Forests Sourcebook - HCV Resource Network

NOTE 7.1
National Forest Inventories
Abasic element of planning and efficient investments
in the forest sector is an inventory of forest
resources. In several countries, the basic countrywide
information on the current state of forests and other
ecosystems is inadequate, fragmentary, or outdated—or all
three. Often the existing data at the national level are speculative
and largely based on reconnaissance-type inventories
and unrealistic assumptions about forest production
and the impact of human activities on the resource base.
In many countries, reliable estimates of forest and
ecosystem resources, consumption rate, and real economic
potential are still lacking. In such contexts, the awareness of
forest values is low. The rates by which forest ecosystems
change over time and the overall distribution of the lands
supporting them is not precisely known. Furthermore,
institutions for ensuring continued monitoring are weak
and can require capacity building and access to current
technology to facilitate inventory.
Implementation of national forest programs (see note 6.1,
Using National Forest Programs to Mainstream Forest Issues)
and national forest assessments requires monitoring to contribute
to and guide the planning and implementation of
forestry and natural resources–related programs and projects.
An up-to-date national forest inventory provides numerous
benefits (see box 7.6), including the following:
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makes possible the calculation of the value of forest assets
and monitoring of degradation and restoration trends,
thereby enabling (i) improved decision making on forestrelated
public expenditure and revenue policies; (ii)
improved understanding of the role of forests in past, current,
and future national income accounts; (iii) improved
environmental and governance management; and (iv)
national reporting on important international conventions;
improves the required planning and monitoring of the
forest estate;
Box 7.6
Motivation for Forest Inventory in Bosnia
and Herzegovina
A World Bank intervention in the forest sector of
Bosnia and Herzegovina revisited the project’s
inventory component and requested approval for
allocating additional resources to this component
because both the government and the World Bank
appreciated the importance of this activity for
effective forest management. The initial efforts to
undertake an inventory resulted in an increased
focus on management for nontimber forest products
(NTFPs), recreation, hunting, and tourism.
These have the potential to significantly increase
revenues on state and private forest lands. Currently,
for each cubic meter of wood extracted
(worth about US$50), forest enterprises earn only
about US$1 on NTFPs, including recreation and
tourism. This 50:1 ratio compares unfavorably to a
50:50 ratio (timber to NTFP) in Austria. Hence,
there is much room for improvement.
Likewise, measures to reduce illegal activities in
the forests, to instill good management and planning
practices (that is, FMIS), and to certify forests
and promote log tracking schemes would help to
open the European Union market to Bosnian
wood products, and thereby enable Bosnia and
Herzegovina to obtain higher prices. Currently,
Bosnian timber is locked out of portions of the
export market because major buyers, such as
IKEA, have adapted procurement policies that
require good management and SFM certification.
Forests inventories are a central component of
FMIS (see note 7.2, Establishing Forest Management
Information Systems).
Source: World Bank 2003.
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