Measuring sustainability in forestry

Somogyi, Zoltán

Keywords: sustainable development; forest management; sustainability indicator; bioindicator

The insecurities in assumptions about the future make it difficult to measure and define sustainability. Only limited conclusions can be derived from the “ecological footprint”, an ever spreading concept based on comparing “demand” and “offer”, or from comparing the actual value of other indicators representing more detailed aspects of sustainability with the expected values. Such a system of indicators has bee developed for forestry applications – the indicators used are still in development and the system offers limited possibilities. A major limitation stems from the fact that the number and the degree of specificity of indicators to be used are not well established, and neither is the interpretation of actual indicator values. As a result, even international organisations such as the FAO make errors in interpreting indicator values. The paper brings various examples to illustrate these points, taken from a centuries-old sector which is at the forefront of sustainability: forest management. A good example taken from forestry – a bioindicator – is used to demonstrate that it is possible to fid suitable aggregated indicators. To interpret sustainability indicators correctly, however, one needs to be aware of how such indicators behave exactly. This allows one to define the valid range of sustainability, as it changes with time. The judgement of whether a change is ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ always depends on an analysis of the system in question (e.g. forests and forestry), as well as our level of understanding of the system (e.g. we only have a basic understanding of how forest ecosystems work). It is possible to draw up criteria applicable to effective operative indicators. Sometimes, however, in order to progress, perhaps one should act similar to an ill, but wise man, who listens to the messages of his on body.

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