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Phase 3: Implementation

The implementation of a national forest programme has four elements: 1) Coordination and monitoring of implementation; 2) capacity building programme; 3) policy institutional and legal reform; 4) investment programme

1) Coordination and monitoring of implementation

If the composition or mandate of the national authorities approached in the planning phase is modified during implementation, one should be careful to take account of the gender considerations.

Regarding the coordination of implementation, care must be taken to ensure that all participants, particularly those groups generally marginalised such as women, receive information about activities and results achieved. Further, structures set up for the technical coordination of programmes or sub-national coordination must be sensitive to and take into account the challenges of gender in whatever they do. As with all the committees, groups, etc. set up in the framework of national forest programmes, special attention must be paid to the composition and mandate of these structures and, eventually, ensure that their members benefit from gender-oriented training.

Monitoring refers to the overall control of programme implementation concerning process, inputs, results and impact.

For monitoring to be effective, it is a necessary precondition to develop indicators that can measure the results obtained, the impact and effects (in technical, economic, social and environmental terms) on both women and men, and the benefits obtained by the participants.

Participatory methods and approaches are also crucial for the implementation phase, particularly in terms of collecting gender-differentiated information. The participatory tools might include the following:

Participatory Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation (PAME) should be used to⁸:

• give the women and men involved the means to participate actively in the reviewing and revision of the national forest programme;

• further develop the forest programme;

• design activities;

• establish indicators to evaluate the integration of women⁹;

• facilitate annual consultations focusing on women in development and gender issues 9;

• determine the impact of the national forest programme on women and men.

⁸ Refer to Davis-Case, D., FAO, 1989. Community Forestry - participatory assessment, monitoring and evaluation. Community Forestry Note 2 and Davis-Case, D., FAO, 1990. The Community Toolbox. The idea, methods and tools for participatory assessment, monitoring and evaluation in community forestry. Community Forestry Field Manual 2.

⁹ Pomerleau, 1989. Women in Development- A Strategic Approach for the Forestry Sector. CIDA Natural Resources Division Forestry Sector pp. 23.

The Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) could be used to:

• prepare operational plans at local level.

The Action Research/ Extension (R&D)¹⁰ could be useful to:

• support the iterative aspect of programmes by continually incorporating new information and solutions during the implementation of national forest programmes;

• encourage women and men involved in the process to take control of activities.

¹⁰ Refer to Hoskins, M., 1994. Supporting Farmer Extension and Research. Forest, Trees and People Newsletter no. 23. Feb. 1994. IRDC, Swedish university of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden.

The Socioeconomic and Gender Analysis (SEAGA) can be used to formulate projects and programmes.

In the course of this phase, use of these methods and tools can provide:¹¹

• opportunities for policy dialogue between all partners;

• information and promotional material on the goals of the forest programme and the benefits of being involved;

• support to networks, professional associations and groups -particularly those supporting women;

• better and wider distribution of data supporting the economic and social value of women's full participation;

• equal representation of women and men on steering committees, village committees, regional coordinating bodies, etc.;

• resources, such as financial aid, for both women and men;

• accessible credit schemes for new/existing women entrepreneurs to develop and expand their businesses;

• opportunities for research on income generation and technological innovations in support of female entrepreneurship (Pomerleau, 1989).

• support for professional exchanges at local and international level;

• support for the effective use of the private sector, e.g. consulting firms, NGOs, corporations, etc.

¹¹ Adapted from CIDA, "Guidelines for Integrating WID Project Design and Evaluation". Program Evaluation I Division Policy Branch, Hull, Quebec, Canada, 1986.

2) Capacity Building Programme

Capacity building should include training activities oriented toward sensitizing target publics to gender issues. In addition, training also regards the use of methods and analyses that throw into sharp relief the roles, responsibilities, needs and constraints of men and women, thus permitting better solutions to development realities at the planning and implementation stages.

Capacity building is intended for all partners, from forestry institutions, private and public enterprises through to NGOs and grassroots organisations. It is important that training be effected in relationship to the roles played by different parties involved in the process.

A second element of capacity building concerns women directly as beneficiaries of training activities. As stressed in the reference guide for national forest programmes (8), capacity building will

"result in an improved technical capacity and mechanisms for participation and empowerment."

Here one can see the importance of paying sufficient attention to social groups that have been excluded from decision-making processes and participation, for example indigenous groups and women. Capacity building represents a unique occasion for recognising the potential of such groups. In this sense, it is important to foresee support for the creation or consolidation of associations that can subsequently be put in contact or networked with other similar groupings, thus leading to continuous consolidation of capacities.

The training opportunities¹² offered in the framework of national forest programmes should:

• be "custom-made" for local realities at national level or the regional institutions of countries;
• be locally accessible and conveniently scheduled (e.g. evening courses);
• be short-term;
• offer safe accommodations for both women and men;
• provide childcare facilities,
• be possible on-the-job;
• continually upgrade training material;
• allocate a set percentage of training facilities to women and disadvantaged groups;
• assess local, regional and national needs and trends.
• train local trainers - both women and men.
• be linked to employment practices, career counselling and jobs for women and men;
• be targeted to women's groups to build up their "out-reach" potential.

¹² Adapted from CIDA, "Barriers and Strategies for Overcoming Barriers to Women's Participation in Training and Scholarship Programmes". Hull, Quebec, Canada, page 11.

3) Policy, Institutional and Legal Reform Programme

Modification of laws, policies and institutions should be effected in the light of the results obtained by the strategic planning in the sector. If strategic planning has duly taken into consideration gender issues and highlighted the needs of men and women, reform programmes will inevitably reflect this imperative.

Reform programmes should be discussed among different partners, without forgetting women. All reforms, from those concerning governmental structures and roles through to laws and rules covering the distribution of financial resources, forest use, etc. must take into account aspects related to gender. This is particularly important as many obstacles faced by women are linked to their status of inferiority, which is also reflected in laws, policies and institutions.

The application of new legislation is fundamental. For example, in terms of gender equality of access to land, a government might introduce legislation under which land could be assigned to all citizens over the age of 18, independent of the gender of the claimant. Nevertheless, this could pose practical problems, especially if village councils responsible for land distribution do not accept women's rights. In such a case, it could be necessary to call on the government to intervene directly to ensure respect for the law.

4) Investment Programme

Whether public investment projects implemented by state bodies or publicly or privately financed projects not financed by the state, investment programmes must respect the principle of the full participation of targeted beneficiaries, both women and men.

Direct incentive measures (credit, subsidies, etc.) or indirect measures (training, extension) must be offered to both female and male populations. Numerous problems could occur, particularly in the case of financial incentives offered in the framework of a national mechanism, for example the banking system used as the financing channel. In fact, this could impose conditions (at the level of title deeds as guarantee) that in many countries run the risk of excluding poor households and women. It is often preferable to call on locally-based implementation measures.

Further, decentralised planning and programming is the main approach for promoting forestry development at local level. Here again, all activities must be undertaken in the light of women's as well as men's needs, and taking into account the different obstacles and constraints faced by both. Participatory methods and analysis are central to this approach.

These decentralised activities are particularly important since they permit the identification of local needs (in terms of incentives, capacity building, extension, etc.), as well as being fundamental for studying and understanding the potential impact of policies and legislative reform, provided these include men and women.

Gender Considerations in Implementation

Phase 4: Revision and updating

The revision and updating of national forest programmes should be considered as a crucial phase of the process, leading to a continuous upgrading of programmes. It is important to have previously established criteria capable of evaluating the results achieved and, eventually, to introduce necessary modifications.

This phase comprises three main steps:

1) Evaluation of implementation

• Which development objectives have addressed the needs and priorities of women and men?
• Who, women, men or both, have been directly involved in the planning and implementation of each activity?
• What constraints have blocked the participation of men, of women, etc.?

Such questions should be posed at the time of evaluation, and all aspects should be viewed in the light of the gender dimension.

2) Re-assessment of the national and international context

The assessment should take into account new national and international realities in so far as they are related to the gender dimension.

3) Updating sustainable forest development programmes

The same gender-sensitive approach should be used in updating and improving programmes.

For many forest programmes, this phase of review and updating represents an ideal moment for including the gender dimension, which has often been "forgotten" at the point of programme design.

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