A model forest is both a geographic area and a specific partnership-based approach to sustainable forest management (SFM). Geographically, a model forest must encompass a land-base large enough to represent all of the forest's uses and values-it is a fully working landscape of forests and farms, protected areas, rivers and towns.

 

A model forest is also a voluntary, partnership-based approach for moving toward SFM. Because forests and people cannot be separated, people are at the heart of the model forest concept. They are the key factor in the search to define sustainability at the local level where model forests are rooted.  A model forest partnership fully represents the environmental, social and economic forces at play within the land-base.

A model forest is:

What makes the model forest concept stand out from other like-minded forest-based development initiatives is the comprehensiveness of its approach, its scale of operation, the level of policy it can affect, and the nature and range of partnerships it unites. In addition, with 40 model forests in existence or under development around the world, the IMFN continues to demonstrate successes in finding innovative, low-cost, long-term solutions to the challenges facing SMF advocates and practitioners.

 

While it typically does not exercise decision-making authority over the land-base, a model forest organization will include in its partnership those with legal tenure over the land. Their participation signals a willingness to consider new and innovative approaches to forest management. As a member of the IMFN, a model forest organization is committed to sharing its experiences and innovations with other model forests, as well as with others who can benefit from this expertise-locally, nationally and internationally.

 

Model forests are country-driven. They are seen as being directly relevant to national forest programs, as demonstration areas of national significance, and as cost-effective initiatives to experiment with innovative forest management policies and practices. Model forests have proven to be successful in a wide range of geographic and cultural settings. The 40 model forests established or under development today is a testament to their global appeal and effectiveness.

 

The role of government is crucial because political will is required to make it work. As the guardians of public land, or by virtue of their policy and regulatory responsibilities, they are key stakeholders.

 

 

The model forest approach is based upon a view that broad-based local participation is key to achieving SFM. This approach helps the various stakeholders recognize the impact of their activities on the land-base, develop a shared understanding of SFM, and learn what it means in real, operational terms. After this, the partners can commit to taking concrete steps, on their own and as a group, toward an SFM regime.

 

Creating and maintaining an effective partnership poses particular challenges. Among the partnership-building tools available to model forest partners is a set of commonly held attributes on which a project can be structured and that form the basis for the International Network. Among the attributes that define the model forest approach to SFM, the following six are considered fundamental:

No two model forests are identical. Some are in low population density areas, for example, where rural poverty and access to resources are priority issues. Other model forests may be heavily settled areas where urban-rural issues, including water quality, recreation, conservation, and biodiversity feature prominently in the equation for SFM.

Model forests strive to harmonize economic and non-economic priorities and to focus, for example, on education, research, or developing local level indicators (LLI) to monitor progress toward SFM goals within the model forest area. In addition, model forest partnerships are very effective in identifying economic opportunities that are not based on timber alone.

 

 

The benefit of broad-based partnerships is not simply acknowledging and accommodating the rights of others to work through difficult problems. Model forest partnerships have demonstrated very convincingly that these partnerships also bring new resources, such as ideas, facilities, data sets, professional services, access to policymakers and community leaders, and cash — resources that were not previously in place or not directed toward addressing the challenges of SFM. For example:

Leveraging resources for model forests is significant because there have been fewer dollars supporting SFM over the years. But equally important is what this leveraging represents and what happens because of it — agreement on a shared problem, a shared approach, a shared risk, and a shared investment in an outcome is a new way of thinking and a rejection of business as usual.