THE INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBER ORGANIZATION

Forest Management Experiences from

East Asia

• UNCED Forest Principles

- Chapter 11 Combating Deforestation and other relevant chapters

• Agenda 21

• Rio Declaration on Environment and Development

UNCED 1992

Sustainable Forest Management

Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development of all Types of Forests

Sustainable Development

Environment & Development

• From sustained yield management to sustainable forest management as continuous process of ecosystem management

• Forest law enforcement and governance as a crucial pre-requisite of sustainable forest management

• Making forest management and forest law enforcement and governance mutually supportive

SFM and Forest Law Enforcement and Governance

• Study on the Status of Sustainable Forest Management, leading to the book ‘No Timber Without Trees’ (1989) [ Professor Duncan Poore, et al]

• Review of Progress towards Year 2000 Objective (2000) [Professor Duncan Poore and Thang Hooi Chiew]

ITTO

Country Area (thousand ha)

Population, 1999(thousands)

S o urc e : Wo rld B a nk

Forest Area, 1995(thousand ha)

Production Import Export Domestic Consumption

Cambodia* 17652 11757 9830 595 0 160 435Fiji* 1827 801 835 710 1 34 677India 297319 997515 65005 24715 2220 31 26904Indonesia* 181157 207022 109791 42384 161 8615 33930Malaysia* 32855 22710 15471 30100 1110 12595 18615Myanmar 65755 45029 27151 2303 0 1040 1263Papua New Guinea* 45286 4705 36939 2330 0 2028 302Philippines* 29817 74259 6766 1060 1172 82 2150Thailand* 51089 60246 11630 319 2139 683 1775Vanuatu 1219 900 50 1 5 46Subtotal 723976 1424044 284318 104566 6804 25273 86097

China* 932641 1253595 133323 71722 18669 807 89584Japan* 37652 126570 25146 39780 31049 23 70806Korea, Republic of 9873 46858 7626 1953 8 0 1961Nepal 14300 23384 4822 7468 8398 137 15729Subtotal 994466 1450407 170917 120923 58124 967 178080

Brunei Darussalam 527 322 434 307 22 6 323Korea, Democratic Republic of 12041 23414 6170 1780 14 224 1570Laos* 23080 5097 12435 1341 0 246 1095Singapore 61 3952 4 370 757 273 853Solomon Islands 2799 429 2389 746 0 382 364Vietnam* 32549 77515 9117 5314 138 56 5396Subtotal 71057 110729 30549 9858 931 1187 9601

GRAND TOTAL 1789499 2985180 485784 235347 65859 27427 273778

Note: Total sums of all industrial roundwood, sawn, veneer and plywood were used for production and trade figures. Year 2000 data used.FAO Statistics data used for non-ITTO members.

* 1385605 1844277 371283 195655 54439 25329 224765

Asia and Pacific Region

i. The extent of tropical forests being at an operational scale for the sustainable production of timber was, on a world scale, negligible;

ii. Many countries had the intention, expressed in their legislation, to manage sustainably; in a number of these countries, partial forms of sustainable management were being practiced;

iii. There seemed to be some awareness in these countries that actionwas needed to attain sustainable management;

iv. Progress in establishing stable sustainable systems was so low that it was having very little impact on the state of tropical forests;

v. Comprehensive and urgent measures were necessary if the tropicaltimber trade was to continue in the long-term; and

vi. The future existence of tropical forests depended on the establishment of sustainable systems of management.

Study on the Status of Sustainable Forest Management (1989)

Main Conclusions

• Yields or coupes should be confined to prescribed limits

• Fellings should be orderly and complete, and confined to coupe boundaries

• The residual stands should be adequate

• The residual stands should be protected

• Silvicultural work should be carried out

• Felling cycles should be followed, with relogging not permitted between cycles

• Permanent roads should be maintained and post-felling erosion controlled

• Unworked forests should be protected

• Working plans should be written and enforced

Elements of Planning and Control

• Government resolve

• A sound political and social case for the selection of a permanent forest estate

• Long-term security for the forest estate, once chosen

• A market for forest produce

• Adequate information for the selection of the forest estate and for planning and controlling its management

• A flexible predictive system for planning and control

• The resources needed for control

• The will needed by all concerned for effective control

Necessary Conditions for Success

• ITTO Guidelines for the Sustainable Management of Natural Tropical Forests (1990)

• ITTO Guidelines for the Establishment and Sustainable Management of Planted Tropical Forests (1993)

• ITTO Guidelines on the Conservation of Biological Diversity in Tropical Production Forests (1993)

• ITTO Guidelines on Fire Management in Tropical Forests (1997)• ITTO Definition of Sustainable Forest Management and the Criteria for the

Measurement of Sustainable Tropical Forest Management (1992)• ITTO Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Management of Natural Tropical

Forests (1998)• ITTO Manuals for the Application of Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable

Management of Natural Tropical Forests at Natural and Forest Management Unit Levels (1999)

• Auditing Systems of Sustainable Forest Management (on-going)• ITTO independent missions to Sarawak (1989) and Bolivia (1995)• Mobilization of more than US 200 million dollars to finance more than 500

projects• ITTO Year 2000 Objective (1990-2000)• ITTO 2000 Objective (2001- )

ITTO’s Response

• Securing and protecting PFE• Increased awareness about SFM

• Increased value-added exports

• Greater practices of RIL• Possibility of timber certification

• Implementing strict engineering specification for road design

• Development of standards for forest management

I. Producing Members

• Illegal logging and poaching• New strategies and master plans

Progress Towards the Achievement of the ITTO Year 2000 Objective

• Establishing a sound basis for forest harvesting

• Usage of ITTO guidelines, C&I

• Broadening awareness about SFM• Expanding forest lands for conservation

• Application and enforcement of guidelines and regulations

• Consultation with local communities

• Inadequate management of protected areas

• Establishment of PFE

• Shortage of personnel and finance• Reorganization of administrative arrangements

• Strategies not fully acted upon• Policy and legislative reform

PROBLEMSPROGRESS

THE INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBER ORGANIZATION

www.itto.or.jp

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Ahhelp MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE ON

FOREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AND GOVERNANCE – EAST ASIA

Bali Hyatt Hotel, Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, 11-13 September 2001

FOREST MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCES FROM EAST ASIA

by

Amha bin Buang Assistant Director (Economic Information and Market Intelligence)

International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) Introduction At the historic United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 3-14 June 1992, the principles of sustainable development as enshrined in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development were embraced as the foundation for addressing the global needs for development and the protection of the environment of our planet. In this connection, Agenda 21 was adopted by the Conference as the blueprint for action towards attaining global sustainable development in the twenty-first century. Another watershed outcome of the Conference was the adoption of the Non-Legally Binding Authoritative Statement of Principles for a Global Consensus on the Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development of All Types of Forests (the UNCED Principles) as the first ever global consensus of the world’s forests. Taken together, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, Chapter 11 on Combating Deforestation and other relevant chapters of Agenda 21, and the UNCED Forest Principles offer a holistic and fundamental framework for deliberating on matters pertaining to the world’s forests, including the topical issue of forest law enforcement and governance. Efforts to build on the first global consensus on forests reached at UNCED have been continuously pursued under the aegis of the United Nations through the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF) (1995-1997), the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF) (1997-2000) and, presently, the United Nations Forum on Forests established in 2000. During the course of this post-Rio process, ‘sustainable forest management’ has been widely accepted as the operationalised term for the much broader and rather nebulous notion of the management, conservation and sustainble development of all types of forests as negotiated at UNCED. More importantly, however, is the recognition that in as much as sustainable development has been identified as the ultimate goal in the attempt to reconcile the overall developmental and environmental needs of the world, sustainable forest management has been regarded as the overriding objective to be achieved in the context of the effort to address the problems and challenges within the forest sector. Sustainable Forest Mangement and its Relationship with Forest Law Enforcement and Governance The concept of sustainable forest mangement itself has been evolving. Traditionally, forest management has been largely regarded as the means of achieving a sustained yield of timber. In practice, the focus of sustained-yield forest management has been on the determination, monitoring and improvement of the volume of timber to be harvested. This sustainable volume should correspond with the rate of growth and regeneration of the forests at which the production of timber could be sustained in perpetuity. Over the years, however, the scope of forest management has expanded to cover several other relevant and critical areas including the optimization of the multiple

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uses of forests and the benefits from non-wood forest goods and services; the conservation of soil, water and biological diversity; the protection of ecosystems and the environment; and the welfare of indigenous communities living in or depending directly on the forests. In the contemporary setting, sustainable forest management is thus considered as a continuous and evolving process of ecosystem management and an overriding goal to be achieved in its own right. Inspite of this consensual notion of sustainable forest management, there has been a bewildering number of definitions of the process. Based on its normative work on the development of a series of ITTO Guidelines as well as Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Mangement of Natural Tropical Forests, ITTO has adopted a simple and practical definition of sustainable forest management as “the process of managing forests to achieve one or more clearly specified objectives of management with regard to the production of a continuous flow of desired forest products and services without undue reduction of its inherent values and future productivity and without undue undesirable effects on the physical and social environment”. There are a number of essential elements that constitute the pre-requisites of sustainable forest management. From the perspective of ITTO’s documented work on this area, these elements can be divided into three main categories namely policy and legislation; forest management; and socio-economic and financial aspects. The category on policy and legislation covers the crucial aspects of forest policy, forest legislation, national forest inventory, Permanent Forest Estate, forest ownership and national forest service. Relevant aspects of planning, harvesting, protection, legal managements and monitoring and research are covered under the category of forest management. Relations with local populations as well as matters relating to economics, incentive and taxation are listed under the category on socio-economic and financial aspects. While all the pre-requisites have to be met in order to achieve sustainable forest management, most would require the support of appropriate rules, regulations, procedures and laws in regulating the behaviour of all actors to ensure conformity with the norms for the proper conduct of the forest sector. However, the issue at hand is not so much whether the rules, regulations, procedures and laws have been put in place but rather the extent to which these are actually observed and effectively enforced, which reflects the level of commitment accorded by a particular country towards achieving sustainable forest management. It is in this context that forest law enforcement and governance should be viewed as a crucial pre-requisite for the attainment of the principal goal of sustainable forest management. Yet, the relationship between sustainable forest management and forest law enforcement and governance could be reciprocal and mutually supportive. While contributing directly to sustainable forest management, best practices in forest management can facilitate effective forest law enforcement and governance as well. By adopting best practices in forest management, the forest entity lends itself to the process of self discipline and regulation through the inculcation of positive values, attitudes and behaviour regarding forests. The fact that forest law infractions are a human problem, a human approach involving the enculturation of such values, attitudes and behaviour among all members and levels of society is vital in ensuring effectiveness of forest law enforcement and governance. Relating Forest Management Experiences from East Asia In the light of the preceding conceptual framework, this account on the forest management experiences from East Asia is presented on the basis of the findings of two specific studies commissioned by ITTO: (i) Study on the Status of Sustainable Forest Management, leading to the publication of the book

‘No Timber Without Trees’ (1989); and (ii) Review of Progress towards Year 2000 Objective (2000).

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The geographical context of these studies is the Asia and Pacific producing region of ITTO which currently comprises ten producing member countries namely Cambodia, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Thailand and Vanuatu. However, the first study was focussed on five specific countries in the region while the second covered nine. This does not fully correspond with the list of countries invited to this Conference. Although China and Japan are in the invited list, these countries are excluded by virtue of being consuming member countries of ITTO. Laos and Vietnam are also excluded as these countries have yet to become members of ITTO. Notwithstanding the gaps, the Asia and Pacific region as defined constitutes one of the major tropical forest regions in the world and is assuming a leading role in the international trade in tropical forest products. Study on the Status of Sustainable Forest Management (1989) This was one of the earliest studies conducted by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) for ITTO following its establishment in November 1986, when the global concern for the fate of the world’s tropical forests was probably at its highest. Its purpose was to examine the management of natural forests for the sustainable production of timber within the producing member countries of ITTO covering the three ITTO producing regions of Africa, Latin America and Asia and Pacific. Needless to say, the outcome of the Study was hardly surprising. Even going by the relatively less stringent criteria of sustained-yield forest management that was applicable at that time, the Study found that: (i) the extent of tropical moist forests being managed at an operational scale for the sustainable

production of timber was, on a world scale, negligible; (ii) many countries had the intention, expressed in their legislation, to manage sustainably; in a

number of these countries, partial forms of sustainable management were being practiced; (iii) there seemed to be some awareness in these countries that action was needed to attain

sustainable management; (iv) progress in establishing stable sustainable systems was so low that it was having very little

impact on the state of tropical forests; (v) comprehensive and urgent measures were necessary if the tropical timber trade was to

continue in the long-term; and (vi) the future existence of tropical forests depended on the establishment of sustainable systems

of management. Situation in Asia and Pacific Beyond the generality and discouraging tone of the foregoing general conclusions, the Study made detailed observations concerning the Asia and Pacific region based on its analysis of the situation in five specific countries namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Thailand. The analysis covered the relevant aspects of forest policy including forest and forest protection and control of the rate of forest utilization; forest resource including classification by areas, selection, demarcation and protection and national forest inventory; and forest operations and management including concession agreements, silvicultural systems, pre-felling inventories, marking for fellings, control of exploitation damage and quality of residuals, yarding - methods and slope limits, transport systems, road design and maintenance, post-felling inventories, planting voids and enrichment planting, security of worked coupes, recruitment of the regeneration stock and monitoring of the developing stands. In ascertaining the extent of sustainable management in the region, the Study observed that Asia differed fundamentally from both Africa and America in that, with the exception of Papua New Guinea, almost all the forests under concession agreements within the region were, at least

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nominally, under management. This management covered the following elements of planning and control: • yields or coupes should be confined to prescribed limits • fellings should be orderly and complete, and confined to coupe boundaries • the residual stands should be adequate • the residual stands should be protected • silvicultural work should be carried out • felling cycles should be followed, with relogging not permitted between cycles • permanent roads should be maintained and post-felling erosion controlled • unworked forests should be protected • working plans should be written and enforced However, the adequacy of management was restricted only to the first three elements. The most serious shortcomings were failure to protect the unworked forests (eighth element) and the residual stands (fourth element). Erosion (seventh element) was also serious in the region except in northern Thailand while silvicultural work (fifth element) appeared to be taken seriously only in Peninsular Malaysia and parts of Indonesia. Relogging between cycles (sixth element) had taken place in Peninsular Malaysia and the Philippines and there was strong pressure for it to be permitted in Sabah. The writing and enforcement of working plans (ninth element) was in its infancy but, in general, the concession agreements contained adequate working rules to control fellings on a sustained basis. It was emphasized that effective enforcement of a few simple and basic rules was far more useful than the proliferation of complex working plans and mathematical yield control methods without adequate enforcement. On the basis of its observations and analysis, the Study identified a number of forests and operations which appeared to be reasonably successful as potential sustained-yield units. These included the Mae Poong forest in Thailand; Jengai Forest Reserve, Trengganu and many other possibilities in Peninsular Malaysia; operations of the Sabah Foundation in Sabah; the Paper Industries Corporation of the Philippines (PICOP) at Bislig, Mindanao in the Philippines; and Padeco, Sungei Rawas and Musi River in Sumatra, Indonesia. The study went on to note that appropriate action was being taken by many countries in the region to improve forest management. The establishment of forest development units was undertaken in Thailand while in Peninsular Malaysia, concerted effort was being made to codify and enforce the Selective Management System (SMS) in the states. The replacement of concession agreements by timber production sharing agreements (TPSAs) was operating in the Philippines on a trial basis. In assessing the adequacy and independence of forestry staff in the region, the Study observed that staff levels in most forestry departments had risen. With expanding resource and budgetary allocations, there was no evidence to suggest that facilities were inadequate. The region was well supplied with forest research institutes, many with long experience and world-wide reputations. These institutes had excellent herbaria and facilities for research in silviculture, forest products and other relevant areas. University training for officers was widely available within the region while field staff were getting trained at many colleges and forest training schools. In general, the Study concluded that professional officers of the departments were highly trained, many with higher degrees from overseas and the standard of training of the field staff was equally impressive. However, the lack of government support had made some forest staff dependent on the goodwill of concession holders. This could result in the staff being beholden to the concession holders and vulnerable to bribery. Political influences, especially wielded by concession and license holders as well as the industry, were also identified as having played a prominent role in contributing to the occupational hazards of forest staff.

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Among the main factors hindering or preventing sustained-yield management, the Study pointed out that illegal clearing of forests; particularly of worked-over coupes to be the most damaging factor in Thailand, the Philippines, Sarawak, Indonesia and Sabah. This included illegal logging of unworked forests and of residual trees in worked-over coupes which was common in Thailand and the Philippines. The next most damaging practice was allowing forests to be exploited either in excess of the sustainable cut or when it was silvicuturally damaging to do so. Having taken the preceding factors into account, the Study identified Peninsular Malaysia as the most promising area in the region for sustained-yield forest management. In so doing, the Study emphasized the conditions that were considered necessary to give the greatest chance of success in managing tropical forests for the sustainable production of timber, namely; • Government resolve • A sound political and social case for the selection of a permanent forest estate • Long-term security for the forest estate, once chosen • A market for forest produce • Adequate information for the selection of the forest estate and for planning and controlling its

management • A flexible predictive system for planning and control • The resources needed for control • The will needed by all concerned for effective control. ITTO’s Response The recommendations of the study covering a list of elements of a strategy and actions for ITTO to establish on a firm operational base, the management of natural forests for the sustainable production of timber were given due consideration. As a matter of fact, the study has spurred ITTO to embark on its pioneering mission of assisting efforts to bring tropical forest under sustainable management. This has thus far involved normative work on the development of a series of ITTO Guidelines covering the sustainable management of natural tropical forests (1990), the establishment and sustainable management of planted tropical forests (1993), the conservation of biological diversity in tropical production forests (1993) and fire management in tropical forests (1997). Of greater significance is the ITTO pioneering work on the definition of sustainable forest management and the Criteria for the Measurement of Sustainable Tropical Forest Management (1992) which have been duly revised and updated as the ITTO Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Management of Natural Tropical Forests (1998). Relevant follow-up has resulted in the publication of the ITTO Manuals for the Application of Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Management of Natural Tropical Forests at both the national and forest management unit levels (1999) and the on-going development of auditing systems of sustainable forest management. Simultaneously, this normative work has been complemented by the despatch of ITTO independent missions to Sarawak (1989) and Bolivia (1995) to assess forest management and offer recommendations for improvement. The formulation and implementation of ITTO projects have also been undertaken in member countries particularly with a view to building capacity towards managing tropical forests on a sustainable basis. To date, ITTO has mobilized more than US$200 million to finance more than 500 projects for the benefit of its members. The culmination of ITTO efforts and the driving force behind these ITTO initiatives has been the adoption of the ITTO Year 2000 Objective, initially conceived as a target, which emerged in the form of a commitment of all members made in Bali, Indonesia in 1990 by which members, through international collaboration and national policies and programmes, would progress towards achieving sustainable management of tropical forests and trade in tropical timber from sustainable resources by the year 2000. Review of Progress towards Year 2000 Objective (2000)

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A comprehensive assessment of the progress made by ITTO and its members towards achieving the ITTO Year 2000 was carried out last year based on the Review of Progress toward Year 2000 Objective. In essence, the Review indicated the progress made by producing member countries in policy and legislative reform; re-organization of adminstrative arrangements, development of new strategies and masterplans for forestry; establishment of a permanent forest estate (PFE); consultation with local communities; expansion of forest lands dedicated to conservation; usage of ITTO Guidelines, Criteria and Indicators; development of standards for sustainable forest management; investigation of the possibility of timber certification; increasing awareness of the importance of sustainable forest management; and producing more value-added exports. However, problems of full implementation in the forests were still encountered including strategies not fully acted upon; shortage of qualified and trained personnel and finance; illegal logging and poaching; inadequate management of protected areas; applications and enforcement of guidelines and regulations; instilling greater awareness among concessionaires, timber industry, forest workers, farmers and other communities; establishing a sound basis for sustainable harvesting; implementing strict engineering specifications for road design; greater practice of reduced impact logging; and securing and protecting the PFE. Review on Progress in Asia and Pacific The review on the Asia and Pacific region encompassed nine producing member countries of ITTO at that time namely Cambodia, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Thailand. It summarized the state of forests and the significant developments relating to forest management in each of these member countries and presented its analysis of the progress made towards the achievement of the Year 2000 Objective. From the perspective of forest policies and legal framework, the Review pointed out the significant progress in strengthening the enabling environment for sustainable forest management through reforms of forest policy and legislation. All producing member countries had formal national forest policies in place except Cambodia where credible steps towards this end were being taken. In Thailand, its national forest policy did not provide for legislation with regard to the role of local communities in decision-making. A national committee was set up in Malaysia in 1994 to map out plans and strategies towards achieving the Year 2000 Objective. With the assembly of a comprehensive body of forest legislation, rules and regulations, Malaysia was considered well placed to facilitate the implementation of sustainable forest management. Indonesia and Papua New Guinea had taken similar positive measures. A notable development in the region was the decision to establish independent organizations to inspect and monitor forest operations for sustainability in Indonesia and Malaysia. The institutionalization of the community-based forest management programme in the Philippines was also seen as one of the strategies to complement and even replace the once powerful forest concession companies with local communities. In general, the policy and legislative reform being undertaken in the region could be regarded as significant as it involved a shift from timber to resource-based sustainable forest management; greater people’s participation in resource protection, management and utilization; and a focus on the need for protecting and conserving natural forests as major reservoirs of biological diversity and a habitat for endangered species. The policy and legislative reform had led to changes in administrative arrangements and sustainable forest management was being treated in the wider context of national landuse. There was also a strong tendency to decentralize. These changes appeared to be more suitable to deal with prevailaing problems but the shortage of qualified and trained personnel was identified as a serious constraint.

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With regards to forest resources and the security of the permanent forest estate (PFE), there was growing recognition of the importance of having a productive forest resource that was secured with areas designated for the protection of soil and water as well as the conservation of biological diversity. Out of the estimated extent of forested land of 284 million hectares in the region, the nominal extent of PFE was about 167.7 million hectares. While the PFE had been constituted through a legal process and procedure in India, Malaysia and Myanmar, it had yet to be formalised in Cambodia. In Indonesia, the status of the PFE was becoming more definitive and in the Philippines and Thailand, all forest lands not reserved as totally protected areas or alienated were classified as forest reserves. With the exception of Papua New Guinea and Fiji where most lands were controlled by traditional communities, clans and individuals, virtually all forest lands in the region were owned by the State. In this regard, many countries had reported substantial increase in forest lands. Over the last decade, Indonesia had created 9 additional national parks totalling 4.5 million hectares while the PFE in Malaysia increased by 13.7% in 1998 through the inclusion of 1.5 million hectares of state lands, mainly in Sarawak. On the aspect of sustained yield management of production forests, considerable progress had been made in updating the resource information-base in member countries of the region. While there were still no national forest inventories in Cambodia and Papua New Guinea, other countries in the region had developed the capability to undertake forest inventories. Many had also made progress in resource monitoring and mapping using remote sensing and geographical information systems (GIS). This had strengthened their capability and capacity to undertake regional and national inventories. In Malaysia and Myanmar where the PFE system had existed and forest management practices consistently applied, achieving the Year 2000 Objective had become a realistic goal. Indonesia was also progressing rapidly to the point where elements of sustainable forest management were almost fully in place in some of its production PFE. However, deforestation and degradation of productive forests remained a serious obstacle in India, the Philippines and Thailand. With the exception of Papua New Guinea and Cambodia, practically all forest lands under concession agreements were covered by management plans which in Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia were subjected to periodic revision. Guidelines on ‘best practices’ in various aspects of sustainable forest management were largely in place in the region. Improved knowledge on forest dynamics had strengthened the scientific basis in applied silvicultural practices. In Indonesia and Malaysia, Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management (C&I) had been developed, field tested, independently evaluated, internalised into national forestry standards, and operationally applied to selected forest management unit levels. Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms were also in place. Considerable progress had also been achieved in forest management certification at the forest management unit level, with Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar having established independent certification bodies. Logging bans had been imposed in Thailand and the Philippines since 1989 but deforestation and forest degradation had continued. In the context of the development of her forestry sector master plan, however, the Philippines had been prolific in the area of social forestry policy and legislative reform that could be used as a reference point in the enhancement of people’s participation in promoting sustainable forest management. In the priority area of reduced impact logging (RIL), Malaysia and Indonesia were the lead countries. Malaysia had trained 2000 professionals from the private and public sectors while similar trainings had been organised to about 100 concessionaires in Indonesia. Wider application of RIL technology and practice remained to be constrained by insufficient number of trained operatives; its considerable demand for planning, commitment and focus; higher costs of harvesting; and the need to provide incentives. In several countries of the region, regulatory framework had been improved with a view to enhancing the enforcement of rules, regulations, management guidelines and prescriptions. Elements of sustainable forest management had been included in consession agreements.

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In the field of utilization, the Asia and Pacific region had retained its lead position over the other two regions of Africa and Latin America. Indonesia remained to be the world’s largest producer of tropical plywood and had the largest rattan industry in the region. Wood processing capacities and actual domestic processing had remained high with Thailand, the Philppines and India becoming important net importers of tropical logs. While primary wood processing industry in Myanmar, Papua New Guinea and Cambodia had considerable room for improvement, the issuance of new sawmills and plywood mill licenses had been stopped in Indonesia. Inefficient sawmills were also being phased out in Peninsular Malaysia. The shortage of logs in these countries had led to increased processing of small diameter logs. Diversification of the wood-based industry was also taking place in most countries of the region with increasing emphasis on secondary and tertiary processing to produce value-added products. Consequently, exports of furniture including those using rubberwood components had expanded to more than US$1.1 billion in 1998. Timber supply could be increased by as much as 15-20 percent through improved wood recovery rates during harvesting operations and processing. Chipboard and medium density fibreboard (MDF) mills had been installed in many countries, resulting in better use of primary conversion wastes. In terms of environmental considerations, concern remained focussed on soil disturbance and canalisation of water caused by bad road design and construction as well as by skidding. Nothing substantial could be reported regarding the progress in the introduction, implementation and enforcement of strict engineering specifications for road design. RIL was, however, becoming more widespread in the Asia-Pacific region. Environment-related legislation had also become a common feature in the region although environmental impact assessment (EIA) did not always apply to major forestry operations. Transboundary air pollution caused by forest fires was still a recurring problem requiring greater collaboration among affected countries in the region. Concerning biological diversity, great advances had been made in extending the coverage of protected areas in almost all countries, with innovative approaches being taken in some countries to harmonise protection with the interests of local people. Many of the protected areas were not adequately managed, however, and there was little evidence to suggest that wild species were being harvested in a sustainable manner. In Indonesia, buffer zones had been created between national parks and populated areas while virgin jungle reserves (VJRs) had been established in different forest types and ecotypes within the PFE in Malaysia. There had been no evidence to show, however, that measures to conserve biological diversity within production forests as recommended in the relevant ITTO Guidelines had been adequately addressed. With respect to socio-economic aspects, an increasing trend was noted regarding greater involvement of non-government organizations (NGOs), community organizations and local people in managing public forests. Without the commitment and involvement of these groups, the protection of public forest lands would have been quite impossible. Overall findings of the Review While the earlier Study on the Status of Sustainable Forest Management (1989) was not optimistic over the prospects for sustainable forest management in the region due to the perceived failure of forest administrations to apply mandated laws, regulations and management controls, the Review noted that governments had shown increased commitment towards sustainable forest management. The level and depth of policy and legislative reform undertaken by member countries were substantial. To this extent, the prospect for sustainable forest management had improved to a point where real gains in the ground might be achieved. Among the thirty producing member countries of ITTO, the Review identified six countries which appeared to be managing some of their forests sustainably at the forest management unit level to achieve the Year 2000 Objective, with the others moving in the same direction. Three of the six countries were from the Asia and

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Pacific Region, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar; the others being Guyana, Ghana and Cameroon. It was conceded that the Review had given an imperfect and incomplete account of progress towards the achievement of the Year 2000 Objective. Reliance on the ITTO Criteria and Indicators as the basis for reporting progress and the undertaking of surveys similar to the one conducted under the 1989 study were offered as possible approaches in implementing future reviews. What the Review underlined was the progress made and the positive changes that were taking place. Based on the conclusions and recommendations of the Review, ITTO and its members have duly reaffirmed their full commitment to moving as rapidly as possible towards achieving exports of tropical timber and timber products from sustainably managed sources under the ITTO Objective 2000. They have further decided on some concrete measures towards the realization of the Objective including promoting the use of ITTO Criteria and Indicators for reporting progress; enhancing market access for tropical timber from sustainably managed resources; rendering assistance to requesting producing members in identifying factors which most severely limit the progress towards achieving the Objective and in formulating action plans to overcome the constraints; facilitating the implementation of these action plans; setting up of ITTO Objective 2000 Boards upon request and urging increased contributions to the Bali Partnership Fund to facilitate the attainment of the Objective. In this context, a reporting format based on the ITTO Criteria and Indicators is being developed, a number of ITTO Objective 2000 Boards have been established in producing member countries and a technical mission has been despatched to Indonesia. Similar missions are being planned to be sent to a number of other member countries. Conclusion The foregoing two ITTO studies have provided some indication regarding the state and level of forest management in East Asia spanning a period of over a decade. However, these studies might not have reflected fully the actual situation in some countries in the region, such as Indonesia, especially in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis which, with its attendant economic, social and political repercussions, may have affected the general trend towards sustainable forest management that was showing promising progress previously. Presently, Indonesia, in collaboration with donor countries, ITTO and other relevant international organizations and NGOs, is paying immediate and particular attention towards addressing the pressing issues relating to illegal logging, forest and land fires, the restructuring of the forest industry and decentralization. Be that as it may, it is always a challenge to present an overall perspective of a dynamic region comprising countries with varying endowment of forests, density and rate of growth of populations, level of socio-economic and political development, and priorities in meeting current and future challenges. With some 284 million hectares of forests and 500 million inhabitants, the crucial consideration has always been whether and for how long, given the level of management and the rate of exploitation of forests, will Asia and Pacific be able to sustain its present position as the leading tropical forest region accounting for the bulk of the world’s production and exports of tropical forest products. The region has had a varied history of forest management experience and development dating back to more than a hundred years ago largely through the influence of former colonising countries from Europe and America. The ITTO Study in 1989 indicated that while the extent of tropical forests being managed under the sustained-yield system was negligible, there were forests which were at least nominally under management. However, the inadequacies of management were pointed out, with illegal clearing of forests, illegal logging and exploitation of forests in excess of the sustainable cut or in a damaging manner being highlighted as the predominant factors hindering sustained-yield forest management. The extent to which the need for security and control was emphasized indicated clearly that enforcement was one of the major stumbling blocks.

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A decade latter, it has been found that encouraging progress has been achieved particularly in the area of policy and legislative reform. This is creditable as it reflects increased commitment to sustainable forest management. Nevertheless, problems of full implementation were still prevalent especially with regard to illegal logging and poaching, application and enforcement of rules and guidelines, sustainable harvesting, specification for road design, RIL and securing and protecting the PFE. The overall picture seems to suggest that most of the policies, laws, rules and regulations as well as the administrative and technical capability for enhancing forest management may now be in place. However, the challenges of full and coordinated implementation as well as effective enforcement have still to be adequately met.