全球智库信息集成服务系统

Despite widespread acceptance of sustainability as the ultimate goal of forest
management, perspectives about its meaning, significance, and relevant indicators
may still differ. This paper examines local perspectives on sustainability, and evaluates
their similarities and differences. A systematic procedure based on criteria of
proximity, pre-existing rights, dependency, knowledge of forest management, forestry
spirit, daily activity, and legal rights was used to identify a small group of relevant
stakeholders representing different groups, institutions, and organizations. Using
participatory action research (PAR), stakeholders were asked to identify relevant
indicators of sustainable forest management. The indicators identified by each
stakeholder were then compared to a consolidated list assembled by field facilitators
with respect to whether relevant indicators are present or not. Based on the resulting
presence/absence matrix, a statistical tool called the simple matching coefficient was
used to estimate the similarity measures among the stakeholders’ perspectives. In
addition, cluster analysis was used to classify groups of stakeholders depending on
their similarities to each other. Finally, hypotheses related to the ‘closeness’ of
perspectives among local communities, non-governmental organizations, a timber
company, and government organizations, as revealed by their selection of indicators,
were tested. Results show that: (a) local communities have different perceptions in
terms of what they consider to be important indicators compared to the NGOs, (b)
there are significantly different perceptions between the government and the timber
companies, and (c) there are also different perceptions between urban and field-based
personnel of the same organization.