Prioritizing Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management: A Case Study on Participatory Decision Making

Abstract

This paper describes an application ofthe analytic hierarchy process (AHP) in assessing criteria and indicatars (C&I) as measures of sustainable farest management. C&I elements are organised in hierarchical manner around the three general concepts, namely: Principles, Criteria, and Indicators. These elements are prioritised based on their perceived relative importance values. These values are calculated using pairwise comparisons ofthe C&I elements following the principles ofthe AHP. Pairwise comparisons were obtained from experts representing various disciplines related to farest management. C&I analysis is done at different levels in the hierarchy. To demonstrate the method, a C&I assessment case study involves a forest located in Kalimantan, Indonesia. A generic set ofC&I is used as a benchmark. AHP is used to calculate the relative weights of each C&I, prioritise them, and ultimately select a final set ofC&I to be used in assessing the sustainability ofthe forest.