The Congo Basin (CB) region is highly relevant in both environmental and social terms. Due to the various roles and meanings that forests play in the region, it becomes urgent to understand how forestry companies disclose their (alleged) corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. This work aims at identifying which CSR themes are more often disclosed by companies, and verifying geographical patterns according to their headquarters location, in a region where studies on the subject are scarce. A grid of CSR themes enabled the analysis of the website contents of 37 forestry sector firms operating in the CB. Companies were divided in three geographical regions, according to the location of their headquarters: West, Africa, and Asia. The results suggest that the companies value timber certification and prefer to focus on disclosing environmental themes related to their operations. Education and health are the most disclosed themes, in line with contractual obligations. There is a clear relation between the disclosure and the geographical origin of the companies: Western companies disclose more than their Asian and African counterparts. The near-absence of disclosure around human and workers’ rights by Asian companies is notorious.

Introduction

The second largest tropical rainforest in the world is located in the CB. It plays a fundamental role on the preservation of biodiversity and climate regulation by capturing atmospheric carbon dioxide and contributing to limiting global warming. Around 60 million people depend on this forest for their livelihoods, and it has a crucial social and cultural role for local populations and regional economies (de Wasseige et al., 2015). Despite having inherited good infrastructures from the colonial period and having huge reserves of raw-materials (Matti, 2010), the region is politically and economically collapsing. CB countries (Fig. 1) score low on human development index (UNEP, 2016): life expectancy is short, fertility rates and population growth are amongst the highest in the world, and illiteracy rates are significant. Besides, they are amongst the worst in terms of business environment (World Bank, 2017), with high indexes of hunger (von Grebmer et al., 2012) and corruption (Transparency International, 2016). The forestry sector harvests a natural raw material – wood. Logging generates positive and negative environmental and social impacts, some of which are specific to the CB. The most frequently mentioned impact consists on the construction of logging roads. Such infrastructures generate direct and (mainly) indirect impacts. They damage the forest cover, increase bush meat demand and facilitate access of poachers to previously remote locations (de Wasseige et al., 2014). The upsurge in the circulation of vehicles and people place challenges on the region, namely the emergence of new diseases, the supply of significant quantities of alcohol and toxic industrial products (e.g. glues) used as drugs, generating previously non-existent problems (Amaral, 2016). Albeit relatively well preserved, the forest is threatened by the foreseen economic boom, large scale farming projects, and illegal wood extraction activities in the region (Defourny et al., 2011). The timber industry is an important source of income and jobs for the CB and will be decisive for the future of the forests in the region (Brunner and Ekoko, 2000). This relevance may affect each country differently, as some of them (i) have considerable forest resources but an underdeveloped forest sector, such as Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); (ii) abundant forest resources and an active timber sector, such as Republic of Congo, Gabon and southeast Cameroon; and (iii) scarce forest resources and a small but active forest sector, such as Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea and south Cameroon (Ruiz-Pérez et al., 2005). Perspectives of economic growth raise concerns over the role of companies in social development, sustainability of timber operations,

Forest certification, under both the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the PEFC-endorsed Chilean CERTFOR schemes, has been widely adopted in both the native and plantation forestry sectors in Chile. This study of the impacts of forest certification on Chilean forestry businesses is based in-depth interviews with 72 actors representing a diversity of roles and perspectives in the Chilean forestry sector. The impacts of certification have been greatest in the plantation forestry sector, and for larger businesses. These impacts include the cessation of deforestation for plantation establishment, rehabilitation of natural ecosystems, greater benefits to local communities, and the development of a positive dialogue between forestry businesses and their stakeholders. However, certification has not resolved some long-standing conflicts between forestry businesses and other actors, notably in relation to Indigenous peoples’ land claims and workers’ rights. Both certification schemes in Chile have promoted legal compliance; FSC certification is encouraging improvements beyond legal compliance, and deepening the changes initiated by CERTFOR. The results illustrate how certification can contribute to effective hybrid governance regimes, but also of the limits of certification in addressing deeply-entrenched social conflicts. Nevertheless, the impacts of certification for Chilean forestry businesses and their stakeholders have largely been positive.

Introduction

The scale and adverse impacts of unsustainable forest management in the second half of the 20th Century prompted many governance responses at a range of scales, from international to local (Lister, 2011; McDermott et al., 2010; Humphreys, 2014). Since the mid-1980s, promoting sustainable forest management (SFM) has been a central concern of forest governance globally. SFM aims to enhance and balance the environmental, social and economic values of all types of forests (see definition in UN, 2007). However, the lack of progress in developing credible international intergovernmental arrangements to address deforestation and forest degradation (Humphreys, 2014), and the limited progress at national and subnational levels in many countries (e.g. McDermott et al., 2010), have catalyzed the emergence of forest certification, a form of “private” or “non-state”, “market-based” governance (Auld et al., 2008; Auld, 2014; Cashore et al., 2006). Since forest certification was initiated by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in 1995, certification has both diversified – as other actors initiated a number of competing forest certification schemes (Lister, 2011) – and expanded, to now encompass some 500 million ha of forests globally (FSC, 2017; PEFC, 2017), around a third of the world’s production forests (Auld, 2014). While natural tropical forests were the initial focus of forest certification, forests in all geographic regions, and both natural (syn. native) and plantation forests, are now the subject of certification (FSC 2016, Auld, 2014, Cubbage et al., 2010, Mikulková et al., 2015). As the scale and significance of certification as a forest governance mechanism has increased, so too has interest in the impacts of certification (e.g. Gale, 2014; Lewis and Davis, 2015; Miteva et al., 2015; Poynton, 2015). However, as many of these authors note, our knowledge and understanding of forest certification impacts are limited, and the majority of studies to date have focused on the impact of certification in natural forest management. This study investigates the impacts of certification in both the native and plantation forestry sectors in Chile. We first review what has been reported by other studies about the impacts of certification, and describe our research framework and methods. We then present our findings from applying this framework to the Chilean forestry sector, and discuss our results and their implications.

In this article I discuss the factors contributing to the drafting and approval of the forestry incentives law (PINPEP) in Guatemala. This is a remarkable law because (a) it is among the few in the country recognizing property rights to land other than private property; (b) it has a stronger focus on subsidies and social benefits than on market mechanisms and; (c) the law is the result of the effort of forestry community organizations. My findings indicate that community organizations can, through their alliances with science-policy networks, participate in law-making and by that, in democratizing environmental governance. My study nuances the role of experts in environmental governance showing that their power and status should be understood as relational and historically contingent. Furthermore, some key and charismatic individuals can act as door openers to link community forestry organizations and science-policy networks. Although the identity of the grassroots organizations that participated in the process of making the law is tied to forestry, these organizations have a long history in the country. This history has been shaped by their experiences in exile and in refugee camps during the civil war as well as by their contact with development assistance organizations.

Introduction

The idea to implement monetary transfers to forest owners or forest dwellers to promote global forest conservation has become popular in national and international policy-making circles. Programs such as “Payments for Ecosystem Services-PES” and “Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation-REDD” are good examples of such initiatives. This increased focus on so-called “market-based” mechanisms for nature conservation is in part related to what many have called “the neoliberal turn” in nature conservation, involving also the privatisation and commoditization of nature (Castree, 2004, 2008; McCarthy and Prudham 2004; Mansfield 2004; Bakker 2005; Heynen and Robbins, 2005). Fairhead et al. (2012) observe that there has been an explosion in studies analysing the effects of the neoliberal turn in environmental conservation. They argue that such literature has however tended to adopt a rather uniform position assuming a singular hegemonic project, failing sometimes to analyse the consequences for diverse, differentiated and contingent settings. This paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of how neoliberal ideas are transformed, re-shaped, negotiated and contested in national and local contexts. This paper offers a detailed analysis of a policy making process to reveal the underlying processes at play that contribute to shape the outcomes of the expansion of neoliberal programs in Central America. Investigating the complex interactions between science and politics allows me to suggest a more nuanced understanding of the conditions under which unexpected alliances and policy outcomes emerge. These alliances might not change radically the position of marginalized actors, but contribute to advance their agendas and to improve their political possibilities in the future. In 2010, the Guatemalan congress passed the law on forestry incentives for smallholders (PINPEP law, Decree 51-2010). This is a landmark law for various reasons. First, this is one of the few in the country, acknowledging the existence of communal land tenure regimes and recognizing property rights that are not formalized in the National Property Register. Land tenure is a contested issue in Guatemala, a country featuring enormous inequality in access to land and land distribution, where an estimated five percent of the population controls 80 percent of arable land, complicated by unsecure land tenure for the majority (Gauster and Isakson, 2007). Second, the approval of the law was pushed by community forestry organizations. Many other proposals for laws promoted by peasant organizations or petitions to reform laws have not had the success that one would expect considering the broad mobilizations behind these initiatives. Third, the spirit of the law focuses on providing subsidies to small landholders for conserving or planting trees in their lands.

Introduction

Forestry sector decentralization policies are a widespread phenomenon across the Global South [1]. Officially, these policies have been driven by a belief that situating decision making closer to where forest management and use actually occurs — where its direct effects are felt most immediately — and in the hands of representative local authorities, will result in more ecologically and socially sustainable outcomes [2]. These are broadly the same official rationales underlying the support to various community-based forest management approaches. Research on forestry decentralization policies has proliferated and grown in widely different directions through contributions from different disciplines. Therefore, in this paper, we attempt a synthesis of recent contributions to this literature aiming to identify strands within it and illustrate differences, overlaps, and gaps among these. We believe this will assist scholars in situating their own work within this burgeoning literature. We also believe it is relevant to ongoing efforts at forestry decentralization as well as to more recent carbon forestry initiatives that in different ways articulate with and (re)shape existing forestry decentralization policies [3–5]. Our review focuses on research that examines forestry decentralization processes by which decision-making powers over forests are handed down, or devolved, to lower levels in a jurisdictional hierarchy of the state [6]. This implies transfers to subnational bodies, such as provinces, districts, wards, villages, or user groups. In the following we present and discuss four strands within the literature assess how decentralization impacts forests and livelihoods; studies that examine whether decentralization empowers public and democratic local institutions; studies focusing on power and elite interests in decentralization, and; studies that historicize and contextualize decentralization as reflective of broader societal phenomena. We argue that these strands reflect disciplinary differences in values, epistemologies, and methods preferences, and that they present partial representations of forestry decentralization policies (see Figure 1). Although we try to provide both depth and coverage, our review should be seen as representative of studies within the four strands we identify, and not as an attempt at fully covering the existing literature.

Deforestation and forest degradation are problems common to many tropical countries, including Papua New Guinea (PNG). These problems are often a result of the environmentally unsustainable logging practices of industrial logging companies. Beginning in the 1990s, six organizations attempted to mitigate the deforestation and forest degradation occurring in PNG by facilitating small-scale native forest management by Indigenous forest landowners. All six organizations utilized an ‘eco-forestry’ approach, involving selective harvesting of timber combined with the milling of timber by Indigenous forest landowners using portable sawmills. The lumber produced was sold into local and international markets as sustainable certified under Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) principles. The use of portable sawmills was also intended to provide the landowners with a greater financial return compared to the timber royalty payments they could receive from logging companies. This study used a literature review and interviews with key informants from the eco-forestry organizations and the PNG Forest Authority to assess the effectiveness of variants of the portable sawmilling model. We found that each of the six organizations were unsuccessful in developing a financially viable model for small-scale native forest management by Indigenous forest landowners in PNG. All the Indigenous landowners were unable to continue their portable sawmill operations once the donor funding of the eco-forestry organizations ceased. In addition, the operators of portable sawmills struggled to produce lumber that met the quality and quantity demands of buyers, who ultimately ceased purchasing the lumber. Furthermore, the Indigenous landowners struggled to adhere to the FSC principles, resulting in a loss of FSC certification. The study identifies a need for a new small-scale native forest management model in PNG. We recommend that future research involve collaboration with private sector businesses and professionally trained operators to inform the development of a small-scale forest management model which is financially profitable while also adhering to the principles of ecoforestry.

Introduction

Papua New Guinea (PNG) has one of the largest remaining continuous areas of tropical forest in the world. There are approximately 29 million hectares of forest with 97 percent of the forest held under customary land ownership by Indigenous clan groups (PNGFA, 2009). Large-scale industrial logging companies operating in PNG export approximately 90 percent of the logs harvested in the country (PNGFA, 2009). Just over 3.4 million m3 of non-coniferous logs were exported from PNG in 2016 (SGS, 2017). This amount represents 8.5 percent of total non-coniferous log exports from all tropical countries in the world in 2016 (ITTO, 2017). The PNG Government imposes export duties on exported logs, which totalled approximately $95.5 million USD in 2016 (SGS, 2017). The customary landowners receive royalty payments as compensation for the harvested timber, which varies between $3.30 and $11.55 per m3 in 2016 USD, depending on the tree species (NFS, 2011). The harvest methods of the large-scale logging companies operating in PNG have been widely criticised, especially in respect to the widespread environmental damage resulting from noncompliance with the PNG Logging Code of Practice (PNGFA, 1996), (e.g. Bun and Scheyvens, 2007; Fox et al., 2011; Bun, 2012). In addition, the timber harvests have resulted in social inequalities due to the royalty payments received by the landowners being disproportionately small relative to the value of the timber being removed. Furthermore, the system for distributing royalty payments to landowners lacks financial transparency, causing landowners to question if they have been paid the amounts they were owed (Bird et al., 2007). These issues provided the impetus for PNG’s customary landowners and supporting non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to explore alternative forest management methods such as ‘eco-forestry.’

The development of modern science and technology tends to accompany environmental crisis and ecological degradation. And the evaluation of the security condition of the forestry ecosystem has become an urgent task. This paper details the development of a decision support system (the FESEDSS), which was built to provide a range of actors with an effective tool for the evaluation and governance of forestry ecological security in China. The FESEDSS considers multiple factors through a general decision-support framework, making possible the calculation of ecological security indexes and relative indexes for the forestry ecosystem and its three subsystems (forest, wetlands and desert) at both the national and provincial level. The system integrates econometric models, mathematical methods, geographic information systems and a dynamic database, providing users with an understanding of spatiotemporal patterns and regional differences in the ecological security of the forestry ecosystem and its three subsystems in China’s 31 provinces. Results generated using the FESEDSS and addressing the period 1999–2012 demonstrate a positive change in forest ecological security condition and a negative change in wetland and desert ecological security. Spatially, the ecological security of the forest subsystem was shown to have improved significantly in eastern and central China, while in the western region it experienced degradation. The ecological security of wetland ecosystems performed well in the southwest region and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River; and desert ecological security was shown to be of a higher standard in south of Qinling-Huaihe Line than in the northern regions of the country. The overall forestry ecological security condition (which integrates the three subsystems) demonstrated an upward trend with some fluctuations, with high values generally being located in the south and low values in the north of the country. Finally, the paper also discusses performance, uncertainty, and implementation challenges, as well as detailing potential extensions of the FESEDSS. The paper lays a foundation to the national forestry ecological security evaluation and monitoring.

Introduction

China is a populous country with a vast territory and a tremendous diversity of biological resources. In recent years, however, its forest ecosystems have begun to suffer severe degradation as a result of human disturbances of differing durations, intensities, frequencies and types (Dai et al., 2006). A large proportion of the country’s wetlands have been converted to industrial, agricultural and construction land uses; this, in combination with environmental pollution and an excessive utilisation of resources, has in turn led to reductions in the quality of wetlands and a marked decrease in biodiversity. Human activities such as the overexploitation made possible by land reclamation, practices of overgrazing and the degradation of water resources have all further contributed to advancing land degradation and soil erosion, a trend ultimately linked to a soaring rate of desertification. In order to resolve the ecological problems addressed above, China’s central government has put forward a series of policies and schemes to improve ecological security. Environmental protection forms one of the country’s basic national policies, and the government has also mapped out a number of important strategies to realise sustainable economic development. Ecological security is one of the most important aspects of environmental protection. Maintaining ecological security has become a critical task for human societies, in our attempt to achieve sustainable development in the 21st century (Wang et al., 2014; Li et al., 2014). The “forestry ecosystem” – a term put forward here to describe the management of not only forest ecosystems but also wetland and desert ecosystems – guarantees the biological function and terrestrial eco-environment of the earth (Lu et al., 2002). The higher the level of stability and security within the forestry ecosystem, the greater the level of protection it in turn can offer in relation to the environment as a whole. The evaluation of the security condition of the forestry ecosystem has thus become a hot topic in the research community. An urgent task exists in establishing a decision support system to effectively evaluate the ecological security of forests, wetlands and deserts and scientifically extends the results of such evaluations via practical applications.

1- Introduction

2- Key features: feedbacks, time lags, and cross-scale interactions

3- Management Challenges: Scale mismatches

4- Management opportunities: institutional interventions

5- Conclusion

References

Abstract

Many of the most pressing threats to forests result from complex interactions between multiple stressors and require management on large spatial and temporal scales. For this reason, many ecosystem managers have begun to recognize the need to consider the broader context of decisions, and how outcomes of past, present and future decisions in one location may interact with outcomes of such decisions in other locations nearby. The landscape has been put forth as an appropriate unit for such holistic approaches to management. However, as there are differing definitions of landscapes, it can be difficult to develop frameworks for management. Moreover, many definitions do not fully account for the many ways social and ecological conditions and processes interact within landscapes. Building on emerging theoretical and empirical literature, I offer a perspective on temperate forest landscapes as social-ecological systems: nested sets of coevolving social and natural subsystems connected through feedbacks, time lags, and cross-scale interactions. This interdisciplinary framing emphasizes the biogeophysical and socio-cultural influences on landscapes and the need to consider these influences – and the interactions among them – in management. I discuss challenges to managing forest landscapes as social-ecological systems that stem from mismatches in the temporal and spatial scales on which ecological and social systems typically function, as well as opportunities for policies, formal organizations, and governance networks.

Introduction

Many of the most pressing threats to forests today require management on large spatial and temporal scales. Wildfires, invasive species, and plant diseases, for example, do not observe administrative boundaries; rather, their behavior is a function of ecological patterns and processes across large areas. Moreover, land management practices influence ecological patterns and processes well into the future with impacts that often go unobserved for long periods of time. For these reasons, the forest management literature has begun to recognize the need to consider the broader context of decisions, and how the outcomes of present and future decisions in one location may interact with environmental conditions and processes, which are themselves outcomes of past decisions, and decisions made in other locations nearby (Filotas et al., 2014; Messier et al., 2015; Nocentini et al., 2017; Rist and Moen, 2013; Stephens et al., 2013). In other words, emerging paradigms of forest management emphasize the need to consider the many ways social and ecological conditions and processes (i.e., systems) interact to shape landscapes across space and time. The landscape has been recognized as one of the most suitable spatial units for managing forests and other ecological systems (Brunckhorst, 2011; Forman, 1995; Forman and Godron, 1986; Phillips, 1998; Wu, 2012). Indeed, many of the social and ecological processes that affect trees and the forests they comprise occur on spatial and temporal scales typical of visible areas of land commonly referred to as landscapes. These processes unfold over geographic extents larger than the patch yet smaller than the region, and over time horizons on the order of decades and centuries (Fig. 1). However, as there are differing definitions of landscapes, it can be difficult to develop frameworks for landscape management (Antrop, 2006).

Forest companies must plan the sustainable harvest of their resources over a given time horizon. Cut timber is then sold in specific local and international markets. They have to meet demand, primarily from pulp plants and sawmills. The main aim of the companies is to maximize profit while complying with environmental regulations. In previous studies we formulated and solved a specific problem addressing various issues that arise in forestry planning, namely, planning the harvest of forest land designated for timber production and the construction of access roads needed to transport the timber. Good surveys of forest-based supply chain planning cover such aspects as planting, cutting, construction of access roads for transportation. See Bredstrom, Lundgren, Rönnqvist, Carlsson, and Mason (2004), Marques, Borges, Sousa, and Pinho (2011), Pinho, Moreira, Veiga, and Boaventura-Cunha (2015), and Rönnqvist (2003), among others. Starting in the 70s, environmental and wildlife issues were increasingly considered in forest management models at different planning levels. In the last 30 years the twin problems of planning harvesting and access road construction have been addressed jointly using mathematical optimization models and computational tools. The advantage of integrating the two processes in a single mixed 0– 1 model was demonstrated in Jones, Hyde, and Meachan (1986), whose solutions are from 15 to 45% better than with models that optimized the processes separately. There exist relevant studies on the different phases of forestry planning, especially regarding access road construction and harvesting. The problem we deal with may be formulated in terms of a partition of the forest into harvesting units, called stands. For a chosen time horizon one must determine which stands will be cut in each period, which roads need to be constructed to access those stands and when, and what quantity of wood will be transported from one point to another. These decisions are made in Andalaft et al. (2003) and references therein, among others. Our approach did benefit from these earlier reports. Some ion to an optimization criterion, typically profit maximization. A model for solving the harvesting problem considering road building and adjacency is provided in Candia (2010), which constrains the possibility of harvesting adjacent stands for observing the maximum clearfell areas regulations. Selling prices of forest products are a key element in forestry planning. Price fluctuations have a direct impact on profits from sales and figure prominently in the planners’ decision-making. The role played by randomness in forestry planning is closely related to the length of the chosen time horizon. Planners who must make tactical decisions are therefore concerned about price variations during a time horizon of two to five years. Although the most relevant source of uncertainty is prices, uncertainty in tree growth, timber demand and losses due to fires is also significant. The approach developed in this paper analyzes decision-making under uncertainty in wood selling prices and demand. We assume that they can be modeled over time by means of a set of scenarios with different associated probabilities.

Water is one of the main natural resources that living beings depend on, regarding both quantity and quality. Climatic changes and oscillations, population growth, and complex economic activities promote increases in pressure on water resources, compromising runoffs and the quality of the world’s large freshwater ecosystems (Grafton et al., 2013). In this context, according to Tundisi and Barbosa et al. (1995), knowledge on environmental processes, water uses, and the socioeconomic aspects of watersheds is paramount for formulating water resource management strategies. The volume and hydrochemical characteristics of water produced by areas with preserved vegetation cover reflect the interactions of factors such as climate, soil, relief, geology, and vegetation of a watershed (Neary et al., 2009; Souza et al., 2013; Van Lear et al., 1985). According to Sopper (1975) and Neary and Leonard (1978), watersheds that present dense forest cover provide protection against soil erosion and excessive inorganic matter lixiviation into river waters. Areas with these characteristics are in better condition to produce high-quality water (Bateni et al., 2013; Fiquepron et al., 2013; Jayawardana et al., 2017). Investing in the protection and conservation of forest areas in watersheds may be the most prudent and lucrative path, as shown by Chichilnisky and Heal (1998). This investment is able to reduce the cost of water treatments, as indicated in the studies conducted by Ernst et al. (2004) and Abildtrup et al. (2013). Thus, promoting mechanisms that alter agricultural land uses into forest land uses in zones that are strategic for fluvial and underground recharge is paramount to allow significant volumes of water with high environmental quality and low economic cost. In Brazil, initiatives at the federal level (ANA – Agência Nacional de Águas, 2011) and also by state water supply agencies support maintenance and regeneration actions towards native vegetation in areas often as far as a hundred kilometers upstream, in order to guarantee the runoffs and to reduce the load of inorganic matter drained. These initiatives are structured within the principle of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES). Regarding water resources, approximately 129 initiatives of Payment for Watershed Services (PWS) have been mapped in Brazil (http://www.brazil.forest-trends.org/). According to Guedes and Seehusen et al., 2011, the effectiveness of most programs is assessed through monitoring activities regarding the preservation of a pre-determined area. However, according to Forest Trends (2015), the implementation of monitoring activities regarding water volumes produced and the quality of these waters is low. Several aspects should be taken into account when executing PESPWS in Brazil. Research studies should be especially encouraged in order to implement this type of program, be them of either a physical/ environmental nature or from a political or socioeconomic standpoint. Studies are indispensable tools to measure the productive ability of a natural system and to identify the needs of a certain region in face of socioeconomic objectives. Liu et al. (2013) and Pereira et al. (2015) conducted participatory action research projects considering natural drivers in watersheds and the environmental perception of water users. According to Quintero et al. (2009), experiments such as these serve as tools for the decision-making process, diagnosing the implementation of a PWS program in a given region as either viable or not.

A primary goal of urban forestry planning and management is reaching at least minimum levels of tree cover density (Nowak et al., 2010). Accurate measures of tree cover density are needed so planners know where to plant trees and how many trees to plant. Tree cover density is most often measured using remotely-sensed imagery (e.g., rectified satellite imagery). Google Earth produces high-quality remotely-sensed images of most places on earth that can be used to objectively calculate tree cover density at little or no cost to the user. This combination of no cost and easy access has made the use of remotely-sensed images for measuring tree cover density and for procuring information about a site ubiquitous in design and planning circles (Janssen & Rosu, 2012; Sheppard & Cizek, 2009). Given the advantages provided by remotely-sensed images, it is likely that many designers and planners feel that they can assess a site and make rational decisions about it by relying on Google Earth imagery rather than on visiting a site and using other eyelevel methods (Power, Neville, Devereux, Haynes, & Barnes, 2013). In recent years, tree cover density measurements derived from remotely-sensed images have been widely adopted to evaluate and compare tree cover density at the scale of states (Nowak & Greenfield, 2012a), cities (McPherson, Simpson, Xiao, & Wu, 2011; Nowak & Greenfield, 2012b), and communities (Kardan et al., 2015; Klemm, Heusinkveld, Lenzholzer, & van Hove, 2015). Eye-level tree cover density measurements are used much less often. Eye-level measures include calculating tree coverdensity fromeye-levelphotography (Jiang, Chang, & Sullivan, 2014) and asking landscape experts or ordinary people to subjectively rate tree cover density from eye-level photographs of actual landscape scenes (Jiang, Larsen, Deal, & Sullivan, 2015; Nordh, Hartig, Hagerhall, & Fry, 2009). It is plausible, however, that eye-level photography, especially panoramic photography that has a similar visual scope to human vision, may better represent people’s perceptions of landscapes than remotely-sensed imagery, and may be a better tool than remotely-sensed imagery in efforts to understand the impact of urban forestry on human health and well-being. Many studies have reported strong, positive associations between the density of vegetation in urban landscapes and the health and wellbeing of individuals (Li & Sullivan, 2016; Parsons, Tassinary, Ulrich, Hebl, & Grossman-Alexander, 1998; Ulrich, 1984; van den Berg, Koole, & van der Wulp, 2003). Previous studies suggest, moreover, that eye-level photographs are more accurate at measuring tree cover density and procuring information about a site than remotely sensed imagery (Kweon, Ellis, Lee, & Rogers, 2006; Leslie, Sugiyama, Ierodiaconou, & Kremer, 2010). To our best knowledge, no empirical studies have examined the extent of agreement among remotely-sensed and eye-level methods of measuring tree cover density at the site scale. In addition, it is unclear whether remotely-sensed or eye-level methods would be better in certain circumstances (such as when tree cover density is low or high). To what extent can designers and planners eschew traditional forms of procuring information about a site (e.g., by measuring tree cover density from eye-level photographs or walking the site) and rely instead on information conveyed by remotely-sensed images? Should municipal officials establish standards of tree cover density in cities by relying on information conveyed solely by remotely-sensed images?

Ecotourism is a sustainable form of natural resource-based tourism. It focuses primarily on experiencing and learning about nature, its landscape, flora, fauna and their habitats, as well as cultural artifacts from the locality (Fung and Wong, 2007). Ecotourism trips are separated from other tourism varieties and basically, the tourist types are different. The key difference between tourism and ecotourism lies in involvements with nature; tourism is not much concerned about the well-being of local people and conservation of nature, but ecotourism tries to create a minimal impact on the people and the environment. The groups formed by eco-tourists are usually of fewer than 25 people and the accommodation areas for ecotourism do not exceed the capacity of 100 beds. Ecotourism is also an activity that is able to promote job creation and education in local communities. Today in Turkey, the cost of farming in the agricultural sector is frequently affected by economic fluctuations; thus, many farmer families prefer to choose jobs, except agriculture (Tekin and Kasalak, 2014). This situation leads to the increase in unemployment in the country; for this reason, ecotourism entrepreneurship has to be developed in rural areas to provide jobs for young people in the ecotourism regions. As Turkey has hosted many cultural habitats in the past and has a rich geographical structure, the country seems to be cut out from ecotourism. Turkey’s tourism potential can still be expanded by investing in the changing tourism concepts serving in natural places and avoiding the prevalence of mass tourism by stopping investments in big/flashy buildings. According to the tourism targets of Turkey determined by Ministry of Culture and Tourism for 2023, the Black Sea region is a region that aims to be developed primarily in terms of biodiversity and eco-tourism (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 2007). The Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey is a good source of eco-tourism with its natural beauties, climatic conditions, historical sites and many other features. The Uzungöl basin, Altındere and Fırtına valley in Rize are especially important places for eco-tourism in Trabzon “within the scope of the” Yayla Tourism Project “initiated by the Ministry of Tourism in 1990, 26 highlands throughout Turkey and 20 highlands in the Eastern Black Sea region have been declared as “Tourism Centers.” As a result, travel agencies have been set up to tour tourists and promote the region, and tours called “green tours” have been organized through these agencies. At this stage; establishing national policies and investments for promoting ecotourism is very important, also this can encourage governments to use ecotourism as a tool for poverty alleviation and environmental protection (World Tourism Organization, 2017). However, finding a suitable site for an ES requires a multi-criteria approach and high levels of accuracy and reliability in the resulting maps, to be relevant for decision-making. The effectiveness of the made decision is clearly dependent on the quality of the data used to produce the considered criteria maps, as well as on the method used for decision-making analysis (Jeong et al., 2016; Is
ık and Demir, 2017; Pantoja et al., 2017). Herein, GIS-based MCDA provides a collection of powerful techniques and procedures converting spatial and non-spatial data into information within decision-maker’s own judgments.

The forest is an ecosystem that encases a high biodiversity and ensures the necessary ecological balance;this ecosystem is increasingly recognized as an area of fundamental importance for the maintenance of natural values and the improvement of people’s quality of life. Besides forest biodiversity, it still has the potential to produce a wide range of goods and services, such as wood, wood pulp, recreation, although some of these outputs maybe incompatible (Campbell, 1999). Forests also contain about 40% of the carbon stored in terrestrial ecosystems, being considered the “lungs of the world” and are also important sources of biomass production, which may have important uses for human activities. Leite (2005) states that the promotion offorest biomass is strategic, both atforestry sector level and energy sector level. The Mediterranean forests have considerable biodiversity, representing about 20% ofthe world’s floristic diversity. However,they are a fragile ecosystem in which the dry and hot summers contribute to the ecosystemfragility, namely by increasingfire risk, and where men’s interference has been a constant (Falcão and Borges, 2005). These forests are also the venue for different activities, in an almost perfect coexistence between forest, agriculture and wild life and are therefore considered and intervened by different stakeholders. Therefore, public decision and the different stakeholders preferences need to be accounted since there are different perspectives of what is a correct management. The decisions that must be taken by forest managers are also diverse and can affect large geographical areas for a long time. Not only today decisions affect future decisions as decisions over a part of a forest can affect other parts of the forest. The number of factors that should be, simultaneously, taken into account is huge, which recommends the use of decision support systems (DSS). Raunikar and Buongiorno (2007) state that the process of modelling the forestry sector has had substantial progress over the last 30 years, being the mathematical programming models used in the definition of the economy and the national forestry policy (Adams et al., 1996; Raunikar and Buongiorno, 2007). In the 60’s, early works were published using linear programming in forestry management (Curtis, 1962 cited by Rodriguez and Borges, 1999; Leak, 1964; Loucks, 1964; Nautiyal and Pearse, 1967) and since then due to the development of technological tools this field of research had a considerable growth. In Portugal, forest management models often focus on a longterm strategic management. Borges and Falcão (1999) and Falcão and Borges, in several works (Falcão and Borges, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2005) refer the use of linear programming in forestry management. Borges et al. (2010) present a positive mathematical programming approach to evaluate the effects of various economic policy scenarios on forestry sector.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) was founded in 1993 by a group of businesses, environmentalists and community leaders to catalyze changes towards sustainable forest management worldwide (Pinto and McDermott, 2013). Member of ISEAL (International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labeling) Alliance, with slightly over 180 million hectares certified by FSC in 80 countries, it is one of the most widely recognized forest certification systems. Its aim is to reassure consumers that the timber products they are buying come from well managed forests that respect specific environmental, social and economic principles and criteria (Lewis and Davis, 2015). It is a quite demanding standard since certification is based on 10 principles, 55 criteria and an average of 200 indicators that have to be verified by external audit. Certification bodies and their auditors report conformance and non-conformance with each indicator, request corrective actions (CAR) and grant (or not) certification. They are responsible for the quality and effectiveness of the certification system (Tulaeva, 2013). Several authors have analyzed why forest companies are reforming their practices to comply with the FSC standard (e.g. Harstfield and Ostermeier, 2003; Cashore et al., 2005; Van Kooten et al., 2005; Overdevest and Rickenbach, 2006; Araujo et al., 2009; Galati et al., 2017). Even with sometimes limitations to their basis for causal inference (Romero et al., 2017), others have focused on the impacts of FSC on forest management (e.g. Cerutti et al., 2011), on the enhancement of livelihood conditions (e.g. Cerutti et al., 2014; Harada, 2014; Kalonga and Kulindwa, 2017), or on the conservation of ecosystem services (e.g. Van Kuijk et al., 2009; Sheil et al., 2010; Nasi et al., 2012; Dias et al., 2015). By looking at the impacts of FSC through the results of certification audits, several studies have provided detailed analysis of the CARs found in audit reports (e.g. Newsom et al., 2006; Pena Claros et al., 2009; Masters et al., 2010). Despite these studies, more research is needed on how certification is implemented (Tysiachniouk and McDermott, 2016). Indeed, little is known about “how” certification bodies, auditors’ rules, and audit procedures shape the implementation of the standard even though what they define as non-compliance guides the company in reforming their forest management through the required corrective action (Maletz and Tysiachniouk, 2009). A better understanding of the “how” requires examination of the indicators of specific national standards, the rules and practices of certification bodies and their auditors.