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  • Whose Forest Tenure Reform Is It? Lessons from Case Studies in Vietnam
    Nguyen Quang Tan, RECOFTC et al
  • Publications and Reports

    Collective Forest Tenure Reform in Southwest China

    Collective Forest Tenure Reform in Southwest China

    Experiences and Challenges

    Su Yufang, Zhao Yaqiao, Gan Tingyu, Xu Wei, Ren Xiaodong - ICRAF-China

     

    This research aims to provide policy guidance on the ongoing implementation of collective forest tenure reforms in southwest China.

    Collective Forest Tenure Reform in Southwest China

    Collective Forest Tenure Reform in Southwest China

    Chinese version

    Su Yufang, Zhao Yaqiao, Gan Tingyu, Xu Wei, Ren Xiaodong - ICRAF-China

     

    Research that aims to provide policy guidance based on the initial findings of China's collective forest tenure reforms.

    Indigenous and Traditional Peoples and Climate Change

    Indigenous and Traditional Peoples and Climate Change

    Issues Paper

    Mirjam Macchi, Gonzalo Oviedo, Sarah Gotheil, Katharine Cross, Agni Boedhihartono, Caterina Wolfangel, Matthew Howell - IUCN

     

    Indigenous peoples around the world will bear the brunt of climate change – but they are also armed with the traditional knowledge to survive its effects.

    Supporting Small Forest Enterprises - A Cross-sectoral Review of Best Practice

    Supporting Small Forest Enterprises - A Cross-sectoral Review of Best Practice

    Duncan Macqueen - IIED

     

    This report reviews the growing consensus on best practice in small enterprise support, both within and outside the forest sector. It describes how a framework known as ‘market system development’ unites attempts to: strengthen enterprise associations, facilitate better provision of financial and business development services, and improve the business environment. It concludes with specific recommendations for support to SMFEs.

    Distinguishing Community Forest Products in the Market: Industrial Demand for a Mechanism That Brings Together Forest Certification and Fair Trade

    Distinguishing Community Forest Products in the Market: Industrial Demand for a Mechanism That Brings Together Forest Certification and Fair Trade

    Duncan Macqueen, Annie Dufey, Ana Patrícia Cota Gomes, Nelda Sanchez Hidalgo, Maria Regina Nouer, Ruben Pasos, Luis Alfonso Argüelles Suárez, Vaithehi Subendranathan, Zazil Ha García Trujillo, Sonja Vermeulen, Mauricio de Almeida Voivodic, Emma Wilson - IIED

     

    This report assesses demand for a mechanism that brings together forest certification and fair trade in the timber market. Timber buyers from 21 countries were surveyed as part of this study - with more detailed value chain analysis in 4 country case studies. The report concludes that there is indeed both demand and practical options to do more for community forest producers. A historic opportunity exists to bring together forest certification and fair trade in the interests both of communities and the forests on which they depend.

    The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility

    NEW!The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility

    Facilitating the weakening of indigenous peoples' rights to lands and resources

    - Forest Peoples Programme

     

    There are key shortcomings in the draft Charter and background documents for the World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, including failure to provide for full participation from indigenous peoples, lack of consultation to-date, and failure to include commitments to upholding human rights.

     

    Associated Documents

    El Fondo cooperativo para el carbono de los bosques (FCPF) El Fondo cooperativo para el carbono de los bosques (FCPF)
    Una herramienta que menoscaba los derechos de los pueblos indigenas a sus tierras y recursos
    - Forest Peoples Programme
    Le Fonds de partenariat pour le carbone forestier Le Fonds de partenariat pour le carbone forestier
    Vers un affaiblissement des droits des peuples autochtones sur les terres et les ressources
    - Forest Peoples Programme
    Environmental Governance and the Emergence of Forest-Based Social Movements

    Environmental Governance and the Emergence of Forest-Based Social Movements

    Peter Cronkleton, Peter Leigh Taylor, Deborah Barry, Samantha Stone-Jovicich, Marianne Schmink - CIFOR

     

    This occasional paper is based on the results of a three-year project examining the emergence of forest-based grassroots movements in Latin America. The project focused on four noteworthy cases in Central America and Brazil, each representing ‘successful’ broad-based collective action to defend local control and use of forest lands.

    The cases suggest that local communities can become effective forest stewards when acquired rights are duly recognized, avenues exist for meaningful participation, costs and benefits are distributed fairly, and appropriate external support is provided.

    Forest Governance in Countries with Federal Systems of Government

    Forest Governance in Countries with Federal Systems of Government

    Lessons and implications for decentralization

    Arnoldo Contreras-Hermosilla, Hans M. Gregersen, Andy White - CIFOR, Forest Trends, Rights and Resources

     

    This study examines the experience of federal countries in managing their decentralized systems of forest governance.

    More than three quarters of developing countries and nations in transition are in the midst of experimenting with decentralization of their governments. Decentralized governance in general in the forestry sector in particular is thought to lead to better forest management outcomes. In federal governments, decentralization tends to be more pronounced.

     

    Associated Documents

    Forest Governance in Countries with Federal Systems of Government - Brief Forest Governance in Countries with Federal Systems of Government - Brief

    Arnoldo Contreras-Hermosilla, Hans M. Gregersen, Andy White - CIFOR, Forest Trends, Rights and Resources
    The Boomerang - When Will the Global Forest Sector Reallocate from the South to the North?

    The Boomerang - When Will the Global Forest Sector Reallocate from the South to the North?

    Sten Nilsson - IIASA

     

    This paper examines the commonly held notion that the forest sector in the south will dominate in the future by addressing issues such as climate change, increasing demands for food as global development accelerates, and the pursuit of alternative fuel sources.

    Power, Progress and Impoverishment: Plantations, Hydropower, Ecological Change and Community Transformation in Hinboun District, Lao PDR

    Power, Progress and Impoverishment: Plantations, Hydropower, Ecological Change and Community Transformation in Hinboun District, Lao PDR

    A Field Report

    Keith Barney

     

    This report documents the contemporary ecological, social and economic transformations occurring in one village in Lao PDR’s central Khammouane province under multiple sources of development-induced displacement. Rural development policy in Laos is focused on promoting rapid rural modernisation, to be achieved through foreign direct investments in two key resource sectors: hydropower and plantations. Laos’ land reform program is also a key component of the changes underway in the countryside, as swidden (or shifting) upland cultivation is targeted for stabilisation and elimination.

    Overview of Industrial Forest Concessions and Concession-based Industry in Central and West Africa, and Considerations of Alternatives

    Overview of Industrial Forest Concessions and Concession-based Industry in Central and West Africa, and Considerations of Alternatives

    Alain Karsenty - CIRAD

     

    Concessions in Africa have a long history and mixed records. From the 1980-90’s onwards, concessions were gradually requested to bear new responsibilities, previously carried out by governments, such as the management of production forests and the oversight of some parts of the territories where forest concessions are prominent. The concessions sector is still dominated by the Europeans, but with an increasing prominence of Asian companies, which are already dominant in Equatorial Guinea, CAR and South-Congo. There is, however, a room and a need for diversification of forest tenure models, which might be seen as complementary rather, at least for the foreseeable future, than alternatives competing with the current system.

    Small and Medium Forest Enterprises: Instruments of Change in the Developing World

    Small and Medium Forest Enterprises: Instruments of Change in the Developing World

    Robert Kozak - University of British Columbia, Rights and Resources

     

    Small and medium forest enterprises (SMFEs) are seen important elements of strategies aimed at pro-poor economic growth in developing regions. They are characterized by a diverse range of stakeholders, actors, businesses, structures, networks, products, and services. Unfortunately, little has been done in the way of quantifying the contributions of these enterprises to economic growth and employment. This report recommends that concerted research efforts be undertaken to better understand the size, scope, characteristics, and dynamics of this sector and that this information be used to inform civil society, development agencies, and governments on devising and implementing appropriate interventions and policy reforms aimed at reducing poverty in the forest dependent communities of the developing world.

    So Who Owns the Forest

    NEW!So Who Owns the Forest

    An investigation into forest ownership and customary land rights in Liberia

    Liz Alden Wily - SDI Liberia, FERN

     

    This landmark study sets out the confusions and conundrums of forest tenure in Liberia today and develops clear recommendations towards solving potential conflicts over natural resources.

    The study shows that Liberia can set a precedent by returning ownership of land to communities. This would lead to improved forest governance, control of illegal logging and remedial action against historical injustices.

    Community-Based Forest Enterprises in Tropical Forest Countries: Status and Potential

    Community-Based Forest Enterprises in Tropical Forest Countries: Status and Potential

    Augusta Molnar, Megan Liddle, Carina Bracer, Arvind Khare, Andy White, Justin Bull - ITTO, Rights and Resources, Forest Trends

     

    Like all forest enterprises, community forestry enterprises (CFEs) have a mixed record, with numerous cases of successes as well as failures. As the experience in developed countries attest, SMEs can emerge and flourish where the tenure and policy frameworks allow them to exist legally and compete fairly with large-scale enterprises. Unfortunately, only a few tropical countries have had favourable conditions in place for a sufficiently long time to enable their development or viability. This study identifies some shared trends for the emergence and development of CFEs in a range of different tropical countries that indicate a high level of promise overall.

     

    Associated Documents

    2007 CFE Conference - Case Study Agrofort 2007 CFE Conference - Case Study Agrofort

    Charlotte Benneker - Wageningen University
    2007 CFE Conference - Civil Society for Arbol Verde Development 2007 CFE Conference - Civil Society for Arbol Verde Development

    Dietmar Stoian, Aldo Rodas - CATIE - CeCoEco
    2007 CFE Conference: Including the Excluded 2007 CFE Conference: Including the Excluded
    A Pro-Poor Bel Fruit Juice Making Enterprise in Nepal
    Dinesh Paudel - RECOFTC
    2007 CFE Conference - Community Forest Development in Guatemala 2007 CFE Conference - Community Forest Development in Guatemala
    A Case Study of Cooperativa Carmelita
    Dietmar Stoian, Aldo Rodas - CATIE - CeCoEco
    2007 CFE Conference: Supporting Livelihoods through Employment 2007 CFE Conference: Supporting Livelihoods through Employment
    The Chaubas-Bhumlu Community Sawmill, Nepal
    Netra Prasad Timsina - Forest Action - Nepal
    2007 CFE Conference - A Brief History of the COATLAHL Cooperative 2007 CFE Conference - A Brief History of the COATLAHL Cooperative
    At Last A Little Optimism
    Filippo Del Gatto, Danilo Davila, Jens Kanstrub, Sergio Herrera, Andre Mildam, Noe Polanco
    2007 CFE Conference: One Small Peasant Village’s Grand Forest Industry 2007 CFE Conference: One Small Peasant Village’s Grand Forest Industry
    A Case Study of the El Balcon Ejido in Western Mexico
    Claudio Garibay Orozco - Consejo Civil Mexicano para la Silvicultura Sostenible A.C.
    2007 CFE Conference - Community Forest Enterprises: A Case Study of the Gambia 2007 CFE Conference - Community Forest Enterprises: A Case Study of the Gambia

    Wolfgang Thoma, Kanimang Camara - UN Food and Agriculture Organization
    2007 CFE Conference - Community Forestry Benefits Customary Landowners 2007 CFE Conference - Community Forestry Benefits Customary Landowners
    Madang Province, Papua New Guinea
    Yati Bun, Bazakie Baput - FPCD
    2007 CFE Conference: Payments for environmental services in San Nicolas, Colombia 2007 CFE Conference: Payments for environmental services in San Nicolas, Colombia
    A Participatory and Holistic Approach in Forestry
    Carmenza Robledo, Patricia Tobon - EMPA, CORNARE
    2007 CFE Conference: Country Case Study, Quintana Roo, Mexico 2007 CFE Conference: Country Case Study, Quintana Roo, Mexico
    Sociedad de Productores Forestales Ejidales de Quintana Roo
    Peter Wilshusen - Bucknell University
    2007 CFE Conference: PingShang Bamboo Group 2007 CFE Conference: PingShang Bamboo Group
    A Case Study of a Community Enterprise in China's Bamboo Sub-sector
    R. Anders West, Christopher Aldridge - China Agricultural University, Beijing P.R. China, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou P.R. China
    2007 CFE Conference - Behind the Fragile Enterprise 2007 CFE Conference - Behind the Fragile Enterprise
    Community-based Timber Utilization in the Southern Philippines
    Juan Pulhin, Anthony Ramirez
    2007 CFE Conference - Community Based Forest Enterprises in Cameroon 2007 CFE Conference - Community Based Forest Enterprises in Cameroon
    A case study of the Ngola-Achip Community Forest in East Cameroon
    Kenneth Angu Angu - IUCN - Regional Office for Central Africa
    2007 CFE Conference: From subsistence harvesters to market players 2007 CFE Conference: From subsistence harvesters to market players
    The evolution of brazil nut production in Manicore, Amazonas State, Brazil
    Alejandra Martin - IBENS
    2007 CFE Conference - Case Study of Mamiraua, Brazil 2007 CFE Conference - Case Study of Mamiraua, Brazil

    Andrea Pires - Mamiraua Institute for Sustainable Development (MISD)
    2007 CFE Conference: The New Oil Economy of the Rural Poor 2007 CFE Conference: The New Oil Economy of the Rural Poor
    Biofuel Planations for Power, Water, Transport and Carbon Credits
    Emmanual D'Silva
    2007 Conferencia ECF: Breve Historia de la Cooperativa COATLAHL 2007 Conferencia ECF: Breve Historia de la Cooperativa COATLAHL
    Al fin un poco de optimismo
    Filippo Del Gatto
    Transitions in Forest Tenure and Governance: Drivers, Projected Patterns and Implications

    Transitions in Forest Tenure and Governance: Drivers, Projected Patterns and Implications

    - Rights and Resources

     

    Major shifts in the global economy, as well as in social, political and ecological systems are affecting forests and forest livelihoods such that future challenges in the forest sector will be quite distinct from those faced in the past. The forest sector is now more embedded in the global economy than ever before, and the influence of other sectors on forests, forest peoples and forest industry will similarly be much greater in the future than in the past. This paper briefly presents our perspectives on: (1) major drivers shaping forest tenure and governance, (2) projected patterns by 2020 and (3) the implications of these transitions for those concerned with forest livelihoods and conservation today.

    Convergence of the Fuel, Food and Fiber Markets - Summary

    Convergence of the Fuel, Food and Fiber Markets - Summary

    A Forest Sector Perspective

    Don G. Roberts - CIBC World Markets, Rights and Resources

     

    The biofuels sector will continue to experience significant growth over the coming decades, and over time its development will lead to a convergence of the markets for fuel, food and fiber (e.g. wood). This is a summary of the full paper prepared for the conference "Towards a New Global Forest Agenda", held in Stockholm in October 2007.

    Climate Change and Governance in the Forest Sector - Summary

    Climate Change and Governance in the Forest Sector - Summary

    Carmenza Robledo, Juergen Blaser, Kaspar Schimdt, Tamara Levine - Intercooperation, Rights and Resources

     

    A background paper for the conference "Towards a New Global Forest Agenda" held in Stockholm, Sweden in October 2007.

    The Poverty of Forestry Policy

    The Poverty of Forestry Policy

    Double standards on an uneven playing field

    Jesse Ribot, Anne M. Larson

     

    This article examines how forestry policy and implementation maintain double standards in a manner that excludes the rural poor from the natural wealth around them.

    The Impact of Regulatory Takings by the Chinese State on Rural Land Tenure and Property Rights

    The Impact of Regulatory Takings by the Chinese State on Rural Land Tenure and Property Rights

    Li Ping - Rural Development Institute

     

    This paper will introduce and discuss regulatory takings laws in the US and some European countries. It makes a series of recommendations on legislative reforms in China’s regulatory takings regime taking into account the unique characteristics of China’s property rights institution.

    Forest Related Conflict: Impacts, Links and Measures to Mitigate - Summary

    Forest Related Conflict: Impacts, Links and Measures to Mitigate - Summary

    Ruben de Koning, Doris Capistrano, Yurdi Yasmi - CIFOR, Rights and Resources

     

    A background paper for the conference "Towards a New Global Forest Agenda", held in Stockholm, Sweden in October 2007.

    Rights, Tenure, Governance and a More Pro-poor Vision for Conservation - Summary

    Rights, Tenure, Governance and a More Pro-poor Vision for Conservation - Summary

    Gill Shepherd, Bob Fisher, Stewart Maginnis, Jeffrey Sayer - IUCN, Rights and Resources

     

    A background paper for the conference "Towards a New Global Forest Agenda", held in Stockholm, Sweden in October 2007.

    Poverty, Rights and Tenure on Forest Lands

    Poverty, Rights and Tenure on Forest Lands

    Priority Actions for Achieving Solutions

    William D. Sunderlin - Rights and Resources

     

    A background paper for the conference "Towards a New Global Forest Agenda", held in Stockholm in October 2007.

    Beyond Tenure: Rights-based Approaches to Peoples and Forests - Summary

    Beyond Tenure: Rights-based Approaches to Peoples and Forests - Summary

    Marcus Colchester - Forest Peoples Programme, Rights and Resources

     

    A background paper for the conference "Towards a New Global Forest Agenda", held in Stockholm, Sweden in October 2007.

    The Dispute Resolution Process in Relation to Logging Permits in China

    The Dispute Resolution Process in Relation to Logging Permits in China

    Li Ping - Rural Development Institute

     

    This paper examines the dispute resolution experiences in the US, UK and Ireland with respect to denial of applications for logging permits, and its possible application to China.

    Community-Based Forest Enterprises in Tropical Forest Countries - Full Report with Annexes

    Community-Based Forest Enterprises in Tropical Forest Countries - Full Report with Annexes

    Augusta Molnar, Megan Liddle, Carina Bracer, Arvind Khare, Andy White, Justin Bull - ITTO, Rights and Resources, Forest Trends

     

    Like all forest enterprises, community forestry enterprises (CFEs) have a mixed record, with numerous cases of successes as well as failures. As the experience in developed countries attest, SMEs can emerge and flourish where the tenure and policy frameworks allow them to exist legally and compete fairly with large-scale enterprises. Unfortunately, only a few tropical countries have had favorable conditions in place for a sufficiently long time to enable their development or viability. This study identifies some shared trends for the emergence and development of CFEs in a range of different tropical countries that indicate a high level of promise overall.

    This full version of the report includes annexes with the case study methodology, a field survey of community forestry operations in Mexico, a survey of cases of community participation in Markets for Ecosystem Services, and summaries of the twenty case studies surveyed in the main report.

     

    Associated Documents

    Empresas Forestales Comunitarias en Países Forestales Tropicales: Situación Actual y en Potencia Empresas Forestales Comunitarias en Países Forestales Tropicales: Situación Actual y en Potencia

    Augusta Molnar, Megan Liddle, Carina Bracer, Arvind Khare, Andy White, Justin Bull - ITTO, Rights and Resources, Forest Trends
    Entreprises forestières communautaires dans les pays forestiers tropicaux: Situation et potentialites Entreprises forestières communautaires dans les pays forestiers tropicaux: Situation et potentialites

    Augusta Molnar, Megan Liddle, Carina Bracer, Arvind Khare, Andy White, Justin Bull - ITTO, RRI, Forest Trends
    Land, Forest and People: Facing the Challenges in South-East Asia

    Land, Forest and People: Facing the Challenges in South-East Asia

    Listening, Learning and Sharing Asia Final Report

    Marcus Colchester, Chip Fay - FPP, ICRAF

     

    Over the past 20 years, the region reviewed in this report - South East Asia stretching from Laos across to Indonesia - has experienced major changes in forest cover, social development and forest policy. Natural forests have shrunk dramatically and continue to be degraded and cleared at startling rates. Forest areas set aside for protection have increased. At the same time large areas of land and forest have been ‘converted’ to timber plantations and estate crops. During the same period, both for better and for worse, the forest peoples who inhabit these areas have also been through tumultuous changes.

    A Legal Review and Analysis of China’s Forest Tenure System with an Emphasis on Collective Forestland

    A Legal Review and Analysis of China’s Forest Tenure System with an Emphasis on Collective Forestland

    Li Ping, Zhu Keliang - Rural Development Institute, Rights and Resources

     

    Based on extensive desk research and fieldwork in three provinces, this paper reviews and analyzes the development of the Chinese regulatory frameworks that govern forest tenure. Special attention is paid to farmers’ rights to collective forestland and forest products, and a particular focus is given to the current legal regime on farmers’ tenure rights to forestland.

    Organization and Governance for Fostering Pro-Poor Compensation for Environmental Services

    Organization and Governance for Fostering Pro-Poor Compensation for Environmental Services

    Carina Bracer, Sara Scherr, Augusta Molnar, Madhushree Sekher, Benson Owuor Ochieng, Gaya Sriskanthan - Forest Trends, Ecoagriculture Partners, Rights and Resources, Centre for Ecological Economics & Natural Resources, African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), World Conservation Union

     

    To increase potential for pro-poor outcomes of CRES, the opportunity for local conditions to define the supporting institutional structures and norms that surround CRES is critical. There are a wide range of institutional models of CRES that can benefit the poor, and these tend to include features such as: building upon and strengthening existing institutions of the poor, allowing flexibility in land use options and in the timeframe for adoption and adaptation of land use, simplification of monitoring and reporting to fit local capacity, and orientation and training of intermediary organizations who serve as brokers to the poor and help them to aggregate supply of CRES services.

    Where in the world is there pro-poor forest policy and tenure reform?

    Where in the world is there pro-poor forest policy and tenure reform?

    Mary Hobley

     

    The purpose of this paper is to provide the Rights and Resources Initiative with an analysis of the opportunities and threats to increasing pro-poor tenure and policy reforms in the global forest sector over the next decade. The analysis examines the international, national and local arenas and the drivers of change at these different levels. It questions the extent to which there is already pro-poor policy in place. It examines critically the nature of poverty as a basis from which to assess the extent to which changing ownership and access patterns are bringing greater livelihood security to the rural poor. It uses poverty as the starting point for looking at forest policy rather than looking at forestry and seeing how it can be made to accommodate a more pro-poor approach.

    Local forest-based enterprises

    Local forest-based enterprises

    Supporting the livelihoods of the poor?

    - Info Resources

     

    The development of local forest-based enterprises represents an opportunity for strengthening the livelihoods of poor, forest-dependent people, at the same time providing an economic incentive to conserve forests through sustainable management. Is this potential being put into practice?

    Where in the world is there pro-poor forest policy and tenure reform?

    Where in the world is there pro-poor forest policy and tenure reform?

    Mary Hobley

     

    Many countries are now recognizing community ownership and devolving forest responsibilities to local jurisdictions. This transition in ownership is both a response to rights-based movements to increase local ownership and access to forest resources and a strategic policy shift responding to the widespread failure of governments to avoid deforestation, control illegal activities or generate the desired equity of benefits under systems of state forest ownership and control. This transition varies from one country to another based on the biophysical, economic, social or historical reality. Yet there is much that one country and citizenry can learn from the experience of others regarding policy choices and the pace or strategy of reform.

    Concessions to Poverty: The environmental, social and economic impacts of industrial logging concessions in Africa’s rainforests.

    Concessions to Poverty: The environmental, social and economic impacts of industrial logging concessions in Africa’s rainforests.

    - The Rainforests Foundation, Forests Monitor

     

    This report addresses the issues surrounding sustainability and the impacts of the industrial logging concession system in several Central African countries and elsewhere. Based on the contributions of experts from various backgrounds (NGOs, research bodies, government organizations), the report aims to bring these issues to the attention of national decision-makers and international community representatives, highlighting the system’s pitfalls as well as the policy options available that could avert or remedy some of these problems.

    Exploring Fair Trade Timber: A Review of Issues in Current Practice, Institutional Structures and Ways Forward

    Exploring Fair Trade Timber: A Review of Issues in Current Practice, Institutional Structures and Ways Forward

    Duncan Macqueen, Annie Dufey, Bindi Patel - IIED

     

    The great expansion in community ownership and management of forests presents a historic opportunity. Communities now own or manage one fourth of the forests in developing countries. Certification, eco-labelling and social auditing have all been set up to improve the forest sector. High hopes for forest livelihoods and poverty reduction have surrounded their use but each has had its limitations. It is now time to examine other complementary instruments. Fair trade may be one such instrument. An alliance of institutions interested in promoting fair trade timber is beginning to form. This report outlines some of the options for building on this momentum and enhancing local returns from responsible forestry.

    Towards Wellbeing in Forest Communities

    Towards Wellbeing in Forest Communities

    a source book for local government

    - Center for International Forestry Research

     

    Governments in many countries are decentralizing to give more control over decision-making and budgets to local administrators. Decentralization is especially significant to forest communities, which have historically benefited little from government services and poverty reduction programs. This source book was written for local governments and their partners who hope to respond to the needs of forest communities and improve their wellbeing.

    Poverty and Forests

    Poverty and Forests

    Multi-country analysis of spatial association and proposed policy solutions

    William D. Sunderlin, Sonya Dewi, Atie Puntodewo - CIFOR, World Agroforestry Center, Rights and Resources

     

    This paper examines poverty and deforestation in developing countries as linked problems and focuses on policies that can favour poverty alleviation in forested regions. The paper encompasses two elements: analysis of the spatial coincidence between poverty and forests, and proposed policy options for reducing poverty in forested areas.

     

    Associated Documents

    Infobrief: Poverty and Forests Infobrief: Poverty and Forests

    Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
    Land

    Land

    Better access and secure rights for poor people

    - DFID

     

    This paper demonstrates the importance of land tenure in livelihoods and development, and outlines the British Department for International Development's approach to land issues. The document details that if land and property are clear and secure, they can help to boost economic growth, tackle inequality and reduce poverty.

    Natural Resource Tenure

    Natural Resource Tenure

    - SIDA

     

    This paper outlines Sida’s position on natural resource tenure and provides guidance for activities where tenure issues are at stake. Rather than providing solutions, the paper aims to support Sida staff and partners in their own analysis and dialogue, and in their development and implementation of policies and programmes.

    Compensation and Rewards for Environmental Services in the Developing World

    Compensation and Rewards for Environmental Services in the Developing World

    Framing Pan-Tropical Analysis and Comparison

    Brent Swallow, Mikkel Kallesoe, Usman Iftikhar, Meine van Noordwijk, Carina Bracer, Sara Scherr, K.V. Raju, Susan Poats, Anantha Duraiappah, Benson Ochieng, Hein Mallee, Rachel Rumley - World Agroforestry Center, IUCN, Forest Trends, Ecoagriculture Partners, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Corporación Grupo Randi Randi, United Nations Environment Programme

     

    This introductory paper begins with a review of the recent historical development of compensation and reward mechanisms within a broader context of changing approaches to conservation and environmental policy. Conservation approaches have moved from a sole focus on protected areas, to integrated conservation and development projects, to landscape management approaches, and now, consideration of conservation contracts. At roughly the same time, there has been a general relaxation of government enforcement of environmental regulations towards more multi-stakeholder forms of governance in which non-governmental and international organizations play roles and a variety of market-based and negotiation approaches have come to the fore. That dynamic context is fostering greater interest in mechanisms for compensation and reward for environmental services in the developing regions of the world. Later sections of the paper clarify key concepts and present a conceptual framework for characterizing different types of mechanisms and the internal and external factors affecting those mechanisms. The penultimate section summarizes experience and perceptions of compensation and reward for environmental services. The concluding section postulates the alternative motivations that are shaping compensation and reward mechanisms in the developing world.

    The Conditions for Effective Mechanisms of Compensation and Rewards for Environmental Services

    The Conditions for Effective Mechanisms of Compensation and Rewards for Environmental Services

    Brent Swallow, Beria Leimona, Thomas Yatich, Sandra J. Velarde, S. Puttaswamaiah - World Agroforestry Center

     

    This paper considers the conditions that determine the effectiveness of compensation and reward mechanisms. The paper takes deductive and inductive approaches to addressing the question. A series of 11 hypotheses are derived from theories of institutional change, environmental policy diffusion, and the co-dependence between different types of policy instruments. Eight case studies, all of which were considered at regional workshops on compensation for environmental services, are reviewed in the latter part of the paper. The cases, from Latin America, Africa and Asia, cover a range of environmental services and policy contexts. Overall the results suggest the following conditions to be important in many of the cases: (1) market opportunities and localized scarcity for particular environmental services; (2) international environmental agreements, international organizations, and international networks; (3) government policies and public attitudes toward government environmental responsibility, security of individual and group property rights, and markets; and (4) the strength of the regulatory regime affecting the environment.

    How important will different types of Compensation and Reward Mechanisms be in shaping poverty & ecosystem services across Africa, Asia & Latin America over the next two decades?

    How important will different types of Compensation and Reward Mechanisms be in shaping poverty & ecosystem services across Africa, Asia & Latin America over the next two decades?

    Sara J. Scherr, Jeffrey C. Milder, Carina Bracer - Ecoagriculture Partners, Cornell University and Ecoagriculture Partners, Forest Trends

     

    The development of Compensation and Rewards for Environmental Services (CRES) will have differential impact on poor resource managers and poor consumers depending upon the characteristics of the resource itself, the financial and other values for different beneficiaries, and the design of payment and market systems. In this early stage of CRES development, there are significant opportunities to shape that development in ways that will have greater benefits for the poor and for poverty reduction. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relative importance of different types of CRES in shaping poverty and ecosystem services across the developing world, as they are likely to evolve over the next two decades.

    Land and Resource Alienation in Cambodia

    Land and Resource Alienation in Cambodia

    Shalmali Guttal - Focus on the Global South

     

    Ask any Cambodian what s/he considers to be the foundation of society and life in Cambodia and the answer is likely to be “land.” As in most other places, land is an extremely important economic resource or asset in Cambodia. Land is livelihood. But equally, land is valued as an emblem of rootedness, belonging and stability, and is widely regarded as the very basis of social organisation in the country. Today, at least a third of Cambodia's peoples - rural and urban - are being systematically alienated from their lands, homes and livelihoods. In many instances communities are losing lands and access to natural resources because of economic and demographic pressures. But equally, people are being dispossessed from their lands by those with political power and money. This paper attempts to provide an overview of the growing crisis of land and resource alienation in Cambodia.

    Non Timber Forest Products

    Non Timber Forest Products

    between poverty alleviation and market forces

    Jean-Laurent Pfund, Patrick Robinson - Intercooperation

     

    Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) are increasingly recognized for their important roles in forest management around the world. While generally associated with protection, biodiversity and recreation in the North, NTFPs play significant roles for local communities in the South and East, including home consumption and production for local or regional markets. These articles draw on experiences from around the world to examine the relationship of NTFPs to development, poverty alleviation and conservation.

    Poverty and Conservation Landscapes, People and Power

    Poverty and Conservation Landscapes, People and Power

    R.J. Fisher, Stewart Maginnis, W.J. Jackson, Edmund Barrow, Sally Jeanrenaud - IUCN

     

    Integrated approaches to conservation and development cannot promise perfect win-win solutions. Pure conservation-focused interventions seldom deliver perfect conservation outcomes either. It is time to look for the best possible outcomes, bearing in mind principles of equity. This implies genuine shared decision-making and participation by local communities in land-use decisions. Participatory decision-making involves the willingness of outsiders to negotiate land-use objectives and ways to meet those objectives.

    Forests in Landscapes: Ecosystem Approaches to Sustainability

    Forests in Landscapes: Ecosystem Approaches to Sustainability

    Jeffrey Sayer, Stewart Maginnis - IUCN, Earthscan

     

    Edited by Jeffrey Sayer and Stewart Maginnis. Throughout the world there has been a re-examination of who makes decisions about forests and how these decisions are made. Attempts have been made to establish a global regulatory framework for forests through existing and proposed intergovernmental agreements, principles and broadly-accepted criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management. In parallel there has been a strong tendency towards more participatory, localized decision-making.

    Recent Experience in Collaborative Forest Management

    Recent Experience in Collaborative Forest Management

    CIFOR Occasional Paper No. 43

    Jane Carter, Jane Gronow

     

    Collaborative forest management (CFM) is loosely defined as a working partnership between the key stakeholders in the management of a given forest—key stakeholders being local forest users and state forest departments, as well as parties such as local governments, civic groups and nongovernmental organisations, and the private sector. The paper reviews worldwide experience in CFM to date, considering the forms that it takes in different tenure situations. Overall, mechanisms of CFM are diversifying, reflecting a greater recognition of the need for partnerships in forest management.

    Natural Wealth

    Natural Wealth

    A Study for Linking Poverty Reduction with Forest Conservation in Lao PDR

    Jason Morris, Emily Hicks, Andrew Ingles, Sounthone Ketphanh

     

    Recent studies have shown that rural villagers derive nearly half their income from the sale of NTFPs, including rattan, bamboo and yangtree oil. NTFPs also play a vital role in food security, particularly at the end of the dry season and during times of harvest failure. Forest tubers, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, a range of forest plants, fish, turtles and snails are all collected for food. In many parts of the lowland plains, fish and other living aquatic resources provide between 70 and 90 per cent of the animal protein in the diet of local people.

    A Place in the World

    A Place in the World

    A Review of the Global Debate on Tenure Security

    Lynn Ellsworth - Ford Foundation

     

    This paper illustrates that there is no single form of tenure, no particular pattern of property rights, that is uniquely associated with the most effective management of forest lands. In fact, underlying property ownership regimes have been changing continuously in most countries over long periods of time. Of particular importance is her assertion that the increasingly influential neoliberal property rights school of analysis “over-emphasizes” the virtues of property rights defined in terms of market trading. Effective markets for land are often nonexistent or flawed.

    Deeper Roots

    Deeper Roots

    Strengthening Community Tenure Security and Community Livelihoods

    Lynn Ellsworth, Andy White - Ford Foundation

     

    This paper highlights the distinct sets of actors who can become engaged in activities designed to improve tenure security; they include activists and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), public law groups, community development and training organizations, policy groups, and government agencies. The range of actions that they undertake include mapping and demarcating lands, mobilizing around their legalization, bringing suits in support of the residents on the lands, lobbying for legislative changes, and building the capacity of local groups to undertake many of these activities.

    Who Conserves the World's Forests?

    Who Conserves the World's Forests?

    Augusta Molnar, Sara J. Scherr, Arvind Khare - Forest Trends

     

    The dramatic and continued shift in forest and landscape boundaries and in tenure and customary rights, combined with emerging new markets for forest products and ecosystem services, creates new challenges as well as new opportunities for people and for forest conservation. Enabling communities to conserve implies new management approaches, new research models, new models of organization and capacity-building and new relations between local people and the state. But creating an enabling environment also has a large payoff, both in conservation and in community well-being.

    Who Owns the World's Forests?

    Who Owns the World's Forests?

    Andy White, Alejandra Martin - Forest Trends

     

    This growing global recognition of the importance of property rights is mirrored by longstanding preoccupation with rights issues at local levels. The questions of who owns the forests, who claims them, who has access to them and further, who should own them, are hotly contested in many forest regions of the world. These are often the primary concerns of local people most directly dependent on forest resources.

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