The International Conference on the Contribution of Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management: the Way Forward (CICI-2003) met from 3-7 February 2003 in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

Over 100 participants attended the conference, representing 52 countries, 11 international organizations and three non-governmental organizations (NGOs). CICI-2003 was hosted by the National Forest Service of Guatemala (INAB), in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Program and Department of State. The conference was organized to follow up recommendations made by the Expert Consultation on Criteria and Indicators (C&I) for sustainable forest management (SFM) in Rome, Italy in November 2000.
Discussions at CICI-2003 were structured around four thematic areas: strengthening the elaboration and application of C&I for SFM; promoting political commitment for the use of C&I as tools for SFM; strengthening institutional capacity and stakeholder partnerships for implementing C&I and facilitating the exchange of information among all stakeholders; and contributing to the work of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) and to the international initiatives on C&I related to sustainable development. Consideration of each thematic area was conducted through background discussion papers, case studies and working group sessions. The Final Report of CICI-2003 included 30 conclusions and 23 recommendations. The Sustainable Developments report outlining these discussions in detail can be found at: http://enb.iisd.org/crs/forest/cici/