Model Forests conduct research, develop tools and provide educational opportunities at the local, national, regional and international levels. They also make significant efforts to reach out to people and organizations elsewhere so that positive impacts go beyond their own boundaries and benefit neighbouring communities. 

In addition, the link to policy is an important element of the work Model Forests undertake because by influencing policy or by demonstrating innovative practices Model Forests contribute to sustainability efforts. Model Forest stakeholders also realize that they have much to learn about the sustainable management of forest-based landscapes.

The Network itself, through its regional and international structures, provides a mechanism for efficient collaboration and information sharing amongst researchers, practitioners and policy makers. During the 2008 IMFN Global Forum, Model Forest stakeholders determined several programming priorities, or Network Initiatives, that are relevant to all members — regardless of forest region or country. Much like individual sites, members of these Network Initiatives will conduct research, develop educational material and tools, and host workshops on a variety of topics.

Putting knowledge into practice, and a link to national or international policy objectives, is an underlying goal of each initiative. Broad participation ensures that the knowledge and tools developed by each initiative can be adopted by individual Model Forests and partner organizations. The IMFN Secretariat is currently developing several initiatives focused on the circumboreal region, climate change, ecological goods and services, and community sustainability.

Underlying all of the work across the IMFN is a focus on knowledge sharing. 

The Circumboreal Initiative

Changes due to industrial development and climate change in the circumboreal biome are expected to have profound and varied impacts on the boreal forest and its dependent human communities. Applied research and testing to better anticipate and understand these changes and to develop adaptation approaches is limited and ad-hoc when viewed from an international perspective. This fragmentation of efforts across the circumboreal north carries costs in terms of missed opportunities for addressing shared concerns. 

Within the boreal biome, the IMFN includes several sites in Canada, Scandinavia and Russia that are intrinsically linked through issues related to biodiversity, climate change and rapidly expanding economic developments in forestry, mining and, the oil and gas industries – the boreal forest. One of the challenges of dealing with these issues is the need to understand them on a circumboreal scale.

The IMFN recognized that a more effective and coordinated mechanism was needed to take advantage of existing efforts, leverage additional capacity where required, and accelerate the transfer of new knowledge and experience to policy and program decision makers at all levels. The IMFN offers a series of landscape-level sites that are trans-national and global, as well as being dedicated to knowledge generation and sharing.

The Circumboreal Initiative is an approach to international cooperation on boreal research and adaptation strategies across five countries using Model Forests and other landscape areas in Canada, Sweden, Russia, Finland and China. These participating countries have agreed to examine questions related to the sustainability of forest land use, to biodiversity conservation and to helping forest-dependent communities assess their vulnerabilities and adapt in the face of a rapidly changing climate.

Recognizing that the IMFN cannot act as the sole testing and demonstration outlet, Model Forest development is not required for participation in this initiative. But with more than 15 years of experience in the boreal, Model Forests are well positioned to initiate and lead on this area of work. Model Forests also have direct links to rural communities struggling to adapt to the effects of climate change on their livelihoods and landscapes. Because of their longevity, efficiency as a delivery mechanism and landscape level approach Model Forests do have a significant role to play. Further, the methodology and approach can be scaled up or adapted by other areas of the Network to examine issues of common interest across other landscapes, such as tropical forests. 

Discussion Papers (scroll down)

• Forest Fires and Fire Management in the Circumboreal Zone: Past Trends and Future Uncertainties. B. Stocks, J. Goldammer and L. Kondrashov, 2008.

  Carbon Accounting Issues and Challenges in the Circumpolar Boreal Forest. R. Stewart, R. Birdsey, S. Nilsson, A. Shvidenko and A. Lehtonen, 2008.

Ecological goods and services

Forest landscapes provide a valuable range of natural ecological goods and services that are essential to the functioning and sustainability of the planet—clean water, air and the decomposition of waste. Establishing the value of ecological goods and services provided by forests is essential for:

• Portraying a forest’s true value, and therefore increasing desirability for its conservation
• Valuation or payment for environmental services (PES)
• Increasing awareness that ecosystem services are not only under threat and limited, but that the pressure to evaluate trade-offs between immediate and long-term needs is critical
• Promoting transdisciplinary shifts in how we think about and manage the environment, business opportunities and our future as a species
• Helping to inform decision-makers of the value of conservation efforts
• Creating opportunities for rural or remote forest dependent communities

In the IMFN context, putting value against ecological goods and services can be applied to issues of shared importance to all Network members, including water management, climate change and rural development. The network structure itself helps expedite the testing and implementation of potential service models.

The ecological goods and services strategic initiative includes a comprehensive review and evaluation of the ecological goods and services in each Model Forest.

Discussion Paper (scroll down)

• Maintaining Ecological Goods and Services: Overview of the Issues and Options. M. Kennedy, N. Hotte and T. Simieritsch. 2009. 

Knowledge Sharing

One of the fundamental principles underlying all Model Forests is a commitment to networking, knowledge sharing and capacity building. Because the first years of the IMFN’s existence were focused on building a critical mass, creating enough of a pool of experience to have something meaningful to share with newer sites and others, the knowledge sharing principle was not given as much attention as other areas. Once that critical mass was achieved the IMFN membership requested greater emphasis on knowledge management and sharing at the regional and international levels. In response, regional networks and the IMFN Secretariat began dedicating more resources toward this important task.

The IMFN Knowledge Management and Sharing (KM/S) approach advocates the use of information and communications technology and knowledge management techniques to improve the effectiveness of Model Forest's work in the sustainable management of forest-based landscapes.

To do this, the IMFN needs to develop a culture of active information and knowledge sharing. This will involve two-way communications, the know-how to collaborate and the tools and capacity to support multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams.

The IMFN must also recognize the areas where good KM/S practices are already in place, build on them, identify champions, create new knowledge bases, continuously add to their value and enable all Model Forest stakeholders to easily access these assets along with the more tacit knowledge their colleagues possess.

The Network’s KM/S approach is managed by the IMFN Secretariat which is supported by a committee comprised of Model Forest representatives from across the regions, a CUSO knowledge management expert and a special advisor. Plans to expand the committee to include additional like-minded organizations are in place. The KM/S committee reports to the IMFN Networking Committee (INC).

Resources

• IMFN Knowledge Management and Sharing Approach (under development)