Innovative forest practice agreements - What could be done that would be innovative

The concept and implementation of sustainable development are resulting in seemingly impossible goals for policy-makers and practitioners. Sustainabil ity, in terms of government policies, tends to mean something quite differe nt than what it means to Aboriginal peoples. Sustainability to Aboriginal p eoples is not just about the environment and development; it is about survi val of their peoples. Because of the close link between the social and econ omic elements of sustainable forest management, policies for strengthening the economic development of the forest sector are unlikely to be successful in the long run when they do not integrate environmental, social and cultu ral concerns. Innovative forest practice agreements (IFPAs) and other forms of community-based tenures offer vehicles to do so something unconventiona l - alternative mechanisms and means by which to incorporate indigenous kno wledge and values and to implement Article 8(j) of the Convention on Biolog ical Diversity.