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Australia and the Montreal Process
Australia uses the international Montreal Process criteria and indicators as the basis of a framework of regional criteria and indicators. The framework provides a guideline for monitoring forest management in all forest areas, including Regional Forest Agreements. They provide a framework for answering the fundamental question, "How well are we managing our forests?"
However, every forest region of Australia is different, so the application and importance of the criteria and their respective indicators will vary between tenures and broad forest types.
In recognition of these regional differences, Australia took the first step towards assessing the sustainability of forest management by finalising a 'framework' in 1998 after a two year consultative process between Commonwealth, state and territory government agencies and stakeholders.
The Commonwealth-State Montreal Process Implementation Group for Australia (MIG) developed this 'framework' with input from stakeholders.
Using the agreed Montreal Process national criteria as a starting point, the 'Framework of regional (sub-national) level criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management in Australia' set out what were considered the most relevant 67 indicators for use at the regional level at that point in time.
In 2005 the MIG reviewed the 67 indicators with the objective of streamlining them, removing areas of duplicity, ambiguity and gaps between indicators to ensure they have national and regional relevance.
As a result of a three day workshop in Canberra the review process refined a set of 44 indicators 
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