Multilateral donors

Multilateral assistance is provided by multilateral development banks (MDBs), UN agencies and specialized organizations and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Multilateral donor policy on forests has shifted from pure forestry to more integrated projects with forestry and forest management forming components of broader rural development and environmental management projects. In recent times, MDB forest policies and in particular those of the World Bank have changed, not only towards a more integrated approach, but also in the light of the 'conservation versus sustainable use' debate. In the early 1990s, the World Bank policy prevented investment in projects that included logging primary tropical forests for timber production. It has been argued that outside of protected areas, this has created a policy vacuum that addresses neither conservation nor sustainable use objectives.

While the World Bank is the largest source of multilateral funds, its involvement in the forest sector is limited, accounting for only 2% of its lending. The regional MDBs, such as the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, all have individual forest policies and make investments in the forestry sector.

Development banks

Financial assistance for forestry activities is provided by a number of development banks. The links below provide summary information, including the contact details, of some of the major banks.

Development agencies

Technical assistance in forestry is provided by a number of international agencies including: