WRI Publications Feed: Forest Landscapes Initiative

Sustainable Procurement of Wood and Paper-Based Products: Version 1.1

Ruth Nogueron — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:41:45 -0400

Find out more at http://www.sustainableforestprods.org

Version 1.1 includes a characterization of 34 tools and resources (13 more than in the original publication) that aid sustainable procurement of forest products. The update also includes a comprehensive list of publicly available private sector procurement policies and the issues they cover.

Decisions regarding the purchase and use of wood and paper-based products can have far-reaching, long-term impacts for the forests where they are harvested, the communities supported by wood-using industries, and the places where those products are purchased and used.

The information in this joint WRI/WBCSD publication is organized around ten key issues, posed as “essential questions” that procurement managers might address related to the sustainable procurement of wood and paper-based products:

Origin: Where do the products come from?
Information accuracy: Is information about the products credible?
Legality: Have the products been legally produced?
Sustainability: Have forests been sustainably managed?
Special places: Have special places, including sensitive ecosystems, been protected?
Climate change: Have climate issues been addressed?
Environmental protection: Have appropriate environmental controls been applied?
Recycled fiber: Has recycled fiber been used appropriately?
Other resources: Have other resources been used appropriately?
Local communities and indigenous peoples: Have the needs of local communities or indigenous peoples been addressed?

The publication is designed as an information tool to help customers develop their own sustainable procurement policies for wood and paper-based products. It is also a decision support tool providing simple and clear information on twenty-two existing approaches to the procurement of wood and paper-based products from legal and sustainable sources, as well as providing additional references and resource materials.

Atlas Forestier Interactif du Congo - Interactive Forest Atlas of Congo (version 1.0)

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0400

ATLAS PRINT VERSION AND CD-ROM AVAILABLE IN FRENCH, ONLY.

ATLAS ONLINE. You can access the map server for the Interactive Forestry Atlas of Congo online! This interactive map allows the user to create personalized maps, query information, zoom in on areas of interest and download underlying spatial data.

POSTER. Displaying information accessible through the Interactive Forestry Atlas of Congo, the accompanying poster presents an overview of forested land use designation for the Republic of Congo. The poster is available in both French and English.

The Interactive Forestry Atlas of the Republic of Congo, through the overview report and online interactive atlas, allows the user to access up-to-date spatial data and attributes, as well as, understand the context and utility of this information for Congo’s forestry sector.

The Interactive Forestry Atlas of Congo (version 1.0), is one of the principal products from the ongoing collaboration between WRI, Congo’s Ministry of the Forest Economy (MEF) and the Centre National d’Inventaire et d ’Aménagement des Ressources Forestières et Fauniques (CNIAF).

In one source, this Atlas contains much of the relevant spatial data for forest management and governance in the Republic of Congo, including:

updated forest concession and protected area boundaries,
a roads dataset created from satellite imagery, and
useful attribute data

management plan status,
name of operator,
year of attribution, and
wood volume production.

The Atlas also includes an overview document highlighting its contents and utility and placing the work in the greater forestry sector context in Congo.

Through this Atlas and related products, MEF, CNIAF, WRI and partners seek to increase knowledge about the state of Congo’s forests, and to enable better decision-making by providing data in accessible forms for use by government, industry, and the public.

Presently the Atlas and CD Rom are available only in French.

Legality Standards and Stepwise Approaches to Sustainable Forest Management in Central Africa

admin — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0400

There is increasing demand by individual consumers and national governments for wood products that have been harvested in a legal, socially responsible and sustainable manner, particularly in the US and European marketplaces. While some countries and individual private timber companies operating in Central Africa are moving towards increased legality and sustainability of operations, most are years away from being able to implement procedures that would satisfy traditional forest certification legality and sustainability criteria. Rather than effectively prohibiting importation of wood from the Central Africa region and other developing countries, where the industrial forest sector represents important sources of revenue for national economies and the rural poor, some have proposed a stepwise approach to certification that would allow time for committed companies to show that they are on the road to sustainability.

There are a number of initiatives ongoing in Central Africa that aim to increase the supply of sustainable harvested and legally produced wood products. With so many actors and initiatives it is at times hard to make sense of it all. This brief outlines some of the issues and ongoing initiatives associated with the stepwise approach to sustainable forest management in Central Africa, and provides some insights and lessons learned from WRI’s collaborative efforts to set up an independent and voluntary forest concession monitoring system in the Congo Basin.

Interactive Forestry Atlas of Cameroon (version 2.0)

admin — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0500

ATLAS ONLINE. You can also access the map server for the Interactive Forestry Atlas of Cameroon online! This interactive map allows the user to create personalized maps, query information, zoom in to areas of interest, and download underlying spatial data.

POSTER. Displaying information accessible through the Interactive Forestry Atlas of Cameroon, the accompanying poster presents an overview of forested land use designation for Cameroon. The poster is available in French only.

The Interactive Forestry Atlas of Cameroon (version 2.0) is the second (updated and expanded) version of this atlas, originally published by WRI in 2005.

This interactive atlas tool allows users to access, through a map viewing application, the most complete and up-to-date information on the Cameroon forest sector, including:

timber extraction area boundaries and attributes,
forest concession management plan status,
volume of timber logged by concession areas
and many others.

New information/themes in the second version include:

forest concession boundaries and attributes,
concession Annual Allowable Cut (AACs) boundaries and volumes,
location and capacity of sawmills and
managed hunting zone boundaries.

Its target audience includes members of government in Cameroon, the private forest sector, NGOs, community associations and concerned private citizens.

This accompanying overview report presents the new and updated content contained in this second version, in addition to discussing actions which have been facilitated by the first version and potential uses and applications of this updated and expanded version. The document also describes the current situation, terminology and legislation relating to the forestry sector in Cameroon.

This overview and associated interactive atlas are a product of the collaboration between WRI, the Cameroonian Ministry of Forests and Fauna and other partner institutions.

Mapping Undisturbed Landscapes in Alaska: Overview Report

admin — Sat, 02 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0400

This report presents an analysis and geographical representation of relatively large landscapes free of visual evidence of human disturbances across the State of Alaska, USA.

These undisturbed landscapes, classified and mapped as

Intact Forest Landscapes (IFLs) and
Forest Landscape Fragments (FLFs),

were mapped using methods similar to other Global Forest Watch (GFW) mapping efforts in Russia, Canada, and Chile.

IFLs and FLFs were mapped for Alaska’s boreal and coastal temperate rainforest. Additional analysis for identified IFLs and FLFs includes ownership, protection status, forest composition, and fire disturbance.

Mapping High Conservation Value Forests of Primorsky Kray, Russian Far East

admin — Sat, 02 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0400

Primorsky Kray, also known as Primorye, hosts one of the most diverse forest ecosystems in Russia that protects a significant portion of the region’s biodiversity. Its mixed broadleaf coniferous forests are the last remaining habitat for the Far East leopard and the Amur tiger. Historic and current development rates in the region raise questions, however, about the future conservation value of these forest ecosystems. Thus, a project was initiated to map high conservation value forests (HCVF) to aid regional conservation strategies and to update protected area systems.

The highest conservation priority should be given to those ecosystems that are most endangered: the least disturbed forests whose total area is decreasing with each passing year. In formulating a research plan, we discussed the following forest ecosystem categories:

Less disturbed forest tracts;
Floodplain and bottomland ecosystems of intact river basins;
Naturally rare and unique forest communities; and
Rare and endangered plant species habitats.

In mapping HCVF in Primorsky Kray, we focused on identifying forests important for the preservation of natural vegetation and its biodiversity. To a large extent, animal biodiversity would also be represented within these forest communities. Although this assumption might not hold true in each case, especially for large, mobile animal species, the survival of many animals depends on preserving natural vegetation and vegetation habitats. We did not consider the importance of forests in watershed protection and erosion control as well as cultural and social values in this analysis, since the identification of these elements requires a different approach and extensive fieldwork. Moreover, forest areas with different high conservation values often overlap.

An important aspect of this project was mapping less-fragmented forest territories. It was carried out in several steps. Step 1 used topographic information to exclude infrastructures from the territory of interest. The next step used remote sensing to identify infrastructure not present on available topographic maps, such as logging roads, clear-cuts, high-graded areas, areas converted to agricultural lands, mining areas, and other anthropogenic disturbances. As a separate agent, burned areas were also delineated and excluded from less-fragmented areas. Image interpretation was carried out using Landsat-7 ETM+ data and Landsat-5 TM data.

Independent mapping of core areas of the least transformed forests was carried out by simultaneously using topographic maps, forest inventory data, and satellite images. Least transformed forests were identified in all main forest formations of the region.

To locate less disturbed forest tracts, we combined the areas found to be least transformed with areas that were found to be least fragmented, identified clusters of candidate core areas and eliminated fragmented areas. In addition, floodplain and bottomland ecosystems of intact river basins, some rare forest communities, and known occurrences of rare plant species were mapped. All these kinds of HCVF, if protected together, could support the flora and vegetation diversity of Primorsky Kray.

The total area of HCVF identified (without intact forest landscapes) comprised 2.94 million hectares, or 17.8% of the region’s area. The total area of rare forest communities’ was found to be almost 195 thousand hectares. Altogether, more than 1600 habitats of rare and endangered vascular plant species were identified.

The most endangered vegetation types, especially in comparison to the relatively small area they occupy, are Manchurian fir and mixed formations in the very south of the region. The next priority for protection is the largest identified less disturbed forest tracts.

Canada's Large Intact Forest Landscapes (2006 update)

admin — Sat, 02 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0400

Canada’s forests provide critically important benefits to the nation - ranging from their economic contributions via the forest products industry to recreational opportunities to life-sustaining ecosystem services, such as soil erosion control and watershed protection. The vast extent of Canadian forests represents one tenth of the world’s forested area, one quarter of the world’s temperate rainforests, and more than one third of the world’s boreal (i.e., northern, conifer-dominated) forests.

Despite the importance and diversity of benefits derived from Canada’s forests, until very recently Canadians had little access to information about forests other than timber production statistics. This is now beginning to change, with various national and provincial government agencies and other groups documenting and reporting on a wider range of forest values.

This report presents the results of a multiyear project to map Canada’s large, intact forest landscapes and analyze their distribution and level of protection. Intact forest landscapes contain no visible signs of large-scale human activities such as agriculture, logging, mining, roads, pipelines, or powerlines.

Intact forest landscapes are becoming increasingly rare at the global level, due in large part to their vulnerability to the effects of large-scale human interventions - effects that are not easily or quickly reversed. The remaining global tracts of intact forest landscapes have intrinsic value as part of the Earth’s natural endowment. They are also growing in importance as benchmarks or reference points for understanding managed forest landscapes and designing management schemes that preserve or restore significant aspects of the natural forest landscape. Indeed, intact forest landscapes are areas of opportunity and responsibility, where all land use options - from development to conservation - are still open. They are areas in which the best available knowledge and technology can be applied to inform effective and responsible decision-making.

This project to map Canada’s intact forest landscapes aims to increase knowledge about their extent and location, and to enable better decision-making by providing data in accessible forms for use by government, industry, and the public. It is the result of a unique collaboration among members of the international Global Forest Watch network and was carried out by Global Forest Watch Canada, partner organizations of Global Forest Watch Russia, and the World Resources Institute. The project builds on and extends previous work assessing forest intactness in Canada and is part of a larger effort by the Global Forest Watch network to map intact forest landscapes in important forest countries around the world. The methodology was initially developed by Global Forest Watch to map Russia’s intact forest landscapes, and analysts from Global Forest Watch Russia have been key partners in this Canadian study.

Global Forest Watch is committed to providing the best possible information for decisions on forest land use. Thus, we plan to work to refine and expand this analysis to include more detailed data, map smaller (between 5,000 and 50,000 hectares) undisturbed areas of forest landscape, analyze the location of social, economic, and conservation values in the forest landscape, and conduct studies tracking past and future forest change. We encourage the Canadian government, industry, and public to join us in these efforts.

Human Pressure on the Brazilian Amazon Forests

admin — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0500

This analysis compiles a comprehensive set of geospatial indicators of human activities that lead to forest degradation and conversion. Illustrated by numerous maps, the results provide valuable insights for land-use planning and zoning.

In 2002, approximately 47 percent of the Brazilian Amazon was under some type of human pressure, either as areas under pressure from human settlements (19 percent) or areas subjected to incipient human pressure (28 percent). *Note: These numbers have since increased. Please see this report’s press release at http://newsroom.wri.org for the latest estimates.

Areas under pressure from human settlement were found primarily along official roads in the so-called “arc of deforestation,” comprising the eastern and southern edges of the forests in the states of Rondônia, Mato Grosso, and Pará. Other significant locations under human pressure were along the Trans-Amazon highway in the State of Pará, along the Amazon River between Manaus and Belém, along the Cuiabá-Santarém highway near the city of Santarém, and around the main urban centers in the states of Roraima and Amapá.

Areas showing incipient human pressure were generally clustered and adjacent to areas of human settlements, indicating frontier expansion. This was especially true in the states of Pará, Mato Grosso, and Rondônia. There were, however, isolated areas of incipient human pressure along navigable rivers throughout the region. Such areas appeared to be associated primarily with traditional mestizo communities and indigenous populations.

Stocks and Flows: Carbon inventory and mitigation potential of the Russian forest and land base

admin — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 00:00:00 -0500

This report represents the culmination of a joint effort by Russian and American scientists, nongovernmental organizations, and U.S. organizations to assess the forest carbon situation in Russia and to make the data available to researchers and policy makers. It was drafted in English on the basis of a longer technical report tentatively titled “Carbon Budget and Climate Mitigation Potential for the Russian Forest and Land Use Sector,” which was translated from Russian. Both reports will be published in English and Russian versions - this report as a WRI report and the longer technical report by the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The importance of the Russian forest estate to the global carbon cycle is widely recognized. Russian forests are estimated to contain 776 million hectares of forestland, or nearly 23% of the total forestland in the world, providing one of the largest land-based carbon storage.

Historically, policy makers and scientists outside of Russia have had little access to data and information on the forest resources of Russia. The State Forest Fund Account (SFFA) collects and assembles forestry data since the 1960s and makes it available to the Russian speaking community from the Ministry of Natural Resources.

In light of discussions to adopt carbon credits and trading systems, it is important to verify the credibility of the Russian national forestry data. The report compares SFFA data to independent information from the Nothern Eurasia Ecosystem map based on data from the VEGETATION system on-board the French Satellite, SPOT. Then, bottom-up and top-down analyses are used to assess the current size of the Russian carbon sink, potential sequestration in the future, and options for mitigation projects in Russia to contribute to solving the global warming problem.

The estimates in this report indicate that above-ground forest biomass contains approximately 35.1 Billion Tones Carbon Equivalents.

Interactive Forestry Atlas of Cameroon (version 1.0)

admin — Tue, 01 Mar 2005 00:00:00 -0500

The Interactive Forestry Atlas of Cameroon (Version 1.0) is one of the principal products of the ongoing Cameroon Ministry of Environment and Forest (MINEF) - Global Forest Watch (GFW) collaboration.

You can now view the Interactive Map Server online!

In one source, this Atlas contains much of the relevant spatially explicit data for forest management and governance including - updated Forest Management Units (FMU) and protected area boundaries, a roads dataset created from satellite imagery, and useful attribute data (i.e. management status, year of attribution, and wood volume production). The Atlas also includes an introductory document highlighting its contents and utility. Through this Atlas and related products, MINEF, GFW and partners seek to increase knowledge about Cameroon’s forest use, and to enable better decision-making by providing data in accessible forms for use by government, industry, and the public. The Atlas is available in English, French and on CDRom.