Traditionally, the forest has played an important survival role in most Africa countries. The social and economic benefits derived from the forest are enormous, yet the rate of deforestation and land degradation within the past two decades in some countries in the continent makes one wonder whether rational use and sustainable management considerations ever take the center stage when decisions to exploit these rich natural resources are being considered.
A good number of countries in Africa may not be in a position to take pre-emptive measures that will ensure rational management and sustainable use of the forest. It is for this reason that international organizations, such as The World Conservation Union (IUCN), World Bank, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), FAO, and World Resource Institute (WRI), have since the1980s begun putting together key strategies and actions which have culminated in National Conservation Strategies, Forestry Master Plans and National Forest Action Plan (Bekele, 1998).
These initiatives have had as main objectives: conservation, management and sustainable use of forest resources, combating desertification and land degradation. It is clear that these various initiatives have produced mixed results. The tendency has been the advent and precipitated demise of new initiatives, without necessarily making any significant impact in the forest sector. However the birth of the nfp process as an outcome of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit holds a lot of promise. Chapter 11 of Agenda 21 on combating deforestation, as well as the Forest Principles, all recommend nfps as potential tools for dealing with the underlying causes of deforestation and forest degradation, and for achieving sustainable forest management.
From 1997, it became even more evident that formulation and implementation of nfps will be the way forward. Global fora on forests continued deliberations on strengthening forest planning processes. Thus, the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF) in a special session of the United Nations General Assembly 9 – 13 June 1997, encouraged countries to adopt nfps based on Basic Forestry Principles and the newly defined criteria (UNGA, 1997). These set of guidelines are viewed as a radical departure from the way previous initiatives were conceived. Prominent among this criteria are innovations such as: national sovereignty, country driven, political and institutional considerations, national legislation, partnership and participatory mechanisms, establishment of inter-sectoral linkages, policy and institutional reforms and capacity building just to mention a few. In spear heading the move to implement nfps, IPF stressed that nfps could provide an effective link between strategic and operational planning.
Findings from analysis and evaluations of African countries who have in one way or the other attempted or actually formulated and implemented initiatives such as TFAP/NFAP/NFPs and other related initiatives show that outcomes are mitigated especially in terms of effectiveness and efficiency in implementation.
African countries are reviewing their national forest programmes and streamlining them to reflect the ideas expressed in Agenda 21. However, active case findings through a questionnaire feedback in 1998/99, showed great discrepancy between what African countries reported they intended to do in their nfp country strategy papers and what actually obtained in the field (FAO, 1999). Reasons for failure to achieve desired outcomes include:
Issues, lessons learned internal to the forestry sector:
Issues, lessons learned external to the forestry sector:
An interesting finding from the questionnaire, is that many countries in the region have subscribed to several international environmental policy instruments such as Convention to Combat Desertification, Convention on Biodiversity Ramsar etc which in some countries mutually reinforce action in the forestry sector (Gabon, Malawi, Senegal). In Madagascar, Guinea and Mali, however, this multiplicity of planning frameworks has instead constituted a source of confusion and unnecessary overlap. At present, key challenges confronting most African countries in nfp implementation remain by and large same as those revealed by the 1998/1999 FAO survey, an example of which is seeking effective ways to enhance and strengthen country capacities to formulate and implement nfps. The challenge is to find participatory and cost-effective processes that take due account of the socio-economic characteristics of the country, and also to find the best ways to share their knowledge and experience.
