Monitoring and information reporting for sustainable forest management: An international multiple case study analysis

In forest management there has been a proliferation of tools, methods and standards for local-level monitoring and information reporting that has made it difficult for forest managers to promote cost effectiveness, efficiency and confidence building in their day-to-day management. This exploratory study highlights the degree to which 22 case studies, operating in 15 different jurisdictions in North America and Europe, were monitoring and reporting information related to sustainable and adaptive forest management. The results demonstrate a high degree of similarity in forest management practices both within and between different jurisdictions of North America and Europe. They also indicate the potential for greater collaborative research when developing local-level monitoring tools, methods and standards, particularly related to the scale and intensity of forest operations. Finally, they reveal differences in the level of formal monitoring and information reporting being conducted at the smaller scales of forest management when compared to the larger forestry companies. This research suggests that forest management standards need to better reflect the implications of scale and the wider-operating environment of forestry on monitoring and information management practices, particularly when evaluating and comparing 'best' practices.