Criteria and indicators for sustainable forestry under Mediterranean conditions applicable in Spain at the forest management unit scale

Abstract

[EN] Aim of study: to identify criteria and indicators (C&I) of sustainable forest management (SFM) under Mediterranean conditions. The indicators are meant to monitor changes in the provision of ecosystem services at a local scale (forest management unit, FMU). We support that if a forest provides a bundle of ecosystem services its management can be considered sustainable; thus, we adjust C&I to an ecosystem services classification. Area of study: La Hunde y La Palomera, a public FMU in the region of Valencia (east of Spain), 100km southwest of the city of Valencia. Material and methods: first, a literature review of the following themes took part: SFM, features of Mediterranean forests, ecosystem services and C&I. Some C&I were proposed and, later on, a participatory process in Ayora, the municipality where the mentioned FMU is located, was carried out with different stakeholders (forestry professionals, users for recreation, hunters, environmentalists and professionals of cultural and rural development activities) in order for them to value the C&I proposed according to their management preferences for La Hunde y La Palomera. Research highlights: 15 criteria and 133 indicators were identified: a balance has been achieved among economic, social and ecological concerns. People value the ecological issues associated to forestry on top and the economic ones at the bottom. Results suggest that SFM under Mediterranean conditions is based on more than one product and on the provision of several ecosystem services