While legal compliance of managed forests is outside the scope of this study, we considered if and how forest laws, regulations, and other directives address forest relevant legislation at the national level. Within the legal framework on forest management, most countries and sub-national governments require “full compliance” with the law and refer to (at least some) rules and regulations specific to forest management that must be followed, though the verification of complete legal compliance is in question in many countries. At the national level, only Chile, and at the subnational level, only Maine explicitly cite or list all legislation relevant to forest legality within the legal forest framework. Additionally, Guatemala’s voluntary Forest Management Norms for the Conservation of Water and Soil identify and interpret key legislation related to natural forest management [36].

The security of forest tenure or property rights is also an important factor for the long term sustainability of forest production, particularly because without it, forest dwellers and users may lack the long-term incentives to keep forests as forests and because illegal forest activities often result from weak, deficient, or non-existent control over forest resources [32,33]. Moreover, local level legality and compliance typically improve with secure forest rights or tenure [32]. Not surprisingly, all of the Latin American jurisdictions but Uruguay require proof of tenure or property rights prior to timber harvest authorization by the designated authority. Tenure rights and clarity are not issues in the U.S. or Uruguay per se, though property information must be included in the harvest notification required in Maine and Wisconsin. Uruguay and North Carolina do not explicitly require such information.

Protection of forest boundaries through mapping, marking, and other means contributes to effective protection of forests from degradation or destruction [37]. Clearly marked and secure forest boundaries help to control against land invasion and illegal harvesting of timber and nontimber products [35]. Costa Rica and Brazil require specific nondiscretionary prescriptive processes related to forest boundary marking and protection to guard against illegal trespass or possession. In particular, the Costa Rican Code of Forest Practices requires that forest boundaries be clearly defined in the field and match the cadastral documentation provided in the management plan [38]. No other country or state regulates or requires this indicator, except Wisconsin, which includes discretionary recommendations for marking and protecting forest boundaries in its voluntary forest management guidelines.

A forest inventory is a systematic collection of forest data that provides comprehensive information about forest status and dynamics important for harvest and other management planning. It is required in all of the Latin American countries with the exception of Uruguay. In Argentina, Chile, and Paraguay it is a mandatory process that must be carried out as part of the management plan. Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Nicaragua go further by mandating a preliminary forest inventory based on statistical sampling, as well as a commercial census (100% inventory of all harvestable trees) of the annual operating area or logging unit, which serves as a foundation for site mapping and for determining available and harvestable commercial volume. In the US, while a forest inventory is not required in any of the states studied, the process and specific prescriptive techniques are key components of forest practice guidelines or best management practices (BMPs) in most states, as is the case in Maine, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.

A forest management plan typically encompasses silvicultural, protection, maintenance, and harvest measures, in space and time, to guide forest operations and management. All Latin American countries require a forest management plan with various procedures, components and/or formats mandated. Each requires authorization of timber harvests from natural forests that exceed 5 ha on average. Uruguay requires a planning process built on the concepts of sustainability, but does not prescribe explicit planning elements or methods. Argentine national law requires a planning process that is prescriptively regulated and implemented at the provincial level. A prescriptive process requiring specific analytical techniques and plan components is required in Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Paraguay. Of these countries, Costa Rica requires the most prescriptive planning process (i.e., greatest number and most specific technical and prescriptive elements required in the forest management plan and other planning documents), while the forest planning process in Paraguay is the least prescriptive.

Forest management plans are not required at the federal level in the U.S. Of the three states studied, only Maine requires a forest management plan for clearcuts greater than 20 ha that “outlines proposed activities to ensure compliance with performance standards and regeneration requirements” [42]. Though North Carolina and Wisconsin do not require a forest management plan, extensive discretionary guidelines for plan preparation are available to forest owners and managers in both states, as well as in Maine.

Governmental regulation of natural forest management often includes specific rules related to timber harvest levels that are intended to promote sustainability. These may include minimum diameter cutting limits (diameter below which trees cannot be harvested) and minimum cutting cycles (number of years that must pass before re-entering/-harvesting a logging unit) and are often associated with forest type. For example, in even-aged and conifer dominated stands, governments may prescribe limits on clearcuts. In uneven-aged and broadleaf stands, harvest rules also may include limited logging intensity (percent of species abundance or volume permitted for harvest from a logging unit).

Based on and ranging by forest type and species, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Paraguay prescribe limits on logging intensity, cutting cycle, and the minimum diameter cut. Guatemala, along with Brazil, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua, require specific processes for determining and/or justifying modifications to the logging intensity and diameter cuts according to forest characteristics and dynamics. In Argentina, harvest rules are regulated at the provincial level. Uruguay does not prescribe any harvest rules for natural forests, nor do the three U.S. states, though Wisconsin does provide discretionary guidelines for determining diameter limits and harvest levels.

While common throughout many parts of the world, harvest limits do not necessarily guarantee forest sustainability. Donoso et al. (1998) [43] question the capacity of legally-established selective cutting thresholds to sustain long term production of temperate forests in Chile. For much of the Tropics, there is growing concern that legally established harvest thresholds are inadequate for producing sustained future harvests or for protecting existing stand dynamics, given that all too often harvest volumes outpace the forest’s growth rate even when efficiently planned and compliant with governmental regulations [41,44,45,46,47]. Moreover, legally established harvest limits are rarely based on timber species population ecology or natural and historical disturbance regimes [46,47]. As summed up by Zarin et al. (2007) [45], “differences in species population structures and intrinsic growth rates suggest that sustaining timber yields of many species would almost certainly require some combination of lower initial harvest volumes, longer cutting cycles, and postharvest silviculture”.

Monitoring “allows a forest manager to determine the occurrence, size, direction, and importance of changes in key indicators of the quality of resource management” [35] It permits the identification, description, and quantification of forest dynamics and management impacts, providing information important for refining and adapting management goals, objectives, and prescriptions. In fact, many have argued that forest management cannot be sustainable if it is not adaptive [48,49,50,51].

Few jurisdictions require forest monitoring, and where mandated, it is not emphasized or enforced as a tool for adaptive management. In Costa Rica, the regulatory code of forest practices mandates monitoring and post-harvest measurement of management impacts and of the road network in particular, including primary and secondary roads, skid trails, and logging decks [52]. In Brazil and Chile, forest operations and regeneration must be monitored as presented and authorized in the management plan, yet monitoring of particular forest or management aspects is not required [53]. Nonetheless, BMPs for Chile’s forests do provide detailed prescriptive processes for various forest impacts and aspects. In Argentina, monitoring of forest management is regulated at the provincial level. For example, in Misiones, regulations require that the “forest management plan include measures for monitoring forest dynamics, growth, and impacts from operations” [54].

In Brazil, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Maine there are annual and/or post-harvest reporting requirements. For example, in Maine, “an owner of forest land who sells forest products or harvests forest products for that owner’s commercial use shall submit a report to the director stating the species, volume and stumpage price per unit of measure for each transaction, the municipality or township where the stumpage was located, the estimated acreage of the harvest, the harvest method employed and the extent of whole-tree harvesting of both solid and chipped wood” [55]. However, there are no additional requirements to monitor forest management operations or impacts. Neither North Carolina nor Wisconsin mandate monitoring, but Wisconsin does provide recommendations for monitoring forest operations and impacts in its voluntary BMPs.

Maximizing the area of forest accessed by the least total road distance, while taking into account the location of trees to be extracted and protected, site topography, and sensitive areas (e.g., steep slopes, riparian zones), can minimize the negative impacts on the forest from the forest road network. In general, well-planned and spatially efficient timber extraction from a carefully installed road network “effectively reduces stand damage caused by roaming bulldozer and skidder extraction methods,” particularly in tropical forests and heterogeneous stands [39].

We examined if there are specific rules for road development and/or installation, and if applicable, the percent of area permitted to be cleared for the road network. Some Latin American countries include nondiscretionary procedural requirements for planning the forest road network (Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Nicaragua). Also, Costa Rica and Nicaragua mandate specific technical requirements, such as water bars, culverts, and post-harvest road treatments. For example, in Nicaragua “the construction of temporary primary and secondary roads is prohibited, as is the use of earthen dams as provisional bridges for stream crossings, being obligatory the construction of filters, culverts, and bridges that permit the free passage of water” [60]. Only Costa Rica prescribes specific outcome thresholds for the maximum area affected by the road network (15% of the total productive forest area can be impacted by the road network) [61]. Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay do not directly regulate forest roads on private lands. However, Chile does provide extensive recommendations for designing and implementing the forest road network in its voluntary BMPs.

In the U.S., forest roads are indirectly regulated through the CWA as outcome measures, via the federal Section 404 wetlands rules mentioned above, or through voluntary or regulatory state BMPs to control nonpoint source pollution. North Carolina, Maine, and Wisconsin have additional state-level nondiscretionary rules on water pollution that have some bearing on forest activities (e.g., Maine Erosion and Sedimentation Control Act; NC Sedimentation and Pollution Control Act; Wisconsin Water Quality Standards for Wetlands). Also, these states provide discretionary guidelines for forest road planning, construction, and maintenance to supplement the CWA BMPs and to facilitate compliance with related state level outcome requirements. For example, North Carolina’s Forest Practices Guidelines include topics on: Access Road and Skid Trail Stream Crossings, Access Road Entrances, and Rehabilitation of Project Site [62].

In Brazil, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, timber harvests are prohibited in sloped areas, yet these prescriptions range widely across countries (Brazil: prohibited > 45%; Guatemala: prohibited > 32% in soils < 20 cm; Nicaragua: prohibited > 75%). In Chile and Paraguay, specific harvest practices are limited in sloped areas (e.g., see “clearcuts” section below). In some cases, mechanized timber extraction also is prohibited in sloped areas (i.e., Brazil: >25%; Costa Rica: >60%; Nicaragua: >35%). Operations in sloped areas are regulated at the state level in Argentina (e.g., Misiones: forests on slopes >/= 15% for more than 100m may not be converted to other land uses… and must be submitted to protection or sustainable authorized use) [63]. Other operational controls in sloped areas include restrictions in Brazil that prohibit timber harvests above 1,800 masl (5,905 fasl) and on mountain ridges and tops [64]. Maine requires an authorized permit for timber extraction in areas above 2,700 fasl (823 masl) [65]. North Carolina and Wisconsin do not prescribe slope limits in forest operations.

The practice of clearcutting in forestry typically involves the uniform clearing of all commercial (and noncommercial) trees from a logging unit, but may encompass the maintenance of patches, strips, or reserves of trees [66]. In certain cases (e.g., uniform light-demanding populations), it can serve as an efficient and effective means for harvesting commercial timber and facilitating regeneration. However, inadequate planning and execution that have resulted in negative impacts on biodiversity, water and soil processes, and aesthetic values have resulted in increasing opposition to the practice even where silviculturally warranted. In most tropical, uneven-aged, or mixed forest types, selective harvesting of key commercial species is the more commonly promoted prescription, as clearcutting rarely leads to regeneration of the same or similar forest types.

We considered if there were rules on clearcuts within managed forests in each jurisdiction and if clearcut size was limited, in particular. Clearcutting of natural or “native” forests is prohibited in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Uruguay, except with authorization in the case of forests affected by pest, disease, fire, or other natural phenomena. In Argentina, clearcuts are only permitted in forests classified as “areas of low conservation value” (Category III) and these areas require an environmental impact study and an authorized plan [67]. In Brazil, up to 20% of rural private property in forested areas and up to 65% in savanna areas of the Amazon region can be cleared. Outside the Amazon, up to 80% of forested land can be cleared [68]. Clearcuts may be further regulated at the state level, such as in Minas Gerais, Brazil where they are prohibited in all forest types, except in “special cases that have been authorized” [69]. In Chile, clearcuts are authorized only in two of the 12 forest types (i.e., Roble-Hualo and Roble-Rauli-Coihue) [70]. In these two forest types, clearcuts are prohibited on slopes greater than 45%, limited to 20 Ha on slopes 30–45%, and require authorization on slopes less than 30%. In Paraguay, clearcuts are prohibited on slopes greater than 15%, while clearcuts on slopes less than 15% cannot exceed 100 ha and must maintain forest patches [71]. In Guatemala, clearcuts in managed forests require silvicultural justification and authorization. In Maine, clearcuts cannot exceed 250 ac (about 100 ha) and must be buffered by forest patches of 100 ac [72]. North Carolina and Wisconsin do not regulate or restrict clearcuts.

As defined by Kilgore (2007) [73], “best management practices represent a compilation of technically feasible and politically acceptable ways of addressing the potential negative environmental impacts that can be associated with forest management and timber harvesting activities”. BMPs are often developed as a key mandatory or voluntary approach for protecting soil and water resources and achieving other forestry objectives. Costa Rica’s Code of Forest Practices is a nondiscretionary regulatory instrument, as are Nicaragua’s obligatory technical norms for the sustainable management of broadleaf and coniferous tropical forests [74]. Discretionary BMPs or forest management guidelines are available to forest managers in Argentina (at the subnational level in some provinces), Chile, and Guatemala.

As noted, the U.S. CWA includes 15 BMPs and prompts states to control nonpoint source pollution and so that forest owners and operators do not need Section 404 permits for silvicultural operations in the waters and wetlands of the U.S. [75]. Maine, North Carolina, and Wisconsin have developed nonpoint source pollution prevention BMPs, as well as broader sets of BMPs and/or forest management guidelines that address the overall sustainability of forest operations on private land. These BMPs are termed “voluntary” in North Carolina and Wisconsin, but like all U.S. states, water quality standards must be maintained or are punishable by law. Thus, the Federal and state level BMPs might be better termed “quasi-regulatory” since their use is not mandatory, but forest operators and owners must meet associated mandatory water quality standards.

Some species or populations of species are particularly susceptible to the impacts of logging and other forest interventions, including many endemic and rare species, as well as those that have already been subject to overharvesting. These species are often at risk of population declines or possible extinction without measures to preserve, recover, conserve or sustainably use them. Given the impact that forest interventions can have on at-risk species, we determined if there were specific rules related to the protection of at-risk species and/or their habitat.

At the international level, all of the countries are signatory parties to the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). CITES places certain controls on the international trade of select species that have been identified as threatened with extinction or whose survival may be impacted by uncontrolled trade [78]. Numerous species of forest plants and animals from these countries are covered by the Convention and therefore, may require authorization for export, import, re-export and introduction activities.

At the national level, all of the cases studied have rules on the conservation and protection of at-risk species of flora and fauna, though these rules range in terms of their prescriptiveness, rigor and application to forestry activities. Chile, Costa Rica, Paraguay, and the United States include national-level legislation that specifically addresses at-risk animal and plant species and prescribes rules on their protection and conservation. Forestry laws and other forest policy directives in Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Paraguay explicitly prohibit the destruction, cutting, extraction and/or trade of nationally recognized at-risk species that have been listed by delegated authorities. In Chile, two of the twelve forest types are protected and cannot be harvested, as are two forest types in the state of Minas Gerais. Brazil and Costa Rica also require the protection of locally rare tree species (Brazil: <three trees/100 ha in Brazil; Costa Rica: <three trees/ha in Costa Rica) [79].

In Argentina, there is no legislation that specifically addresses at-risk species at the national level. However, the National Parks Law provides for the declaration of national parks, national reserves, and national natural monuments [80]. Animal and plant species may be designated within this last category, which provides them with federal protection. To date, three terrestrial animal species have been classified as “natural monuments” (i.e., Hippocamelus bisulcus, Hippocamelus antisensis, Panthera onca). Also, at the subnational level in Argentina, most provinces have identified, listed, and require protection of endangered and threatened flora and fauna species. In Uruguay, national legislation identifies priority species for conservation in protected areas, but the requirements for their protection do not extend to private land. Forest policy directives require the protection of palmares naturales (natural palm groves within forest stands) [81]. No other at-risk forest species are identified in Uruguay.

The U.S. evaluates at-risk animal and plant species for their level of endangerment and lists threatened or endangered (T&E) species for federal protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). T&E fauna are protected on all federal and private lands, but T&E flora are protected only on public lands. The ESA makes it unlawful to “take” (i.e., harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect) any listed T&E animal species or to modify its critical habitat, either by intent or negligence. The Act also prohibits the interstate or international sale or trade of listed animal and plant species, including their parts or products, without a Federal permit [82]. When a listed animal species occur on private land, landowners must acquire a “take” permit for land use practices, such as forestry, that may harm T&E species or their habitats and are also required to prepare and follow a Habitat Conservation Plan to mitigate and minimize any potentially negative impacts. Threatened, endangered, and at-risk species are also identified and protected at the state level. In Maine, state listed at-risk species must be protected on all lands. In North Carolina and Wisconsin, forestry operations on private lands are exempt from state listed at-risk species protection requirements, but are prohibited from transporting, processing or selling any state-listed endangered or threatened animal or plant species.

Riparian zones are transitional areas between terrestrial and aquatic habitats that are perennially or intermittently influenced by fresh water. They are dynamic environments “characterized by strong energy regimes, substantial habitat heterogeneity, a diversity of ecological processes and multidimensional gradients” [83]. These characteristics make them important to biodiversity, wildlife habitat, soil and water quality, and other processes and lead most governments to limit their use or require their protection. Therefore, we considered if there were specific rules on forest land use practices within riparian zones and, in particular, if there were limits to forestry activities around water-ways and bodies.

At the national level, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Paraguay prescribe riparian buffer zones in which logging activities are prohibited. These range widely from 10m on either side of intermittent streams on slopes less than 35% in Chile to 500m on either side of water courses greater than 500m wide in Brazil. In Argentina, the protection of riparian areas is required at the federal level, but regulated at the provincial level. For example, in Misiones, native forests surrounding springs and along waterways must be protected to a width three times that of the water source or way and cannot be less than 10m along each margin [84]. Uruguay does not protect riparian buffers directly, but native forests, which are found predominantly in riparian zones, required an authorized management plan for harvest.

In the US, Maine prohibits timber harvests within 75ft of Great Ponds and prohibits clearcuts within 75ft of all other riparian zones [85]. Wisconsin requires a permit and specific practices for timber harvests in riparian zones (within 100ft of lakes and navigable streams), but does not prescribe a specific buffer for waterways at the state level [86]. In North Carolina, the State Pollution Control Act requires the maintenance of a buffer along the margins of lakes and natural watercourses during land clearing and grading for development. Forestry activities are exempt from this rule if they are in compliance with the Forest Practice Guidelines (FPGs). The North Carolina FPGs do not recommend a specific buffer, but require certain outcome measures, including a streamside management zone (SMZ) “of sufficient width to confine within the SMZ visible sediment resulting from accelerated erosion” and that “ground cover, or other means, within the SMZ shall be sufficient to restrain accelerated erosion” [87]. Maine and Wisconsin also provide detailed recommendations to protecting riparian buffers in their voluntary BMPs and guidelines.

The long term sustainability of forest management obviously is dependent upon the renewal or regeneration of harvested resources. Many of the planning and operational indicators that we reviewed are intended to influence sustained timber yields, such as harvest calculations and thresholds that maintain a portion of the commercial sized trees and protect future crop trees, road network design that minimizes damage to the residual stand, and limits on clearcut size and intensity. Nonetheless, even where initial timber harvests are carefully planned and implemented, subsequent timber yields can decline “where the pattern and intensity of logging are not silviculturally appropriate” [41]. So, additional measures to ensure forest regeneration are often invoked.

All Latin American countries except Paraguay and Uruguay include policy directives related to forest regeneration or reforestation. Most of these directives require procedural regeneration or reforestation measures as part of forest management planning, as well as verifiably established outcomes related to regeneration or reforestation post-harvest. Chile, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, as well as Maine specify a period of time by which regeneration/reforestation must be established (up to 5 years post-harvest) and at what stocking density (e.g., Chile: ≥3,000 trees/ha). In Brazil, Minas Gerais prescribes additional reforestation requirements related to the amount of wood harvested [88]. North Carolina and Wisconsin do not prescribe related requirements, though North Carolina and Wisconsin do provide discretionary guidelines for establishing and securing forest regeneration.

Because SFM is often promoted as one of several important practices and policy tools for curbing changes in forest land use, we also considered if forest policy directives expressly addressed forest land use change. Chile, Costa Rica, and Paraguay prohibit land use change from natural forest to other use categories. In Argentina, the conversion of forests in Categories I and II is prohibited, while the conversion of Category III forests requires authorization based on a Land Use Change Plan and an environmental impact assessment [89]. In Brazil, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Uruguay forest land use change must be technically justified and authorized by delegated officials. In the U.S., forestry operations that convert an area of the waters (including wetlands) of the US into a use to which it was not previously subject, or that result in the immediate or gradual conversion of a jurisdictional wetland to a non-wetland require a permit from the delegated authority [90]. Additionally, in Maine, forest land use change requires a notification by the landowner to local county officials.

Many indigenous populations are closely tied to forest environments and the recognition and protection of their related rights is fundamental to forest sustainability. All of the case countries but Uruguay and the U.S. have ratified the International Labour Organization’s Indigenous and Tropical Peoples Convention (C169). This is a legally binding enforceable policy instrument that requires signatory countries to align their legislation, policies and programs with the fundamental principles of the Convention. Taken as a whole, C169 mandates that indigenous peoples be afforded the full measure of human rights and freedoms without hindrance of discrimination against their persons, institutions, property, labor, cultures or environment [92]. Additionally, all of the Latin American countries endorsed the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the UN General Assembly in 2007. The U.S. later endorsed the Declaration in 2010. Though this is not a legally binding instrument, the Declaration outlines the “individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples, as well as their rights to culture, identity, language, employment, health, education, and other issues” as agreed upon by more than 140 signatory countries [93].

All of the case study countries address indigenous peoples and their rights in the national constitution and/or in specific related legislation. The only exception is Uruguay, which does not have indigenous peoples among its population. Forestry laws in Argentina, Brazil, and Nicaragua explicitly require that forest management processes recognize and respect indigenous peoples and their rights. In Costa Rica and Paraguay, for-profit forest exploitation is prohibited in indigenous community lands, though the protection of indigenous rights in forest management practices outside of indigenous lands is not regulated through forest-related legislation. In Wisconsin, forestry practices must respect indigenous/native community and other human burial grounds, but there are no additional related regulations. Protection of indigenous rights is not expressly regulated or required in the forestry laws of Chile, Guatemala, Maine or North Carolina.

Local communities that live in and around forests may depend on them for food, fiber, and other subsistence needs, for employment, and/or for the provision of environmental services and aesthetic values. Therefore, as with indigenous populations, local communities and their actions often are closely tied to the forest and its long-term sustainability. A few countries include specific rules for working with, involving, or considering local communities. For example, Brazil requires that forest management planning take into consideration the prospects for improving the quality of life of local peoples, identify the benefits of integrating local peoples in forestry activities, and indicate the use of local manpower in the operational workforce [94]. Costa Rica requires that forest management planning take into account and monitor direct employment for nearby, local communities that is generated by forestry activities [95]. No other country or state has related requirements.

An informed, aware, and participatory public is important in promoting sustainable forest management [96,97]. All countries require public consultation as part of any mandated environmental impact assessment related to forestry activities, such as that required in Argentina and Paraguay for authorization of land use change of native forests and in Chile for management plans for areas greater than 500 ha. Unique to Nicaragua, a public consultation and comment period must be held for 30 days prior to plan authorization for forests larger than 500 ha [98]. Additionally, in Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, a summary of the authorized forest management plan must be made available to the public. Maine requires a harvest notice to be filed with local authorities that is made available to the public, but does not require any public consultation or other reporting. North Carolina and Wisconsin do not have any related requirements.

Forestry in general and logging in particular continue to be among the most dangerous jobs in the world [99]. Injuries and deaths are attributed to poor organization and supervision, inadequate equipment, poor planning, and lack of skills and competency among workers, supervisors and managers. Moreover, poorly trained or supervised logging crews can significantly increase the negative impacts to the forest stand [41]. Adequate protection, training, and education of the forestry workforce can help to minimize the negative impacts of poor logging practices and contribute to a more socially sustainable forest sector [99].

Most countries have specific regulations on worker health and safety. For example, in the US, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) establish health and safety regulations for industrial operations, including logging operations in the forest. OSHA regulations require employers to obtain insurance that covers the medical expenses of workers injured on the job and mandates worker competency levels required for response actions to chemical and other spills. However, only Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay include forest policy directives that directly regulate or address forest worker safety and training. In Argentina, the Regulations for Agrarian Activities include a chapter dedicated to the forestry that encompasses numerous aspects of training and safety during planning, harvest, and extraction activities [100]. In Brazil, planning and progress reporting must consider the safety, training and retraining of forest personnel and report all accidents or injuries [101]. Uruguay has specific legislation that regulates the forest industry (i.e., in the management, harvest and transformation of products from planted or natural forests) and its treatment and protection of workers, including requirements related to training and safety [102].

Financial analysis of forest management includes tools that are useful for analyzing the long-term sustainability of a working forest, for evaluating management plans, and for determining the profitability of different management options [105]. Only a few countries require financial analyses from managed forests on private lands. Argentina’s law on native forests requires that the forest management plan permit an estimation of financial viability [106]. Paraguay requires a financial analysis as part of management plans for forests greater than 20 ha [107]. In Maine, the requisite post-harvest report for commercial production must include “species, volume and stumpage price per unit of measure for each transaction” [108]. No other case required financial analyses or other economic assessments of forest operations. However, Chile and Wisconsin do provide recommended techniques and processes for evaluating the financial aspects of forest management in their voluntary BMPs.

Some studies have shown that well-planned and implemented forest operations can reduce timber that typically is left-behind or wasted in “conventional” logging operations, ultimately increasing the potential profitability of the activity [40]. “Wood waste incurs direct costs associated with felling, bucking, skidding, and log deck activities and indirect costs by increasing the effective stumpage price [39].” On the other hand, standing and down dead wood and woody debris are important to biodiversity and ecosystem function [109]. For example, standing dead trees or “snags” provide important wildlife habitat, while fallen trees often serve as nurse logs for numerous plant species and are essential to soil nutrient and carbon pools [110,111,112]. In managed temperate forests, timber extraction may significantly decrease the number of dead trees and the amount of downed wood, while in managed tropical forests, logging can increase disturbance or leave behind an excessive amount of wood, leading to a significant surplus of standing and downed dead wood and debris [113]. Overall, there often are differentiated costs and benefits associated with taking too much wood from the forest or leaving too much wood behind. The challenge lies in finding a balance that produces both economic and biodiversity benefits.

Costa Rica and Nicaragua require directional felling in order to minimize damage to residual trees and natural regeneration, in particular, and to the soil, water bodies, and biodiversity in general. Notably, the technique is also important for minimizing wood waste. Chile and Wisconsin provide discretionary guidelines for improved wood utilization and wood waste minimization in their BMPs. No other jurisdiction mandates related requirements.

Tracking wood flows of legal or authorized timber products through their “chain of custody” is an important practice for ensuring the legality of harvested wood products, as well as for tracking the financial transactions from timber production through final sale. While chain of custody is not required by law in any of the U.S. cases, all of the Latin American countries studied aim to regulate the chain of custody of wood products from natural forests through the required use of timber transportation permits. These permits typically encompass “guias de transporte” (transportation documents) and certificates of origin. For example, in the case of Nicaragua, the certificate of origin is stamped on each transportation document, and indicates the authorized forest management unit from which the wood was extracted and includes the harvest permit authorization number [114]. The number of transportation tags issued by the delegated authority to the forest owner is determined by the projected volume of extracted roundwood in the annual operating plan. Upon payment of the forest use taxes, these transportation documents are provided to the forest manager or owner, who is responsible for their lawful use and accompaniment with all transported wood, and for recording and reporting their allocation back to the designated officials. While these processes for tracking chain of custody are fairly clear on paper, there remain significant challenges in their implementation, effectiveness, transparency and reliability, which have resulted in ongoing problems in the proof and promotion of legal wood production, transport and commerce throughout the region [11,115]. In response to such failures of paper-based timber tracking systems, amendments to the forest law for the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil require the implementation of a satellite-based electronic system for tracking the transportation of forest products and by-products throughout the state [116].