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Between 2002 and 2012, FAO’s National Forest Programme Facility provided around 900 small grants to NGOs, academic and government institutions, as well as forest user associations, indigenous communities and other organizations in 80 developing countries. The grants, averaging around US$25,000, were designed to build national leadership and strengthen stakeholder engagement in the development and implementation of national forest programmes. The impact of these grants has shown that, with local support and participation, forests can be engines of growth that drive economic activity at all levels. Now, the programme is moving forward as the new Forest and Farm Facility. It will continue to provide small grants to local producer organizations, giving communities the opportunity and capacity to maintain and improve their own forests and have a voice in policy-making processes. It will also work to raise awareness of the wide-ranging contributions of forests – with a focus on building links with other sectors that depend on or are affected by this valuable resource, such as agriculture, energy, tourism and the economy.
FAO’s National Forest Program (NFP) Fund demonstrates that even in the world’s poorest countries, small grants to local organizations can have a significant impact. The Fund facilitates the sharing of best practices between countries, supports the revision or development of new policies, and has also supported successful regional initiatives, including the revitalization of forestry education in East Africa and the development of a forestry development strategy for the Congo Basin.
In Guatemala, the National Alliance for Community Forestry, made up of indigenous and forest user groups, received small grants to organize meetings and build communications networks to influence national and international policies. Within two years, it had become a political force representing 400,000 forest users.
In Liberia, despite a logging ban, corrupt operators continued to cut down forests and export timber. A small grant brought together geographically dispersed forest communities trying to protect their forests. In 2010, with support from the Fund, Liberia established the National Forest Program Platform, which includes the National Forest Forum and 15 national forest forums and a multi-stakeholder steering committee. Forest stakeholders now use this platform to discuss key issues related to natural resources and to improve information dissemination on policy issues.
In Cambodia, awareness-raising and capacity-building activities supported by the Fund have increased national capacity to participate in the national forest programme process. Building working relationships between civil society and community groups, development partners and government representatives, and ensuring trust, confidence and capacity are built, are huge challenges and take a long time to achieve. However, these efforts have achieved significant results in Cambodia.
Recognizing the contributions of local forest stakeholders
Today, 30% of the world’s forests are managed by local people, including smallholders, women, forest communities and indigenous peoples. Although in most cases their management practices are informal, these forest users still contribute significantly to the success of investments on the ground. However, they are often excluded from decision-making processes and lack access to economic and market opportunities. As the Fund has recognized in the 80 countries where it operates, smallholders do not participate in national processes if they are not organized. The contribution of the forest sector has become more visible in partner countries due to greater awareness among local implementing agencies.
These grants are specifically designed to engage smallholder stakeholders in policy and legal framework discussions, demonstrating that rural people can derive economic benefits from forests, thereby significantly improving their food security.
Raising visibility for the forestry sector
Building on the success of establishing stakeholder groups and giving foresters a greater voice in government, the new phase of the fund will be part of the Forest and Farm Facility. It will continue to provide guidance and small grants to local groups so they can better organize and therefore have representation in the process. However, as its name suggests, the Forest and Farm Facility will have a stronger focus on “cross-sectoral integration,” focusing on landscapes rather than just forests. This means it will work to raise awareness of the links between forests and other sectors that depend on or are affected by forests, such as agriculture, energy, water, trade, environment and even tourism. The forest sector is often marginalized and not considered a major contributor to national GDP or job creation because much of the activity is informal and contributions are often not counted in statistics. Often the contribution of forests to economic life is not fully appreciated until land starts to disappear.
Looking ahead, the new Forest and Farm Facility will continue to help stakeholders organize so they have representation and a voice in policy debates related to forests and farms. But with its broader landscape focus, the Facility will also ensure that the sector itself plays a more visible role in policymakers’ decisions on poverty reduction, food security and climate change.
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