PRINCIPLE #8:MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT
Monitoring shall be conducted -- appropriate to the scale and intensity of forest management -- to assess the condition of the forest, yields of forest products, chain of custody, management activities and their social and environmental impacts.
Internal monitoring systems are crucial in order to provide quality control for forest management operations, identify social, ecological, economic and operational challenges, and report on the success or failure of management interventions to resolve problems.In some NTFP management operations, monitoring may be
adequate but extremely informal.Assessors may need to move some operations toward more formal and documented monitoring systems, which in the end can serve to improve management quality and effectiveness.
8.1The frequency and intensity of monitoring should be determined by the scale and intensity of forest management operations as well as the relative complexity and fragility of the affected environment. Monitoring procedures should be consistent and replicable over time to allow comparison of results and assessment of change.
8.2Forest management should include the research and data collection needed to monitor, at a minimum, the following indicators:
a) Yield of all forest products harvested.
b) Growth rates, regeneration and condition of the forest.
c)Composition and observed changes in the flora and fauna.
d) Environmental and social impacts of harvesting and other operations.
e)Costs, productivity, and efficiency of forest management.
The monitoring plan includes the observed changes in conditions related to:
–NTFP populations (impact of harvest, growth rates, loss or vigor or decline, recruitment);
–Any outstanding environmental changes from NTFP management affecting flora, fauna, soil and water resources.
–Socioeconomic aspects of NTFP use and harvest (changes in community and worker relations or conditions, changes in NTFP use or demand, etc.)
8.3Documentation shall be provided by the forest manager to enable monitoring and certifying organisations to trace each forest product from its origin, a process known as the "chain of custody."
Volume and source data on loads of NTFPs is available in the forest, in transport, and at processing and distribution centers controlled by the FMO or NTFP harvester(s).
8.4The results of monitoring shall be incorporated into the implementation and revision of the management plan.
8.5While respecting the confidentiality of information, forest managers shall make publicly available a summary of the results of monitoring indicators, including those listed in Criterion 8.2.