The pan-European Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (also known as the Helsinki Process) actually began in Strasbourg in 1990, before the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992. This first Ministerial Conference produced six resolutions for cooperation on protection and sustainable use of forests in Europe. The second Ministerial Conference, held in Helsinki in 1993, produced a general declaration and four resolutions, and recognised the principles adopted by the Earth Summit.

Resolution	Documents Produced from Helsinki Process
H1:	General guidelines for the sustainable management of forests in Europe
H2:	General guidelines for the conservation of biodiversity of forests in Europe
H3:	Forestry cooperation with countries with economies in transition
H4:	Strategies for a process of long-term adaptation of forests in Europe to climate change

SFM is defined in resolution H1 as the "stewardship and use of lands in a way, and at a rate, that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and their potential to fulfil, now and in the future, relevant ecological, economic and social functions, at local, national, and global levels, and that does not cause damage to other ecosystems."

In a follow-up meeting to the second Ministerial Conference in Geneva in 1994, a set of six Criteria and associated 20 indicators were produced. The C&I were designed as tools for gathering and assessing information on how the signatory States (Ireland being one of these) have succeeded in implementing the general guidelines for SFM, as described in the four Helsinki Resolutions. The general declaration and resolutions were finally adopted at the third Ministerial Conference held in Lisbon in 1998.

The six Helsinki criteria for SFM are outlined below. The 20 indicators can be found on the official website of the Ministerial Conference of the Protection of Forests in Europe. The indicators are presented in such a way that they can be tailored to regional and/or local needs. For example, some of the indicators are not applicable in some Regions, or data are not available.

	Helsinki Criteria	No. of Coillte Indicators
1:	Maintenance and appropriate enhancement of forest resources and their contribution to global carbon cycles	5
2:	Maintenance of forest ecosystem health and vitality	7
3:	Maintenance and encouragement of productive functions of forests (wood and non-wood)	5
4:	Maintenance, conservation and appropriate enhancement of biological diversity in forest ecosystems	5
5:	Maintenance and appropriate enhancement of protective functions in forest management (notably soil and water)	3
6:	Maintenance of other socioeconomic and cultural functions and conditions	10

Coillte has adopted the six Helsinki criteria and have developed 35 associated indicators for SFM. Our indicators can be found in our Responsible Forest Management Framework Document Coillte's Forests: A Vital Resource. Although the Helsinki C&I is a very useful tool for demonstrating progress towards SFM, it is not associated with any independent processes that verify that timber is being produced from sustainably managed forests.