The guidelines on preserving and enhancing the cultural dimension of sustainable forest management in Europe (MCPFE)
Research Group 6.07.00, “Forest and woodland history” , Task Force on Traditional Forest Knowledge
Coordinator: Mauro Agnoletti - University of Florence - Department of Environmental Forestry Science and Technology
The definition of forest management objectives and forest management practices that meet diverse criteria for sustainability requires collaboration among relevant stakeholders. The need for decision-makers and forest managers to consider all relevant knowledge about forest ecosystems and the impacts of forest management options in the development of forest policies and operational practices is being increasingly recognized. While there is a significant, and growing, body of knowledge and scientific literature in the biophysical sciences and economics that is relevant to the development and application of ecological and economic criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management (SFM), relatively little attention has been paid by the forest science community to the cultural dimensions of SFM.
Although, timber production is regulated and the ecological functions and natural values protected by a number of EU directives, cultural values are not preserved by specific European initiatives at management level nor included in certification standards. Certification was introduced as a market-based effort to foster sustainable management of forests, including aspects such as human rights of indigenous populations, poverty alleviation, and respect for conservation legislation. The initial interest, however, was driven mainly by concerns over the exploitation of tropical forests and reported losses of some species from these forests. It is apparent that none of the existing certification protocols have made specific efforts to articulate the importance of culture and history as a guide for land management decisions, nor even as a major component of management plans. These protocols also do not fully identify landscape histories or culturally important landscapes as central considerations for future management decisions. Failure to coherently address culture and history may very well be a growing weakness that will have to be reconciled if the public is to have any confidence in the protocols designed to recognize well-managed forests and, ultimately, sustainable management.
The role of cultural heritage was the focus of two international meetings organized in Sunne (Sweden) in 2005, and Florence (Italy) 2006. The meeting in Florence was organized by the IUFRO’s Task Force on Traditional Forest Knowledge and Research Group 6.07 “Forest and Woodland History”, and supported by the University of Florence, the U.S. Forest Service and the Liaison Unit of the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE), in cooperation with the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forest Policies, the Regional Government of Tuscany, UNESCO, and the European Society for Environmental History. The two conferences were a step towards the implementation of the Vienna declaration n.3 of the MCPFE concerning “Preserving and enhancing the cultural dimension of sustainable forest management in Europe”, which aims to develop specific indicators concerning cultural values to improve the existing set of criteria for Sustainable Forest Management enhanced by the MCPFE. The conference held in Florence was attended by representatives from a variety of international organizations and forest policy bodies, including representatives from the UNFF, FAO, UNCCD, UNESCO, the Council of Europe’s European Landscape Convention, and the MCPFE Liaison Unit.
One of the most important results of the conference was the establishment for international expert group to produce guidelines for the implementation of Vienna declaration 3, in order to achieve a full recognition and inclusion of cultural values in SFM by all the 40 member states. The draft document produced by the group proposes also additional pan European indicators for SFM on social and cultural aspects. The inclusion of cultural and landscape values in national forest programmes and rural development programmes is addressed by the guidelines, as well as their identification, monitoring and assessment.
