S is for Sustainable Urban Forest

"Urban forests are essential to the current and future health of cities and their inhabitants."

The Brundtland Commission Report (1987 World Commission on Economic Development) has defined sustainable forestry as:

“Sustainable forestry means managing our forests to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs by practicing a land stewardship ethic which integrates the growing, nurturing and harvesting of trees for useful products with the conservation of soil, air, and water quality, and wildlife and fish habitat.”

The following is an excerpt from "A MODEL OF URBAN FOREST SUSTAINABILITY" by James R. Clark, Nelda P. Matheny, Genni Cross and Victoria Wake.

"The naturally occurring and planted trees in cities which are managed to provide the inhabitants with a continuing level of economic, social, environmental and ecological benefits today and into the future."

Applying this definition in urban areas requires accepting 3 ideas:

1. Communities must acknowledge that city trees provide a wide range of net benefits. Planting, preserving and maintaining trees is neither simply a good thing nor an exercise. Rather, urban forests are essential to the current and future health of cities and their inhabitants.
2. Given the goal of maintaining net benefits over time, the regeneration of urban forests requires intervention and management by humans. To quote David Nowak, "people want and need to direct the renewal process because natural regeneration does not meet most urban needs." Therefore, urban forests cannot be sustained by nature, but by people.
3. Sustainable urban forests exist within defined geographic and political boundaries: those of cities. Moreover, sustainable urban forests are composed of all trees in the community, regardless of ownership.