Adapting the Management of Mountain Forests to New
Environmental Conditions
Authors: Herman, Friedl, and Smidt, Stefan
Source: Mountain Research and Development, 23(4) : 381-383
Published By: International Mountain Society
URL: https://doi.org/10.1659/0276-
4741(2003)023[0381:ATMOMF]2.0.CO;2
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The International Partnership for Sus-
tainable Development in Mountain
Regions (IPSDMR) was initiated by the
Government of Switzerland, the Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO),
the United Nations Environmental Pro-
gram (UNEP), the Government of Italy,
and the Mountain Forum (MF) during
the International Year of Mountains
2002 (IYM2002). The concept of the
IPSDMR originally took shape during
sessions of the Preparatory Committee for
the World Summit on Sustainable Devel-
opment (WSSD) and was finalized—
with the publication of a basic concept
document—at the 4th session of the
Preparatory Committee in Bali, Indone-
sia, in June 2002. The Partnership was
officially adopted as a “Type 2 Out-
come” at the WSSD in Johannesburg,
South Africa, 26 August 2002–4 Sep-
tember 2002. Activities so far in 2003
have included several meetings in
Switzerland, an e-consultation moderat-
ed by the MF, and a side event at the
meeting of the Commission on Sustain-
able Development (CSD-11) in New
York. These activities culminated in the
First Global Meeting of Members of the
Mountain Partnership, held in Merano,
Italy, 5 October 2003–6 October 2003.
Broad membership
To date, more than 75 countries,
intergovernmental organizations,
and major groups have joined the
IPSDMR. The Partnership is com-
mitted to mountain-specific goals of
the WSSD, with the aims of sharing
knowledge and experience and pro-
moting cooperation among its
members. The First Global Meeting
took place at the invitation of the
Italian Government and featured
participants from every part of the
world. The Meeting commenced
with a dinner in Verona on 4 Octo-
ber, followed by 2 days of plenary
sessions and debate in Merano. Key
opening statements and remarks
were delivered on the first day by
the Italian Minister of Foreign
Affairs, the Italian Minister of
Regional Affairs, the Deputy Direc-
tor-General of FAO, and the Deputy
Director-General of the Swiss
Agency for Development and Coop-
eration (SDC). This was followed by
remarks by speakers from mountain
organizations, which terminated the
first day’s plenary session. Several
representatives of governments and
nongovernmental organizations
participated in the debate session
following the plenary session, to
complete the first day’s work.
Exploring the structure and
themes of the IPSDMR
The plenary session on the second
day opened with a keynote address
by Gabriel Campbell, Director-
General of the International Centre
for Integrated Mountain Develop-
ment (ICIMOD) and Chairperson
of the MF. Gabriel Campbell enu-
merated the key questions facing
the new Partnership, including
practices and procedures, structure,
equality of treatment among part-
ners, and assurance of adequate
attention to the poor in mountain
regions. He then summarized the
results of the e-conference held in
April 2003 to gather input from
Partnership members. One impor-
tant theme in this respect was the
possibility of establishing goals simi-
lar to the UN Millennium Goals
(cutting poverty in mountain areas
by one half, providing payment for
environmental services in moun-
tains, ensuring greater upstream–
downstream equity, etc.). This pres-
entation was followed by speakers
representing, among others, the
Government of Peru, the United
Nations Educational, Scientific, and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO),
the United Nations Convention to
Combat Desertification (UNCCD),
the Consortium for the Sustainable
Development of the Andean Ecore-
gion (CONDESAN), and the Moun-
tain Environment Protection Soci-
ety of Iran. In addition, Afghan
Environment Minister Ahmad
Nuristani made a plea for develop-
ment work in his war-torn country.
This cross-section of organizations
and points of view inspired numer-
ous interventions from the floor,
which were delivered in the follow-
up debate session.
The final plenary session con-
sisted of a Chairman’s summary
given by Gabriel Campbell, a brief
debate, and a final Adoption of
Conference Conclusions. In his
Chairman’s summary, Gabriel
Campbell proposed that the Part-
nership should consider the follow-
ing themes as truly appropriate for
its attention:
• Poverty.
• Conflict.
• Biodiversity.
• Culture.
• Indigenous knowledge.
•Payment for services in mountain
regions.
He raised the question of
whether targets per se are desirable,
and he pointed out that building on
the wealth of available skills in the
Partnership, addressing poverty,
promoting North–South exchange
to deliver benefits to and communi-
cate with local people, fostering
research for development, and
monitoring and propagating suc-
cess stories were all activities that
would support WSSD goals.
The Conference Conclusions
adopted at the end of the confer-
ence reaffirmed commitment to the
380
International Partnership for Sustainable Development in
Mountain Regions (IPSDMR)
First Global Meeting of Members in Merano, Italy, 5–6 October 2003
Mountain Research and Development Vol 23 No 4 Nov 2003
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381
Partnership on the part of the mem-
bers present. Members agreed to
promote the Partnership’s innova-
tive, transparent, flexible, participa-
tory, and dynamic character and to
pursue the objective of fostering
actions at all levels to protect moun-
tain environments and support
mountain livelihoods through the
integration of the environmental,
economic and social components of
sustainable mountain development.
Participants mandated the exist-
ing open-ended Task Force estab-
lished to prepare the Merano meet-
ing to work toward complete estab-
lishment of the Partnership, and to
report to the members by the next
meeting of the CSD. The Task Force
will define criteria for membership,
examine the issue of future gover-
nance of the Partnership, and
define ways to allow the Partnership
to help promote joint initiatives
based on Paragraph 42 of the Johan-
nesburg Plan of Implementation.
Future tasks and Mountain
Research and Development’s
commitment
The First Global Meeting confirmed
and officially established the Part-
nership. Much work will have to be
done in the coming year, before the
Second Global Meeting envisioned
for 2004. Mountain Research and
Development (MRD), represented at
the First Global Meeting by its man-
aging editor, expects to be an active
member of the Partnership. Discus-
sions during the meeting with mem-
bers and potential members of the
MRD network proved very fruitful.
Potential directions for further col-
laboration between MRD and MF, as
well as MRD’s relations with mem-
bers of the International Mountain
Society (IMS), were explored. The
value of MRD as a mountain journal
within the MF network and beyond
was clearly reaffirmed in informal
discussions. Hence, one important
outcome of the First Global Meet-
ing for the MRD editorial team was
reinforcement of its own optimism
about the future of the journal and
the Partnership.
Intergovernmental action to
protect forests in Europe
Four conferences of the European
Ministers of Forestry have addressed
the role of forests as an important
economic factor to date, stressing
their significant contribution in
protecting human settlements and
infrastructure against natural haz-
ards and providing benefits such as
recreation and preservation of eco-
logical diversity. They also focused
on protection of the forest heritage.
The First Ministerial Conference on
the Protection of the Forests in
Europe took place in December
1990 in Strasbourg, France, as a
common initiative of France and
Finland. Because of concern about
“forest dieback,” cross-border pro-
tection of European forests was dis-
cussed for the first time at the min-
isterial level.
The ministers responsible for
forestry committed themselves to
technical and scientific cooperation
and signed a declaration of princi-
ples and Strasbourg Resolutions
S1–S6. This initiated the Pan-
European Process for the Protec-
tion of the Forests, continued in
Helsinki, Finland, in 1993, with the
outcome of the debate laid down in
Resolutions H1–H4, taking into
consideration measures agreed to at
the UN Earth Summit in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil. Within the frame-
work of the Third Ministerial Con-
ference, which took place in June
1998 in Lisbon, Portugal, a General
Declaration was adopted, and Reso-
lutions L1 and L2 were signed.
Europe has thus reinforced its will-
ingness to promote and safeguard
the various ecological, economic,
cultural, and social benefits of
forests on a sustainable basis.
A working document was
designed to implement Resolution
S4, “Adapting the Management of
Mountain Forests to New Environ-
mental Conditions.” At an Interna-
tional Workshop in May 2000 in
Igls/Tyrol, Austria, named The Sus-
tainable Future of Mountain Forests
in Europe, the Federal Office and
Research Centre for Forests and the
University of Agricultural Sciences
in Vienna, Austria, presented
research results and needs, followed
by a list of demands for harmonized
action and sustainable management
of forests at the European level.
The findings were presented at the
Fourth Ministerial Conference held
in April 2003 in Vienna for the
preparation of further resolutions
regarding international forest
policy.
European mountain forests: a
special concern
Sixty-seven percent of Austria’s ter-
ritory fits the European Union defi-
nition of “mountainous area,” and
nearly half of Austria’s 2351 com-
munities live and work in this area.
Thus, it was very important for Aus-
tria that the ministers agreed in Lis-
MountainNotes
Adapting the Management of Mountain Forests to New Environmental Conditions
Research Results and Needs in Austria, Presented in April 2003 in Vienna
Theodore Wachs
Managing Editor, Mountain Research and
Development, Centre for Development and
Environment, Steigerhubelstrasse 3,
3008 Berne, Switzerland.
mrd-journal@giub.unibe.ch
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Mountain Research and Development Vol 23 No 4 Nov 2003
bon to promote implementation of
commitments made previously with-
in the framework of the ministerial
conferences in Strasbourg and
Helsinki, in collaboration with
international bodies and organiza-
tions. For this reason continuation
of the implementation of Resolu-
tion S4, “Adapting the Management
of Mountain Forests to New Envi-
ronmental Conditions,” was
endorsed, and the newly established
European Observatory of Mountain
Forests (EOMF) was charged with
the preparation of a working docu-
ment for the European Mountain
Forests Action Plan (EMFAP),
designed for the implementation of
Resolution S4.
Reviewing research and
research needs in Austria
The Austrian Federal Ministry of
Agriculture, Forestry, Environment
and Water Management entrusted
the Federal Office and Research
Centre for Forests with the compila-
tion of research results and
research needs relating to the
theme of the workshop in Vienna,
taking into account two of the top-
ics formulated in part I/10 of Reso-
lution S4:
•Determination of geographical
units by identifying and studying
all environmental factors.
• Production of ecological maps at
the valley and catchment level,
including data on environment
and risks.
The sustainability of mountain
forests can be evaluated using stan-
dardized methods applied to an
entire national territory and within
regional studies. The state of knowl-
edge of risk factors and necessary
steps to be taken to improve under-
standing of the economic and eco-
logical interactions is the basis of
further national and international
cooperation in the fields of science
and policy.
Austrian knowledge that may
contribute to sustainable manage-
ment of forest ecosystems at the
European level as well as to adapta-
tion of mountain forest manage-
ment to new environmental condi-
tions is briefly summarized below.
This overview was prepared in coop-
eration with the Institute of Silvicul-
ture of the University of Agricultur-
al Sciences in Vienna. Mountain
forests are defined as forests in the
montane and subalpine zones of
the Alps, in accordance with COST
Action E3 (COST: European Coop-
eration in the field of Scientific and
Technical Research) on the role of
forests in protecting rural mountain
areas.
Determination of geographical units
by identifying and studying all
environmental factors
Classification according to “forest
growth areas and altitudinal levels”
(Kilian et al 1994), “criteria of natu-
ralness” (Koch 1999), and “key func-
tions of forests” (Bundesministeri-
um für Land- und Forstwirtschaft
1999) constitutes a planning instru-
ment and is the basis for economic
development, landscape and envi-
ronmental planning, conservation,
and forest policy decisions and
measures at the national and federal
levels. The following research needs
were identified:
• Refinement of growth area classi-
fication—especially for sensitive
regions at a scale between
1:10,000 and 1:50,000—as a
basis for environmentally sound
planning and designing of
corresponding management and
protection measures.
• Establishment of a map or a
manual of the potentially natural
forest communities (PNFC) in
Austria. A compilation of all
existing maps and their transfer
into a useful forest association
nomenclature, as well as the
development of methods for the
production of PNFC maps from
available local information (eg,
hemeroby study, Austrian Forest
Inventory, natural forest reserves,
Austrian Forest Soil Survey)
using geographic information
system technology.
• Identification of Austrian torrent
catchment areas according to a
unified classification.
Production of ecological maps at the
valley and catchment level including
data on environment and risks
Table 1 summarizes the available
national and regional maps of envi-
ronmental and risk factors. The
ecological maps are the basis for
enhancing understanding of eco-
logical and economic interrelations.
The risk maps provide a basis for
further national and international
382
FIGURE 1 Key functions according to the Forest Development Plan. (Bundesministerium für Land- und
Forstwirtschaft, 1999)
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383
political measures and scientific
activities. The following research
needs were identified:
• Refinement of the maps showing
critical levels and critical loads
for regional assessment.
• Risk assessment of N-input, con-
cerning drinking water resources
and transit regulations.
• Modeling of risk due to climate
change for the main tree species
in Austria.
• Establishment of limiting values
for heavy-metal content in forest
soils.
REFERENCE
Kudjelka W, Herman F, Meister R, editors. 2000.
The Sustainable Future of Mountain Forests in
Europe. Proceedings of the 3rd International
Wor kshop in Igls, Austria; 3–5 May 2000.
Vienna: Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry,
Environment and Water Management.
Characteristics of forests in
the spruce vegetation zone
The Slovak Republic is one of the
most forested countries in Europe.
Forest covers about 20,000 km
2
(41%) of the total area of the coun-
try, a substantial part of which is
occupied by the mountains of the
Carpathian Arch (highest peak: Ger-
lachovsky Peak, 2655 m). Forests in
Slovakia have commercial functions
as well as functions of benefit to the
public: timber production, water
management, soil erosion control,
avalanche control, nature conserva-
tion, tourism, and aesthetic value.
Many rivers that are important for
neighboring countries spring from
the Slovak mountains; Slovakia is
therefore sometimes called the roof
of Central Europe.
All forest ecosystems found in
the spruce vegetation zone are pro-
tective forests. The most important
forest ecosystem in terms of benefit
to the public is spruce forests, locat-
ed at an altitude of 1250–1550 m in
the so-called spruce vegetation zone
(SVZ). In this zone, total annual
precipitation ranges between 1000
and 1300 mm, mean annual tem-
perature ranges between 2˚C and
4˚C, and the vegetation period lasts
70–100 days. The SVZ forests cover
about 40,000 ha or 2% of the total
forest area and are located in the
central and northern parts of the
country, some of them in national
parks.
The original SVZ forests were
made up mostly of sparse stands or
groups of trees with Norway spruce
as a dominant species. Some forests
also have European larch, Euro-
MountainNotes
Friedl Herman and Stefan Smidt
Austrian Federal Office and Research Centre
for Forests, Seckendorff-Gudent-Weg 8,
A-1130 Vienna, Austria.
friedl.herman@bfw.gv.at
stefan.smidt@bfw.gv.at
TABLE 1 National and regional maps of environmental and risk factors in Austria. The full references are listed in Kudjelka et al (2000).
National maps Regional maps
Maps based on Austrian soil protection concepts (Bundesamt und
Forschungszentrum für Landwirtschaft 1997)
Hazard zone maps, Decree on Hazard Zone Planning (1976,
Federal Law Gazette 436/176)
Forest soil condition maps (Forstliche Bundesversuchsanstalt 1992) Forest site maps (Englisch and Kilian 1998)
Maps based on the Austrian Forest Inventory (Schieler et al 1995;
Forstliche Bundesversuchsanstalt 1997)
Vegetation maps (Schiechtl and Stern 1995)
Map of natural forest reserves (Parviainen and Frank 2003) Nitrogen input maps (Knoflacher and Loibl 1998)
Map of the geographic distribution of genetic structures in tree popu-
lations (Geburek 1999)
Forest soil condition map in the countries of the ARGE Alp and
ARGE Alpen Adria (Huber and Englisch 1997)
Pollutant impact and risk maps (Fürst et al 2003) Forest soil condition maps for Tyrol (Amt der Tiroler Lan-
desregierung 1988, 1991).
Maps of proton and nitrogen input (Mutsch and Smidt 1994;
Knoflacher and Loibl 1993), ozone impact (Loibl and Smidt 1996),
and heavy metal input (Herman et al 2001)
Maps based on remote sensing (Gärtner 2001)
Management of High-Mountain Forests in the Western Carpathians, Slovak Republic:
Research Results and Perspectives
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