information within an Adaptive Management Approach 251 Identifying Critical Issues 252 Providing a Forum for Discourse 253 Strategic Implementation Issues 253 Key Features of FMU-Scale Sustainability Monitoring 253 The Feasibility of FMU-Scale Sustainability Monitoring 255

7 Consistency and Flexibility 257 Sustainability Monitoring as an Addition, Supplement, or Replacement: Strategic Implementation Highlights 260 Tactical Implementation Issues 261 A Vision for Implementation 261 A Revised Process for FMU-Scale Sustainability Monitoring 261 Resources Required for Implementation 263 Timing Considerations 265 Tactical Implementation 267 Research Recommendations, 269 Conclusions 272 Bibliography 273 Acronyms 281 Glossary 283