ATO/ITTO PCI for the sustainable management of African natural forests

Outline History Presentation of the PCI Compatibility between the ATO/ITTO PCI and the ITTO C&I

History: the development of ATO/ITTO PCI ATO started work for the development of a regional set of PCI in 1996 Tests in some member countries (Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Gabon, CAR) Technical support from CIFOR Publication of a regional PCI set in 2000 Publication of the first ITTO set of C&I in 1992 Revision in 1998 Revision in 2004 Decision 4(XXIX) during the 29th session of ITTC in 2000 called for collaboration between ATO and ITTO Harmonization of the two sets in 2001

Presentation of the ATO/ITTO PCI Two levels National level – 1 principle – 5 criteria – 33 indicators – 45 sub-indicators Forest Management Unit (FMU) level – 3 principles – 15 criteria – 57 indicators – 140 sub-indicators

National level PCI: national forest policy and political priority Themes developed: – State objectives and action plan for the forest sector – Quality of the institutional framework – Provision of means to achieve SFM – Economic and fiscal policies to ensure the viability of forestry enterprises – Measures for monitoring and evaluation of the State forest policy

FMU level Topic 1: sustainable production of goods and services from the forest – Compliance with national policies and legislation and respect for international treaties – Management objectives in line with SFM – Sustainable production of timber in quality and quantity Silvicultural techniques – Harvesting of non timber forest products (NTFP) – Revision of forest management plans

FMU level Topic 2: Maintenance of ecological functions – SFM based on dynamic acquisition of knowledge on ecology – Reduced impact of logging activities of the forest ecosystem – Impact of harvesting activities on biodiversity minimized – Natural regeneration capacity of the forest maintained – Impact of harvesting activities on water, soils and slopes minimised

FMU level Topic 3: Contribution of forest management to the improvement of the economic and social well-being of forestry workers and local populations: – Rights of workers and local populations defined, acknowledged and respected – Participation of local population in forest management activities – Benefit sharing – Contribution of forest management to education and healthcare

Compatibility assessment between ITTO C&I and the ATO/ITTO PCI The two sets are fully compatible The ATO/ITTO cover all the element of the ITTO C&I The ATO/ITTO set is normative in nature setting performance thresholds for many items while the ITTO set in descriptive in nature The ATO/ITTO set is much more detailed than the ITTO set as it also includes 140 sub-indicators. This is logical because the ITTO set covers a wider geographical region The ATO/ITTO set contains some elements that are not explicit the ITTO C&I The two sets are also complementary

Compatibility assessment between ITTO C&I and the ATO/ITTO PCI (continued) The ATO/ITTO PCI set represents a challenge for governments to establish enabling conditions for SFM and for FMUs to implement SFM as expressed in indicators and sub-indicators The ITTO C&I specify some information requirements which are implicit in the respective ATO/ITTO PCI The reporting format of the ITTO C&I breaks down the data requirements representing a specific challenge for African member countries for national reporting and for FMU