A multi-objective scenario evaluation model for sustainable forest management using criteria and indicators

Abstract

A multi-objective optimization model was created for medium-term forest development planning for an integrated forest products company located in the East Kootenay area of British Columbia, Canada. First, a set of sustainable forest management criteria and indicators were developed based on information that could be collected from regional geographic information sytem (GIS) databases and potential outputs from the model. Next, a new forest development planning unit was created (stewardship unit) in which adjacent forest polygons with similar indicator attributes were aggregated. The planning model was designed to determine appropriate harvest levels and management treatments on each stewardship unit to satisfy objectives determined in a participatory process. The mathematical model uses a fuzzy MAXMIN approach, where each indicator represents an objective in the model. Indicators are valued in the model using targets, thresholds, and triggers (called the 3-T approach). A case study is used to demonstrate the use of the model in a sustainable forest development planning context. The results of the case study show that the planning area is highly sensitive to visual quality, old-growth, and community watershed indicators. The paper concludes with a sensitivity analysis that determines the relative opportunity cost of various sustainable forest management indicators on company profits, employment, and tax revenues.