Auditing for Sustainable Forest Management: The Role of Science

Abstract

The article explores the objectivity and replicability of on-the-ground forest assessment as it pertains to forest certification and adaptive ecosystem management. It analyzes the role that science plays in three forest auditing regimes by examining and comparing the two most significant forest certification regimes in the U.S., then assessing the monitoring and evaluation requirements established under the 2005 U.S. Forest Service regulations. The article ultimately evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the regimes in order to recommend changes that could provide a more uniform and reliable basis for measuring and informing sustainable forest management.