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Understanding people, forests and human well-being in the Asia-Pacific

Representatives from governments, civil society, research institutions and the private sector came together in Hanoi April 21-25 to seek solutions to today’s most challenging forest issues, during the first-ever Asia-Pacific Forestry Week. Participants focused on forests and poverty during the day-long session on “People, Forests and Human Well-being” organized by RECOFTC and supported by the Asia Forest Network and the FAO. The day’s discussions focused on questioning assumptions and deepening conceptual and practical understanding of the fundamental issues affecting people and forests in the context of rapid regional change.

 

Presentations during the session outlined the numerous overlapping and contradictory paradigms for making forestry matter, noting that all have done little to slow rapacious degradation of resources or reduce poverty:

1960s – ‘Trickle-down’	Forestry for industrial development
1970s – ‘Basic needs’	Forestry for local community development (Westoby model), oil crisis, fuelwood crisis
1980s – ‘Participation’	Social forestry, community forestry
1990s – ‘Public sector reform’	Institutional reform, collaborative, participatory forestry
2000+ - ‘Good Governance’	Focus on corruption, illegality, decentralisation
2000+ - ‘MDGs and Poverty’	Poverty, livelihoods
2000+ - ‘Renaissance Forestry	Forestry crisis, climate change, dramatic energy and food price spikes

 

Six propositions underpinned the presentations and shaped discussions:

1. Forests don’t matter

2. Poverty is not understood

3. Change is driven from outside the forestry sector

4. Changes in governance are essential

5. Forestry and foresters don’t matter

6. Climate change – a moment of opportunity

 

Read more on the RECOFTC website or the report  People, Forests and Human Wellbeing: Managing Forests for People in a Period of Rapid Change

 

 

Posted By Megan Liddle & RECOFTC at 8:50am on June 02, 2008

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