Forests Sourcebook - HCV Resource Network

identification can be useful for strategically selecting costeffective
indicators that can provide accurate information.
Indicators can range from very broad to very specific. Furthermore,
indicators may be layered such that an analysis
begins with broad indicators and then adds increasingly
specific indicators until the information needs are met
(Buck and others 2006).
The selected indicators should be relevant, precise, sensitive,
easy to understand, and measurable. Measurement indicators
must be able to recognize tradeoffs (short-term versus
long-term, at different scales, for different stakeholders) that
need to be addressed in the landscape for the indicators to be
credible. When employing a landscape approach, more than
just the physical indicators should be measured; local livelihood
outcomes also should be assessed (see box 4.12).
There may be multiple indicators associated with a specific
criterion—some amenable to measurement at the
landscape scale and others suitable for the site level. Similarly,
indicators may vary by whether they are used to measure
the state of a landscape or the impact of particular
interventions on landscape performance (see box 4.13).
At the landscape level it is realistic for performance to be
measured not by whether a desirable end condition has
been achieved, but by assessing whether the combination of
influences affecting change is moving the landscape in the
right direction relative to stated performance criteria.
Box 4.12
Potential Indicators to Monitor
Biophysical indicators. Specific indicators will depend
on the objectives that have been identified for the landscape,
and may include, but are not limited to:
■ species of concern
■ human disturbances
■ wildlife corridors
■ infrastructure impacts
■
■
external threats to the landscape
ecological function and condition
These measures should give a sense of deforestation,
drivers for change in the landscape, level of fragmentation,
the condition of the forests, and the population of
species of concern.
Natural capital can include measures of:
■ deforestation rates
■ frequency and size of fires
■ extent of certified forests
■ quality of land available for agricultural
production
Human capital can include measures of:
■ quality of clinics and health care
■ quality of education
■ number of qualified people
■ infant mortality
■ level and use of traditional knowledge
Livelihood indicators. Livelihood indicators can be
based on the capital assets framework. These indicators
can be applied to a sample of communities and then
aggregated to a landscape scale. The capital assets
framework has five types of capital: (i) financial, (ii)
social, (iii) natural, (iv) human, and (v) physical.
Financial capital can include measures of:
■ formal sector employment
■ household income
■ price changes in basic products
■ number of local credit associations
Social capital can include measures of:
■ community-based initiatives
■ traditional governance effectiveness
■ perceptions of levels of corruption
■ state agency effectiveness
Source: Authors’ compilation using USFS 2006 and Buck and others 2006.
Physical capital can include measures of:
■ household quality
■ number of kiosks selling basic products
■ sources of drinking water
■ village accessibility
Specific monitoring activities will depend on the
objectives that have been identified for the landscape,
and may include, but are not limited to:
■ development of local communities
■ species of concern
■ human disturbances
■ wildlife corridors
■ infrastructure impacts
■ external threats to the landscape
■ ecological function and condition
140 CHAPTER 4: OPTIMIZING FOREST FUNCTIONS IN A LANDSCAPE