REACHING CONSENSUS

RAP PUBLICATION 2007/31     Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission   REACHING CONSENSUS Multi-stakeholder processes in forestry: experiences from the Asia-Pacific region   D.A. Gilmour, P.B. Durst & K. Shono   FOOD AND AGRICULTUR ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS REGIONAL OFFICE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC Bangkok 2007

© FAO 2007

ISBN 978-974-7946-98-7

FOREWORD

Since the Earth Summit at Rio in 1992, there has been a significant change in the institutional settings for forest management dialogue and decision-making. Prior to Rio, the most common paradigm could be characterized as a top down one of “government knows best.” However, in many countries this led to considerable conflict over many aspects of the way that forests were managed, not least being agreement on the social objectives of forest management. Progress became mired in uncertainty and dissension. Since 1992, there has been a universally accepted focus on the goal of sustainable forest management, with its emphasis on integrating economic, social and environmental outcomes. However, a social construct such as sustainability is subject to competing claims over its interpretation, and it is inevitably contested at all levels from the global to the local. This has meant a move towards a more inclusive approach to decision making; one that has involved an expansion of the number of stakeholders involved in debating and making decisions about forest issues.

By nature, forestry is multi-disciplinary and highly complex. In addition to timber needed to sustain forest industries, forests provide a wide range of goods and services that ultimately ensure the well-being of societies. They provide food, medicine and other plant material directly needed by humans, help to maintain the hydrological cycle, regulate climate, harbor biodiversity, protect cultural values, and support other economic sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, tourism and wood-based industries.

Considering the broad range of people and sectors impacted by forests, decision-making in forestry can no longer be the exclusive domain of governments and the privileged groups of people. For forest management to be successful in today’s world, mechanisms must be established to ensure effective participation of diverse stakeholders in decision-making processes. The purpose of such multi-stakeholder processes is to balance the perspectives and priorities of all affected and interested individuals and groups, leading to forest management approaches that better serve the needs and priorities of all. Such processes also serve to foster wider support and a sense of ownership for the decisions that are taken, so that their implementation will be more effective.

Over the past two decades, a large number of multi-stakeholder processes have been established in Asia and the Pacific to strengthen forest management decision-making. Some have been founded at the regional or international levels, but most are active at national or local levels, where forest management has the greatest immediate impact on individuals. International organizations, such as FAO, should continue to play a role in building the capacity of forestry and other agencies to facilitate and promote more generalized multi-stakeholder dialogues and decision-making.

Experiences of the multi-stakeholder processes in the Asia-Pacific region have been mixed. Initially, progress was been slow, but more recently there is evidence that the forest management paradigm is changing for the better. More and more multi-stakeholder processes are being established and existing processes appear to be benefiting from the experiences of earlier initiatives. This publication is intended to further increase the knowledge and understanding of multi-stakeholder processes in forestry in the Asia-Pacific region. We hope that it will subsequently lead to more rapid adoption of multi-stakeholder processes that are truly effective in delivering the diverse benefits of forests to society in a balanced and equitable manner.

He Changchui

Assistant Director-General and
Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Several people provided constructive comments to an earlier draft of this paper, and helped to ensure that it presents a comprehensive and balanced treatment of the subject. Of particular note were the contributions of David Cassells, Tony Costantini and David Lamb. The authors would also like to extend appreciation to the many people who have contributed information on various multi-stakeholder processes in the region. To all of them, many thanks.

ACRONYMS

“To remain relevant…forestry institutions must evolve into or be replaced by new organization norms that are characterized by open, learning institutions that are based on participation, collaboration and mutual learning through adaptive management and action research.”

(Cassells, 2001 p.7)

Unlike in the old days, it does not make sense any more to sit with a few friends in some headquarters office cooking up national plans for forests. You have to involve people in planning if your plan is to have much hope of being listened to and implemented by them.

(Mayers, 2003, p.1)