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The new state of the forests report from the Canadian government was recently released, replete with a photo of MP Lisa Raitt, our Minister of Natural Resources (who makes me squeamish still, thinking of her idea of a 'sexy' issue).   The report, in my mind, is glossy and out of touch with the reality of forestry in Canada today.  It touts Canada's "solid commitment to sustainable forest management" and desire to maintain "all environmental, economic, and social forest values, not just timber values" but then proceeds to report on a scarce few sustainability indicators; all o

http://www.itto.or.jp/live/PageDisplayHandler?pageId=199

• Figures and tables have been updated for 26 indicators in the online version of the CCFM Criteria and Indicators report.

• Available in PDF and Excel format at http://ccfm.org/ci/rprt2005/English/toc.htm.

• Contact: Simon Bridge 613.947.9034

Different countries have taken very different approaches to reporting on their nation's forests.  In most cases, countries are producing a variety of reporting products aimed at different audiences.  In some cases, the products seem to be part of a larger coordinated communications package (Australia), in others, the products seem to fit together largely as a result of hapenstance (Canada).  Whatever the case, individuals responsible for reporting on forests may be able to learn some new approache

Help us by completing the attached 1-page survey - it will take you less than 10 minutes.  Return your survey to Simon Bridge, CCFM C&I Secretariat, by email at sbridge@nrcan.gc.ca.

The following reports have recently been released, which provide excellent information on the state of Europe's forests and, in the case of Wales, an example of how a country's C&I framework can be linked to its national forest strategy.

Australia has just released an excellent State of the Forests report. The coverage is huge and should be a guide for all those preparing such reports.

It can be accessed at: http://adl.brs.gov.au/forestsaustralia/index.html

The social and cultural elements of sustainable forest management are generally weak, and this is particularly true in C&I schemes. A publication that may help partly resolve this problem is:

Agnoletti, M. et al. 2007 Guidelines for the implementation of social and cultural values in sustainable forest management. IUFRO Occasional Paper No. 19. 23 pp.

It was developed as a contribution to the Implementation of MCPFE - Vienna Resolution 3.

Luc Laberge of the Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources recently advised me that Quebec has just released its new C&I report on the web. Below is his message to me:

Hello, for your information,

The Canadian Council of Forest Ministers has released a new brochure called Criteria and Indicators of Sustainable Forest Management in Canada: Key Trends and Conditions 2005 (Available at ccfm.org/current/ccitf_e.php) This short summary brochure highlights key trends and conditions found in the full C&I report, National Status 2005 and is valuable reading for policy-makers, decision-makers and individuals who want a brief description of Canada's progress toward sustainable forest management.