%0 Articles
%T Sustainability assessment of forest resources – tools for a problem-orientated approach
%A Myllyviita, Tanja
%D 2013
%J Dissertationes Forestales
%V 2013
%N 168
%R doi:10.14214/df.168
%U http://dissertationesforestales.fi/article/1951
%X Various methods and tools have been applied to assess the sustainable use of forests and other natural resources. However, interpretation of generated results is demanding, often leading to misleading conclusions. One solution to more advanced and transparent sustainability assessments is to combine quantitative and qualitative methodologies (hybrid approach). Qualitative methods could be used to structure the problem, whereas quantitative tools could be assigned to attain numerical information on the rankings of the alternatives.


As a result of sub-study I, it could be stated that hybrid approaches appear to be the most suitable methods to assess sustainability. In sub-study II, qualitative mapping technique and Multi-criteria analysis (MCA) were applied to identify and to rate cultural sustainability indicators for comparing four alternative wood-based bioenergy systems. The interviewed experts identified 49 indicators, but the transition phase between methods should be more coherent. In sub-study III, MCA and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) were applied for comparing raw materials of pulp and biodiesel. The global biomasses received smaller environmental impact scores than local biomasses. However, it is possible that if biodiversity impacts could be included, the results would favour locally produced raw materials. In sub-study IV, different weighting techniques commonly used in MCA were applied for assessing the environmental impacts of alternative house types. The ranking of houses was highly dependent on the weighting technique and aggregation rules behind them.


The main result of this thesis is that sustainability can be assessed with various tools, but there are several methodological and behavioural challenges. There was some evidence of benefits of mixing quantitative and qualitative methods, but more attention should be focused on how the methods are tied together. A more problem-orientated approach for sustainability assessments, with active involvement of stakeholders, would alleviate the process in terms of transparency, operability and acceptability.