This study describes the concept of a management information system (MIS) developed for the Center for International Forestry Research. A definition of MIS and the institutional background are given, followed by a description of the organisational structure, definition of MIS requirements and the procedures and results of an information requirements survey. The core of the study is the design of the MIS which focuses on outputs, inputs, processing, storage and personnel as key elements of the system.

Between March 1997 and February 1998 three tests of Criteria and Indicators (C&I) for assessing the sustainability of community-managed forests were conducted by the Center for International Forestry Research. The tests, each lasting approximately one month, were sited in humid forest in Central Province, Cameroon; Sanggau, West Kalimantan, Indonesia; and in the Arapiuns river basin, Para, Brazil.

The CIFOR C&I Toolbox series is designed to help people make assessments of management in particular production forests where people live and work in and around the forests. The assessment include aspects relating to management, environment and human well-being. The toolbox has developed a generic set of principles, criteria and indicators, related method and samples.

Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) is a decision-making tool developed for complex problems. In a situation where multiple criteria are involved confusion can arise if a logical, well-structured decision-making process is not followed. Another difficulty in decision making is that reaching a general consensus in a multidisciplinary team can be very difficult to achieve. By using MCA the members don't have to agree on the relative importance of the Criteria or the rankings of the alternatives.

This manual provides methods for the development and evaluation of criteria and indicators (C&I) which can then be used to assess the sustainability of forest management. The manual is written primarily for researchers, people or groups interested in evaluating C&I for assessments of forests in new areas, or as a reference for readers wanting to know how CIFOR’s Generic Template was produced. The methods presented are aimed at the development of sets of C&I for natural forest at the forest management unit (FMU) level, especially in the tropics.