This paper has addressed five key areas that will have a major bearing on the future progress and viability of criteria and indicators. They are:
• The capacity of ongoing processes to influence policy-makers
• Strengthening C&I through addressing issues related to C&I themselves as well as improving the processes
• Inter-process cooperation, its importance and ways to facilitate it
• The role of an ad hoc technical advisory group, and
• The role of FAO, ITTO and other international and national organizations.
The analysis was based on a survey of ongoing processes as well as outputs from a number of recent international fora dealing with C&I or related issues. It was found that the capacity of ongoing C&I processes to influence policy-makers varies, with some processes operating with a high level of political commitment while many at the other end of the scale with very limited or no political leverage. In relation to strengthening C&I processes the paper identified a number of areas that needed to be addressed. It included strengthening concepts and definitions as well as strengthening the processes. While good progress has been made in harmonizing concepts and definitions relating to key international bodies it has tended to exclude C&I processes. Since the C&I process is still in a developmental stage there is a need for continuing research into clarifying indicators where data availability is severely limited or non-existent. A major reason for the failure of many countries to implement C&I is the lack of understanding about their use and the value of reporting. There is an urgent need to promote awareness at all levels to gain greater commitment to this important instrument. There are strong grounds for the establishment of liaison offices, greater inter-process cooperation, as well as enhanced stakeholder participation. At the same time, there were strong caveats to make actions more effective.
There was also support in principle for setting up an ad hoc international technical advisory group. Particular advantages of such a group were identified to include sharing of improved scientific knowledge, harmonization of objectives and increased information flow between processes. For its success, they also underlined the need for clearly defined objectives, and the composition to be representative of different processes and changing to effectively address the tasks assigned. The very existence of a number of C&I processes as well as the continuing policy development relating to them have been largely the result of the work of FAO, ITTO and other national and international organizations. Also, while most of the C&I processes have an understanding and commitment to deliver on SFM, in many cases the individual countries comprising them do not have such understanding or capacity. Also there are about 65 countries that have not subscribed to any of the nine ongoing processes. For these reasons there is a continuing role for these international and national bodies until the C&I process becomes viable.
The principal conclusion that can be drawn from the analysis is that a piecemeal approach will not effectively address these issues that, to a large extent, are interlinked. It will require a package of measures, as identified here, to be undertaken within an agreed timeframe.
