PART C:

INTEGRATION OF FORESTRY INTO COASTAL AREA MANAGEMENT

3. Information requirements

Information on the forestry sector should cover the distribution and extent of forested areas, forest composition, actual and potential production of forest resources, and ecological factors that govern forest dynamics, as well as social and economic information related to the use of coastal forest ecosystems. The complex nature of natural coastal forest ecosystems and the links between these and other ecosystems call for expertise in disciplines such as forestry, ecology, wildlife management, geomorphology, hydrology, fisheries, agriculture, tourism, economics and social science.

Alternative uses of forested lands and their resources should be evaluated using biological, physical and socio-economic data, in particular with regard to the coastal forest resource base, environmental impacts caused by actions undertaken within and outside the coastal forest ecosystems, and the organizational and institutional structure within which management of coastal forests must be undertaken.

3.1 INFORMATION ON THE RESOURCE BASE

3.1.1 Information requirements

Information on land use.¹¹ With respect to land-use systems, the biophysical information generally required on coastal forest ecosystems includes the geographic distribution of forests and their extent, and forest resources and their potential supporting sites.

Information on the present status of coastal forest resources. Assessment of wood and non-wood forest resources (including wildlife) includes: availability, productivity, management costs, and determination of carrying capacities and sustainable use levels. The carrying capacity of natural ecosystems is dynamic and can be reduced through human misuse or through natural catastrophes, or increased through improved management. For example, the wildlife carrying capacity in coastal national parks can be enhanced through strict control measures such as the reduction of the impact of visitors by limiting free access areas of the park. In addition to the carrying capacity for wildlife and for recreation and tourism, sustainable levels of harvesting of forest products must also be determined and compared with existing and estimated future demand levels.

Information on the level of utilization of coastal forest resources. This includes determination of existing and estimated future demand levels for coastal forest and wildlife products and services; more specifically: local, regional and/or national demand for forest products and services (including untraded products) and the export potential of traded products; current and estimated future supply and demand trends; price trends; and factors affecting demand for and supply of such products/services.

Information on the social situation and economic needs of the people living in the planning area includes: alternative economic activities and investments; practices/techniques used in the harvesting/collection of forest products; and social values placed on products and services provided by the coastal forest (see Table C.3).

TABLE C.3

Types of information required for coastal forest management

An economic valuation of the direct and indirect benefits provided by coastal forest ecosystems is needed, especially: an economic quantification of both marketed and non-marketed products as well as intangible benefits (e.g. provision of detritus for the marine food web), improved environment, health, shelter, coastal protection, soil conservation, water, biological diversity, education, recreation and tourism, etc. (see Table C.4).

TABLE C.4

Valuation approaches in relation to type of forest product (good or service)

Source: Gregersen et al., 1995.

3.1.2 Tools for information collection, analysis and presentation

Collection, analysis and presentation of land cover and land-use information. Before a detailed classification of land cover within a forested area can start, the boundaries of the forest itself must be identified. A clear definition of vegetation categories must therefore be given in order to assure a consistent classification and, subsequently, to obtain reliable area figures.

Collection, analysis and presentation of information on the status and utilization of coastal forest resources. When the selection of management objectives for a given coastal forest is completed, a more intensive resource inventory is needed to determine the status and productive potential of the forest and the carrying capacities and sustainable level of resource use.

Participatory appraisal. The term is used here to include rapid rural appraisal (RRA), participatory rural appraisal (PRA) and related techniques aimed at gathering pertinent information by drawing on the experience and knowledge of local communities.¹²

Table C.3 shows the type of information that can be elicited using participatory appraisal techniques aimed at determining the suitability of different forest resources for exploitation.

Local demand for forest products for subsistence purposes is best ascertained through the use of participatory appraisal methods, rather than by employing lengthy questionnaires and surveys.

Examples of different valuation techniques and their application to forests are shown in Table C.4.¹³

Analysis of resource assessments and forest inventories is described in standard textbooks and will not be covered here. Analysis of the status of forest resources, socio-economic issues, potential benefits and constraints forms part of the participatory appraisal and will reveal the values of individual user groups. Finally, cost-benefit analysis is often used to appraise alternative resource uses.¹⁴

3.2 INFORMATION RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND INTERACTIONS

3.2.1 Information requirements

Of fundamental importance is a solid knowledge of the impact of human activities on coastal ecosystems. Multidisciplinary studies to determine the biological, physical and socio-economic effects of the major users of coastal forests and adjacent areas are required. The objectives are to determine the following, where relevant:

• the interrelationship between the aquatic food web and the supply of leaf litter and detritus by certain coastal forests and the effect of silvicultural practices on this;
• the effects of forest management and silvicultural practices on capture fisheries' biological diversity, coastal protection, recreation and tourism, flood control and water quality;
• the impact of wildlife management practices on tourism, biological diversity, timber production and the agricultural sector;
• the impact of recreation and tourism on biological diversity and forest management practices;
• the environmental impacts of conversion of natural coastal forests to other uses (including cumulative impacts);
• the impacts of infrastructure development, industrial and household waste disposal, oil exploitation, mining, dredging and filling activities, on the pollution of water and air and the resulting indirect effects on coastal forest ecosystems;
• the impacts of dams and irrigation schemes, flood control measures, coastal protection structures, dredging and filling, on changes in water flow and the resulting indirect effects on coastal forest ecosystems.

3.2.2 Tools for information collection, analysis and presentation

Environmental impact assessment. Environmental impact assessment (EIA)¹⁵ is increasingly required by law for the development of new projects (e.g. sawmills, paper mills and other forest industries) and for the extension of existing ones in the coastal area.

Monitoring and evaluation. The general concern over the progressive deterioration of tropical forests and the need for reliable information necessary for management decisions and conservation measures have led several countries to initiate national monitoring and evaluation programmes. Such programmes aim primarily at the assessment of forest cover changes over time and are thus particularly useful for the assessment of the cumulative impacts of forest degradation and conversion.

Many countries and organizations are presently developing criteria for sustainable forest management along with indicators to be monitored on a regular basis in order to ascertain that sustainable management is achieved.

3.3 ORGANIZATIONAL AND INSTITUTIONAL INFORMATION

Organizational and institutional information is here taken to encompass political and legal frameworks, institutional and administrative structures, cultural attitudes and social traditions.

3.3.1 Information requirements

Information on policy and laws. Coastal forested ecosystems are frequently overlooked in national forest policy. Specific provisions must be reviewed and included in the national forest policy in order to address adequately the complex issues of regulating the use of coastal forests.

Inappropriate fiscal and concession policies, together with lack of attention to the impact of other sectors' policies on the use of coastal forest resources, have recently been highlighted as negatively affecting the sustainability of coastal forests. Policy orientations, laws and regulations should provide effective incentives for sustainable forest management. For this reason, legal distortions and disincentives that discourage the wise utilization of forests, especially those related to landownership and tenure, should be correctly identified in the information collection exercise.¹⁶

Incentives and charges that are inappropriate and counterproductive in terms of achieving sustainable development of coastal resources should be identified. Recent examples of inappropriate fiscal policies affecting the forestry sector include: incentives for cattle ranches; clearance of forest lands in order to claim ownership of land (both in Amazonia); alienation of mangrove areas for fish pond construction purposes; and implementation of logging bans, which diminish the value of forested lands compared with other land uses (Southeast Asia). Subsidies leading to inefficient and wasteful forest industries or to the replacement of natural forests or other valuable ecosystems with monocultural plantations should also be identified.

The information requirements thus focus on existing legal obligations, rights and privileges, and policy guidelines and the need to revise these.

The objective is to obtain the information required to:

• review and formulate policies, laws and regulations on the utilization, management and conservation of coastal forests and wildlife;
• review other sectoral policies, laws and regulations that may have an impact on coastal forest utilization, management and conservation;
• determine the extent of implementation of such policies and programmes;
• analyse the effectiveness of different policy instruments and the impact of policies and programmes on the forests and on forest-dependent populations.

Institutional information. A good knowledge of the existing administrative structures and the capabilities of the institutions responsible for the conservation and management of forest and wildlife resources in the region is essential. Information on cultural attitudes and social traditions related to the use of coastal forests must also be obtained.¹⁷

3.3.2 Tools for information collection, analysis and presentation

Tools regarding the legal and institutional framework (policies, legal obligations, rights and privileges and the administrative framework) will include existing sources of information such as published records, laws, regulations and policies.¹⁸

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) will make it possible to evaluate the effectiveness of various policy instruments and the impact of laws and policies on coastal forests and their inhabitants. SEA is basically an extension of environmental impact assessment to the more strategic tiers of decision-making, covering policies, plans and programmes.¹⁹

Participatory appraisal techniques will yield valuable information on local attitudes and traditions, and the impact of laws and policies.

¹¹ The principles and basic concepts of land evaluation are extensively discussed in FAO, 1976 and FAO, 1984. FAO, 1993 provides useful guidance on the land-use planning process.

¹² The different techniques or tools that may be used in participatory appraisal are described in Davis-Case, 1989 and Davis-Case, 1990. See also Part A, Box A.20.

¹³ For a more detailed description of the theory behind, and the mechanism of applying, individual techniques, refer to textbooks such as Winpenny (1991) and Hufschmidt et al. (1983). Benson and Willis, (1992) may also be useful because recreation and tourism are particularly important uses of many coastal forests. FAO, 1994a provides valuable information on which approaches may be usable and contains annotated references on valuation. See also Part A, and Box A.24.

¹⁴ See Part A, Boxes A.22 and A.23.

¹⁵ Refer to Wathern, 1988, Gregersen and Contreras- Hermosilla, 1992 and Gregersen et al., 1993 on the specific impacts of forestry activities. See also Part A, Box A.6.

¹⁶ See Part A, Section 1.6 and Box A.2.

¹⁷ See Part A, Section 2.4.3.
¹⁸ See Part A, Boxes A.4 and A.21 for evaluating the legal and institutional issues, respectively.
¹⁹ Refer to Therivel et al. (1994) for a discussion of SEA.