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Off-forest tree resources: outcome of a workshop
The Workshop on Off-Forest Tree Resources - the first international meeting to take place on this subject, which has until now been largely overlooked in national policy and planning - was held in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania from 12 to 16 July 1999. Some of the leading work on agroforestry and the dynamics of the people-tree relationship has been done in Tanzania, which like other countries of East Africa has a relatively high level of tree resources outside forests.
The Arusha workshop attracted 62 scientists and stakeholders from 25 countries around the world. It was sponsored by Sokoine University of Agriculture in the United Republic of Tanzania, the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations (IUFRO) and the International Foundation for Science (IFS). FAO and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) were represented.
Workshop participants discussed the topic under four main themes:
- tree resources inventory and monitoring;
- biodiversity and ecology;
- resource management, products and services;
- socio-economic aspects and institutional arrangements.
To strengthen the discussions, participants spent one full day studying the Chagga home gardens system on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. This highly complex and mature multistrata agroforestry system is an example of an intensive land use system that can be economically and ecologically sustainable. Under each of the themes mentioned above, participants made observations and recommendations. The following key observations and recommendations were summarized from the thematic presentations.
Observations
- Information on tree resources outside forests (TROFs) is not being collected and included in national inventories of forest resources. Yet this resource makes a significant contribution to the welfare of communities.
- TROFs are found in several land use systems, including agriculture, rangeland and wildlife reserves, in which their role has often been overlooked. As a result, in most countries there is no policy addressing their management and/or inclusion in the national economy.
- The ecological functions and services of TROFs have not been documented in a systematic manner.
- The complex issues associated with the development and management of TROFs have not been sufficiently analysed or documented (apart from the agroforestry and community forestry literature). The objectives of establishing and/or maintaining TROFs, as well as the types of goods and services they offer, need to be better understood.
- There is a huge potential for improving the welfare of poor communities through improved development and management of TROFs.
- Key players in TROFs work in isolated projects with very limited collaboration and information exchange.
- TROFs are complementary to forest resources in both products and functions.
Recommendations
- A forum should be established for the exchange of information on TROFs. ICRAF, FAO and IUFRO were requested to act on this and to develop a database on organizations and projects with a focus on TROFs. A Web site should also be established for this purpose.
- Available information on TROFs should be synthesized and widely shared. Sokoine University of Agriculture and other universities were challenged to take up this endeavour through postgraduate thesis research.
- Clear definitions of TROFs need to be developed, along with methods for measuring and monitoring the resources. FAO and IUFRO were challenged to lead this initiative.
- Research institutions need to undertake research on policy and institutional arrangements that can safeguard the benefits of TROFs, and to make appropriate recommendations to concerned governments. There is a need to establish nodes within land use ministries to coordinate TROF management.
- A mechanism should be established for enhancing awareness of the importance and value of TROFs to all stakeholders. Possible strategies include Internet discussion groups, a stakeholders network, a newsletter and other publications.
- An environment should be provided that will enable traditional tree tenure and management practices to evolve into scientific management of TROFs.
- Manuals on inventory, monitoring and management of TROFs are needed. FAO and other institutions can contribute in this area.
Follow-up
An edited proceedings of the workshop will be published. A provisional working party of 21 scientists was formed to advance work on TROFs. This team will form the first IUFRO working party on TROFs and will be represented at the IUFRO World Congress in Malaysia in 2000.
A.B. Temu
Leader of Capacity and Institutional Strengthening
International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF). Nairobi, Kenya
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Tehran meeting focuses on needs of developing countries with low forest cover
The growing international interest in the state of the world's forests has been focused primarily on the concerns of well-forested countries, while the concerns of low forest cover countries (LFCCs), of which the overwhelming majority are developing countries, have hardly been addressed. As a first step towards remedying this omission, the Expert Meeting on Special Needs and Requirements of Developing Countries with Low Forest Cover and Unique Types of Forest was held in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran from 4 to 8 October 1999. The meeting was the first of its kind to address issues specifically concerning low forest cover and unique types of forest in developing countries.
The meeting was sponsored by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, with the support of other governments and the technical and financial support of international organizations, including FAO and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The meeting, which was part of Iran's initiative in support of the work of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF), was attended by 77 participants representing 40 countries and six international organizations.
The broad objective of the meeting was to call attention to issues connected with low forest cover and unique types of forest and the needs of the countries where these conditions exist. It had the following long-term objectives:
- to foster national forest programmes in all LFCCs, and promote regional and subregional arrangements for the exchange of experience and for support to national processes, in partnership with the international donor community;
- to establish linkages between action by LFCCs and the objectives of the three UNCED global environmental conventions (the Convention to Combat Desertification, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Framework Convention on Climate Change) to call the attention of the international community to the needs of LFCCs;
- to identify common areas of cooperative action through networks, regional projects and other joint efforts, and promote partnership building between countries and with international organizations and donors.
The main outcome of the meeting was the Tehran Declaration, which proposed to LFCCs the establishment of the Tehran Process based on the recommendations of the meeting. The Tehran Process would provide a forum to address the specific needs of LFCCs and a global outlet to reflect their concerns. It should be action-oriented and should secure political support and guidance. It would also serve as the focus for data collection, analysis and dissemination; the exchange of information and experience; capacity building; the development of criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management for LFCCs; the development of a definition of low forest cover to identify more precisely the countries falling within this category; and a number of other subjects of mutual interest to LFCCs.
The meeting also made recommendations in the following areas.
- Policy, planning and institutions. New policies should be developed regarding non-wood forest products (NWFPs); increased market orientation of locally produced forest products; services, including the provision of clean water, soil and water conservation especially for fragile ecosystems, and desert and erosion control; food security, including the provision of fuelwood and fodder; carbon sequestration; and conservation of biological diversity.
- Participatory processes. Participatory approaches should generate income and employment, should be based on existing cultures and should involve local as well as indigenous communities, with special consideration being given to nomadic and transhumant peoples, forest dwellers and the role of women and youth. Full use should be made of traditional forest-related knowledge. LFCCs should support and facilitate an increased role for non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
- Funding and investment. Governments should create an enabling environment for investments by individuals, communities and the private sector, including secure land tenure arrangements, devolution of decision-making power, the creation of incentives and the removal of disincentives and provisions for the sharing of costs and benefits. LFCCs, with the assistance of interested partners, should explore opportunities for further investment in the forest sector, including opportunities arising from multilateral environmental agreements and international conventions.
- Technical matters. LFCC governments should support the development and transfer of suitable technologies related to management and rehabilitation of natural forest, woodland and rangeland resources; development of the importance of NWFPs in the rural economy; support of small-scale industries based on wood products and NWFPs; conservation of natural ecosystems and unique types of forest; establishment of plantations and planted trees; and renewable energy programmes based on wood.
- Future international arrangements and mechanisms. The special needs and requirements of LFCCs should receive due attention in any new arrangements and mechanisms dealing with forests, including technical and financial assistance related to developing and implementing national forest programmes.
The report of the meeting and its recommendations will be presented at a side meeting of the forthcoming, final meeting of IFF (IFF4) in February 2000. The aim is to have the recommendations considered by the Forum, whose global mandate includes consideration of the needs of developing countries with low forest cover. Indeed, IFF's attention to "international arrangements and mechanisms to promote the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests" will not be comprehensive unless due consideration is given to the special needs and requirements of countries with low forest cover and unique forest types.
