Conformance of Ontario's forest management planning with criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management

Prescriptions of the Forest Management Planning Manual (FMPM) for Ontario's Crown forests are examined for conformance with the elements of the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers (CCFM) Criteria and Indicators (C&I) of sustainable forest management (SFM). The examination identifies gaps and highlights forest management planning aspects that require gap-bridging interventions at the forest management unit (FMU) level. The three levels (parts) of the FMPM-Management Planning, Annual Operations, and Reporting & Monitoring-are examined. Gaps are categorized in three groups-major, intermediate, and minor gaps. Major gaps are recorded for five out of 22 elements of the CCFM C&I framework, and these gaps indicate inadequate prescriptions for the corresponding elements at all the three levels. Minor gaps are also recorded for five elements, and these gaps indicate inadequate prescriptions at the monitoring level. Intermediate gaps are recorded for 11 elements, and depending on the specific element and indicator, inadequacy of prescriptions may only be for operations, reporting and monitoring, or may also include the planning level. The main findings of the gap analysis are that none of the six criteria of SFM has been fully incorporated in the FMPM; Part C (Reporting and Monitoring) has the highest degree and Part A (Plan Contents) has the lowest degree of non-conformity with respect to CCFM CI framework; at the criterion-level the Global Ecological Cycles has major gaps while three criteria-Soil and Water Conservation, Multiple Benefits, and Society' Responsibility-have intermediate gaps; and the changes in the FMPM have been incremental while the shift in the concept of forest management from Sustained Yield Timber Management to SFM was a drastic change.