The Sustainability of Forest Management: Assessing the Impact of CIFORs Criteria and Indicators Research

Abstract

"The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) Criteria and Indicators (C&I) research responded to an international demand for science to help clarify the assessment of sustainable forest management through development and improvement of C&I. C&I help define standards for sustainable forest management and are now being used by many different groups. Governments are using C&I to help them regulate the practices of forest users and report on the status of their forests to international processes and fora. Forest certification bodies depend on C&I to assess whether forest management companies or groups are managing their forests in a sustainable manner. Forest managers themselves often use C&I to improve the quality of their management, and, similarly, local communities can use C&I to improve their own management practices and hold to account others who share their forests."