Page 64 - 4. Pre-Course Reading-Training on Forestry Audit 2019

Auditing Forests: Guidance for Supreme Audit Institutions

f) Environmental impact assessment

Assessment of environmental impacts shall be completed – appropriate to the scale, intensity of forest management and
the uniqueness of the affected resources – and adequately integrated into management systems. Assessments shall include
PRINCIPLE 16
landscape level considerations as well as the impacts of on-site processing facilities. Environmental impacts shall be assessed
prior to commencement of site-disturbing operations.
POSSIBLE CRITERIA:
16.1 A legal/regulatory framework provides for legal instruments for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
16.2 A national agency or institutional framework with the capacity to assure implementation of EIA and to carry out appropriate supervision.

2.2 Harvesting

Harvesting operations should fit into the silvicultural concept, and may, if they are well planned and executed, help to provide
conditions for successful regeneration. Efficiency and sustainability of forest management depend to a large extent on the
PRINCIPLE 17 quality of harvesting operations. Inadequately executed harvesting operations can have far-reaching negative impacts on the
environment, such as erosion, pollution, habitat disruption, and reduction of biological diversity, and may jeopardize the
64 implementation of silvicultural concept.
POSSIBLE CRITERIA:
17.1 A legal/regulatory framework that enacts requirements for harvesting operations to ensure that all forestry operations are carried out
according to high standards (thus ensuring economic viability and avoiding negative environmental, economical and social impacts).
17.2 A national agency or institutional framework with the capacity to control quality of harvesting operations.
17.3 Supervision and monitoring activities to ensure that information about harvest operations and actual cut is accurate.

a) Pre-harvest prescriptions

Pre-harvest prescriptions are important to minimize logging damage to the residual stand,
PRINCIPLE 18
to reduce health risks for logging personnel and to attune harvesting with silvicultural concept.
POSSIBLE CRITERIA:
18.1 A legal/regulatory framework setting out requirements for pre-harvest prescription.

18.2 Detailed prescriptions in place for a range of measures (for example, climber cutting, marking of trees to be felled/retained,
handling residuals to be retained, indications of extraction direction and felling directions).
18.3 If appropriate, the growing stock of stand are measured before harvest, to be sure that logging companies’ reports are accurate
and thefts are avoided.

18.4 If appropriate, there are requirements for forest owners or managers to prepare a logging plan, which should include:
• Areas where logging is subject to special restrictions or forbidden
(flora and fauna conservation and soil protection areas, buffer strips, sites of cultural interest);
• Specifications for construction and restoration of skidding tracks, watercourse crossings and log landing (including drainage);
• wet weather limitations;
• Allowed harvesting equipment; and
• Machine operator responsibilities (directional felling, etc) marking of trees to be retained, and trees to be removed.

b) Roads and Timber Extraction

Planning, location, design, and construction of roads, bridges, causeways and fords should be done so as to minimize
PRINCIPLE 19 environmental damage. As extraction frequently involves the use of heavy machinery, therefore pre-cautions must be taken
to avoid damage to roads, forests, soils and water.

POSSIBLE CRITERIA:
19.1 A legal/regulatory framework specifies limits to road dimensions and grades, drainage requirements, conservation of buffer strips along
streams, and other appropriate requirements for road construction.
19.2 A legal/regulatory framework sets requirements to avoid damage during timber extraction.

19.3 A national agency or institutional framework with the capacity to control quality of road construction and timber extraction,
and to assure compliance to laws and regulations.