Participatory forestry
BALANCING THE EFFECTIVE, SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT of forest resources with economic, social and environmental factors has emerged as one of the key challenges in natural resource management. The environment and fora in which decisions concerning natural resource management are made are evolving as a result of global trends such as the globalization of the economy; growing awareness of and response to environmental concerns; decentralization and devolution of government control; the need for secured property rights; and increasing pressure for democratization.
Among the responses to these trends is a greater willingness to consider local forest management as a viable alternative to centralized State control. Throughout the world, a large number of forestry activities (national, multilateral, bilateral and non-governmental) with participatory, local or community forestry components are being implemented. Although much remains to be done, participatory approaches are increasingly recognized as essential to sustainable forest management.
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Participatory forestry refers to processes and mechanisms that enable those people who have a direct stake in forest resources to be part of decision-making in all aspects of forest management, from managing resources to formulating and implementing institutional frameworks.
More specifically, "community forestry" refers to a component of participatory forestry that focuses on local communities as key stakeholders in managing common property resources. |
FAO and participatory forestry
Community or participatory forestry is well established at FAO as a priority work area. In addition to promoting locally based, legally recognized sustainable management of forest resources, FAO is now moving from a community focus to supporting a broader range of stakeholders in implementing participatory processes in forest management. As a complement to efforts dedicated to the development of tools, methods and approaches for use at the community level, FAO is also addressing overarching policy and implementation issues, such as capacity building of other actors at the local government level and in the private sector, and the scaling-up of participatory forestry initiatives by developing enabling policies.
FAO¿s work in participatory forestry focuses on the following activities:
- support to national forest programmes and to the National Forest Programme Facility created in 2002, particularly regarding participatory methodologies, global and regional networking and communication processes, which will be crucial in operationalizing national forest programmes;
- working in partnership with other organizations to strengthen stakeholders¿ participation in national forest programme formulation, to create enabling policies;
- continued efforts on knowledge sharing through formal and informal networks with regional partners and collaborators around the world on matters related to participatory forestry;
- continued efforts to enhance the contribution of forestry to poverty alleviation;
- strengthening capacity building in natural resource conflict management through the publication of a comprehensive set of training materials designed for trainers working with local people and organizations as well as through training;
- further development and implementation of the community-based forest enterprise development approach to meet the demand for improved livelihoods of local stakeholders through environmentally, socially and technically sustainable use of forest products;
- continued efforts to address gender issues in forestry through the dissemination of the FAO publication Gender analysis and forestry international training package, which is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French and Spanish;
- support for a regional project aimed at strengthening private and community forestry in seven countries in Central and Eastern Europe, to be implemented in partnership with the World Conservation Union (IUCN);
- strengthening the capacity of middle forest managers in participatory processes through a three-year project funded by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) in Ghana, Guyana and Uganda, and through a two-year project in Benin, Mali and the Niger with support from Belgium;
- support to community-based enterprise development for the conservation of biological diversity at World Heritage Sites in China and Uganda, funded by the United Nations Foundation, and similar activities in collaboration with other organizations such as Conservation International, the Tropical Agriculture Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) and the World Bank;
- participation in Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) projects that emphasize participatory forest management activities;
- preparation of a concept note for a multidonor programme in support of forest policy processes and enhancement of livelihood-oriented forestry, expected to form an umbrella for several new initiatives that will build on concepts developed during the Forests, Trees and People Programme (FTPP) which phased out at the end of 2002.
Publications and information
The development and dissemination of information materials is a priority. More than 50 publications, videos, slide presentations, educational aids and promotional materials - all directed at specific audiences - have been produced related to community and participatory forestry. For planners and field staff, FAO has published technical materials, including field manuals, guidelines and training packages on the application of new methods and tools in project planning and implementation and monitoring and evaluation activities. A series of concept notes prepared primarily for policy-makers, academics and project managers explores different topics and areas of interest in participatory and community forestry.
