A new generation of forestry projects began to emerge in the seventies. This was prompted by a growing concern, at policy level, for issues of the environment and alleviation of rural poverty. Moreover, development objectives were increasingly directed at the sustainability of secure livelihoods for the rural poor. While forestry projects have evolved significantly towards addressing these issues Agenda 21 and the “Forest Principles” adopted by UNCED have placed even more emphasis and urgency on the need for project impact assessments to address this broader range of concerns. Now, the challenge is to develop a more holistic process which:
(a)integrates and coordinates the assessment activities through all stages in forestry project development and implementation so that sustainability considerations are taken into account; and
(b)integrates the assessment of impacts related to sustainability and security of livelihood and their distribution, positive or negative, among different target groups, and economic efficiency in the allocation of resources.
The present publication, which addresses assessment issues and strategies, has been written with these challenges in mind. It provides the broader framework within which specific types of assessments can be carried out such as the Economic Assessment of Forestry Project Impacts which was published as FAO Forestry Paper 106 in 1992. This Forestry Paper is the result of a collaboration between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Bank, and the Environmental and Natural Resource Policy and Training (EPAT) project sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). While the opinions expressed are those of the authors, the document reflects a combination of the perspectives and experiences of the collaborating Organizations.
The publication was prepared under the leadership of the Policy and Planning Division of the Forestry Department of FAO. The authors are staff members of the collaborating Organizations except for Mr. J.E.M. Arnold from the Oxford Forestry Institute, Dr. H. Gregersen and Dr. A. Lundgren from the College of Natural Resources of the University of Minnesota and Dr. D. Gow who left FAO since participating as a writer. Others who contributed to the publication are A. Molnar, M. Morell and T.A. White while R. de Camino, J. Laarman and M. Simula kindly reviewed the final draft and commented on it. Ms. Clara Schreiber provided editorial assistance along the various drafts of the manuscript.
It is very much hoped that all those involved in preparing or taking major decisions concerning forestry projects will use this publication as an important reference framework and that the approaches recommended will be widely adopted and thus contribute to the enhancement of capacities called for by UNCED's Agenda 21.
C.H. Murray
Assistant Director-General
Forestry
Department
