Managers

Legislation enacted in 1992 (Law 21-C/92, the ¿land law¿) stipulates that natural forest cannot be held privately, except for small, designated agricultural and pastoral areas. All forest lands thus belong to the State of Angola, under the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ministerio da agricultura e do desenvolvimento rural - MINADER) and more specifically the Forestry Development Institute (Instituto de desenvolvimento florestal), IDF, established in 1989 by Decree Law n°41/89 of 22 July 1989, and the National Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry (DNAF), established in the early 1990s. The DNAF also plays an important role in the Angolan forestry sector, formulating policy and advice on agricultural and forestry issues.

The IDF establishes the administrative set-up in each of the country¿s 18 administrative provinces and implements government policy, which is supposed to emanate from the DNAF. Under these terms of reference, the IDF is responsible for the definition, supervision and monitoring of legal procedures with reference to forest development, use, management and conservation, as well as protected area management. The IDF is made up of the departments of the forest, wildlife, inspection and monitoring, planning and studies, budget and accounting, and human resources.

Another government agency, SEA, the State Secretariat for the Environment, established in the early 1990s, is responsible for natural resource conservation and protection policies. It became the Ministry of Fisheries and Environment in 1998. Other institutions with environmental responsibilities are the National Directorate for Fisheries and Agriculture (DINOPA), the Institute for Agricultural Research and the Institute for Veterinary Research - both under MINADER and the National Department of Water Resources under the Ministry of Industry.

Enlisting the participation of other sectors in Angola¿s forestry sector development remains a major challenge for its forestry institutions. Private sector participation in forest management is quite weak and tends to focus on production activities rather than management.

There are quite a few national NGOs, but their work in the field is still very restricted. The Associaçâo Angolana do ambiente, an NGO established in the early 1980s, works to promote awareness of environmental issues. Angola has no forestry research or teaching institutes.

Public participation in forest management

Community participation in forest management is still embryonic in Angola. Indeed, there is very little participation on the part of the populace, nor do they share in the benefits. Rural communities are attempting to respond to government appeals to plant trees. The management aspects, however, are receiving very little attention from the competent government authorities. The participatory approach is thus an important potential tool, which the sector should develop in the near future. A major constraint to public participation in forest development efforts has to do with forest ownership patterns. Communities are in fact living on land belonging to the state, with no formally defined terms of usufruct. This legal framework is now in the process of adaptation under draft decree n°21.C/92.
last updated: Tuesday, November 24, 2009