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Network of Knowledge

Four people standing in a forest having a discussion.

Communication and capacity building has been a great strength of the Montreal Process since its inception. Sharing of experiences and knowledge has enabled the development and application of the Montreal Process criteria and indicators framework used by all member countries.

Through the International Model Forest Network, Argentina, Canada, Chile, China and Russia are among a number of countries that are collaborating on methods to demonstrate sustainable forest management using the Montreal Process criteria and indicators. They have found innovative, low-cost, and long-term solutions to the challenges facing advocates and practitioners of sustainable forest management.

Australia has developed an integrated approach to reporting, by the national Montreal Process Implementation Group. Information flows visualizing information from the state and territories to the federal level for inclusion in the national State of the Forests Report. As the quality of reporting improves, so too does the value of criteria and indicators for decision-making.

Since 1994, the United States has been hosting an on-going dialogue regarding the use of criteria and indicators and sustainable forest management through a Roundtable on Sustainable Forests. Roundtables in the water and rangeland sectors are now engaging in the use of their own set criteria and indicators modeled after the Montreal Process criteria and indicators.

New Zealand has used membership in the Montreal Process and the Montreal Process criteria and indicators to increase their focus and investment in sustainable forest management research.

Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay are working together with Paraguay and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) on a project to strengthen national capacities for the implementation of criteria and indicators. One desired output from this project is a process for the integration, use, and administration of regional forestry information in a consistent manner.

For sharing the knowledge acquired through the Montreal Process, Japan organizes an international training course every year inviting officers of the developing countries on the Pacific Rim to Japan. Participants are given opportunities to learn the basics and application of the criteria and indicators.