Development and Testing of a Criteria and Indicators System for Sustainable Forest Management at the Local Level - Case Study at the Haliburton Forest & Wild Life Reserve Ltd., Canada

The concept of criteria and indicators (C&I) for sustainable forest management (SFM) is suitable for defining, measuring and assessing sustainability in forestry. Within this study, the concept was developed further to a C&I system for application at the local level and tested as a case study at the Haliburton Forest & Wild Life Reserve Ltd. in Canada. The research involved: development of a generic set of local level C&I, identification of verifiers and norms, field testing the C&I, development of indicator measurement databases, assessment of the state of the forest and its management, and the application of adaptive management procedures. Based on the generic C&I system for SFM and the comprehensive field test, the study provides a model for evaluating sustainability in the management of temperate forests around the world.