The International Conference on Small and medium forest enterprise development for poverty reduction: Opportunities and challenges in globalizing markets was held from May 23 to 25, 2006 at the headquarters of the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE), based in Turrialba, Costa Rica.

The conference was organized by FAO and CATIE with the support of the Interchurch organisation for development co-operation (ICCO), the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the Rainforest Alliance, the Interamerican Development Bank - Multilateral Investment Fund (IDB-MIF), the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV), and the Regional Unit for Technical Assistance (RUTA).

The overall objectives of the conference aimed to develop a common understanding of the actual and potential role of small and medium forest enterprises in poverty reduction strategies and sustainable forest management, and also share the lessons learned in small and medium forest enterprise development in Africa, Asia and Latin America with focus on:

• identifying key elements of strategies for promotingenabling political and institutional frameworksfor small and medium forest enterprise development;
  
  
• identifying the critical success factors for developingvalue chains in forest products which ensure adequate benefit sharingby community-based forest enterprises and

• identifying thetechnical business and financial services necessary to enable successful small and medium forest enterprise developmentand related poverty reduction.

The outcomes of the conference include: aCDwith presentations made during the conference; afinal reportof the conference including all the presentations made, most of the case studies submitted and the summing up of findings on the three main themes of debate. Other outcomes include: a policy brief released end 2006; an upcoming publication of selected case studies and the initial agreement to launch a community of practice platform with the purpose of sharing knowledge and experiences about small and medium forest enterprises, on a continued basis.