Executive Summary PPD 8/93 (F)

Transcription

1 INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBER COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON REFORESTATION AND FOREST MANAGEMENT Distr. GENERAL CRF(XXIX)/6 24 August 2001 Original: ENGLISH I T T O TWENTY-NINTH SESSION 29 October 3 November 2001 Yokohama, Japan Executive Summary PPD 8/93 (F) Demonstration Areas for Sustainable Management of Production Forests Report on the Status of the Pre-project Implementation Prepared for ITTO by Arnold Egli (Switzerland) and Jose Antonio Villa-Lopera (Colombia)

2 I Acronyms A = Africa ACM = Adaptive Collaborative Management (CIFOR) CC = Consumer Countries of ITTO CMFN = Canadian Model Forest Network CIFOR = Center for International Forestry Research C & I = Criteria and Indicators CRF = Committee for Reforestation and Forest Management (former PCF) DA = Demonstration Area FMU = Forest Management Unit FSC = Forest Stewart Council IMFN = International Model Forest Network IMFNS = International Model Forest Network Secretariat LA = Latin America MF = Model Forest NTFP = Non Timber Forest Products PC = Producer Countries of ITTO PCF = Permanent Committee on Reforestation and Forest Management SEA = South East Asia SFM = Sustainable Forest Management

3 II Executive Summary PPD 8/93 Demonstration Areas for Sustainable Management of Production Forests Report on the status of the Pre-project implementation Background Since ITTO engaged in the promotion of Sustainable Management of Tropical Production Forest the Organization and most of its members never ceased to emphasize the importance of Demonstration Areas for the implementation of Sustainable Management of Production Forests. A pre-project entitled Demonstration Area(s) for Sustainable Management of Production Forests was prepared, presented and approved as PPD 8/93 (F) during ITTC Session in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) in May The project was built on the following two objectives: To create awareness of the actual level of performance in achieving sustainable management of tropical production forests; To stimulate activities directed to improving the quality of management of production forests. The Environment Committee of The Japan Lumber Importer s Association (JLIA) agreed to finance the Pre-project in the same year, and it was launched soon thereafter. More than seventy projects and pre-projects in the field of Reforestation and Forest Management, often emphasizing their characteristic as a Demonstration Area, have been implemented and financed by ITTO member countries during the following years. The Pre-project itself, however, met many difficulties during its implementation and progressed rather slowly and sometimes not all. In 1999, an intermediate progress report was presented to the Committee for Reforestation and Forest Management (CRF, the former PCF) by the Head of the CRF Division of ITTO. The CRF agreed to the report and recommended that the ITTO Secretariat should hire two consultants in May 1999 to complete the Pre-project activities. Sources of Information The following sources of information have been consulted in preparation for the report on the status of the Pre-Project implementation: - Documentation for the Pre-project at the Secretariat (including the PPD, intermediate reports, etc.) - ITTO Session papers related to the Pre-project - Answers of twelve producer countries and of five consumer countries to the Questionnaire Interviews with people met during the consultants field visits in Bolivia, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, Malaysia and Mexico - Documentation the consultants gathered on duty and during the field visits. - Main official publications by ITTO relating directly to SFM such as policy papers, action plans, agreements, etc. - Information retrieved from Internet sites related directly to demonstration areas / demonstration forests / Model Forests and networking on SFM, DA/MF.

4 III Working steps The two consultants met during one week at the ITTO Secretariat in July, 2000, to coordinate the future work with the staff, to review the status of the pre-project, to go over background material on the subject and to prepare the Consultation 2000 process on DAs among all member countries of ITTO. At the end of this first meeting, they prepared a first report for the Secretariat providing rationale and planning for the work to be undertaken as well as the main lines of an intermediate report to be presented to the CRF in November of While waiting for the answers to the questionnaire by the end of October 2000, a program of field visits for the two consultants was set up. After the review of the answers to the questionnaire and the field visits to the International Model forest Network in Mexico and Canada, a project proposal was prepared and submitted to the Expert Panel in December of During the following months (2001), field visits to Bolivia, Cameroon, Colombia and Malaysia followed as well as continued preparation of the present report and the project proposal revision according to recommendations made by the Expert Panel and main lines of the present report. Both documents are submitted to the ITTO Secretariat by mid-june, Results and Conclusion The importance of Demonstration Areas of Production Forests According to the Secretariat s estimates, as of December 1999, a total just short of 1.5 million hectares of production forest in different member countries were under ITTO-supported forest management, conservation areas not included. This is a significant achievement, even though the projects included are at different stages of implementation, and only a few are currently harvesting. The ITTO could continue to build on this by using the current status of these areas as a baseline from which to measure progress in future. A regular assessment of the management of this sample using Criteria and Indicators (ITTO, 1998 and 1999) could provide a useful gauge for the extent of sustainably managed ITTO forests and sustainably sourced timber. Review of Pre-project s documentation After the Pre-project was launched in 1993, sixteen producer countries proposed eighteen Forest Areas to be managed as Demonstration Areas by the end of This situation shows the great interest of the producer countries. The fact that there was almost no follow-up also shows that many other obstacles prevented the real take-off of the Pre-project. This was mainly due to: - an over-optimistic pre-project design and/or under-budgeting, - the initiative being launched concurrently with other important issues that were in the forefront, like the development, testing and application of Criteria & Indicators, discussions of timber and forest management certification and market issues, etc., - unrealistic assignment of responsibilities and work overload in the Secretariat, - missing definitions of goals and dynamics for implementation, although the Pre-project can be considered a very important initiative regarding SFM, - lack of a substantial follow-up on behalf of the Pre-project after producer countries proposed Demonstration Areas for SFM; ITTO member countries preferred to develop alternative strategies for SFM, - the initiative causing (and still causing) fears similar to those created by the certification initiative which prevented many ITTO member countries from engaging in the DA initiative in order to achieve SFM. Consultation 2000 Twelve (or 40%) producer member countries and five (19%) consumer member countries of ITTO answered the consultation The evaluation of the answers shows that producer

5 IV countries are still interested in establishing Demonstration Areas, and the countries answering made it clear that they are ready to make important contributions to all aspects concerning the establishment of DAs in their countries. They are also very interested in participating in an ITTO Network of DAs. At the same time they emphasize the importance of the consumer countries support of the ITTO initiative for SFM. To get this support seems to be another thing. Twentyone consumer countries did not answer the questionnaire, only five did. They, however, appear to be very interested in the establishment of further Demonstration Areas for SFM Some of them already contribute to existing DAs with the ITTO (e. g., Australia, Japan, Switzerland). Canada and Japan are already involved in other networks for DAs (MFs). The answering countries made very useful comments and proposed important amendments to the set of criteria for the selection of Demonstration Areas. The comments point out that: - Criteria 3 (referring to the size of the area), 4 (secured land tenure), 8 (good representation) and 9 (accessibility) are important for a suitable forest area to be selected as a demonstration area; - Criteria 1 should refer to the ITTO s Year 2000 Objective for selection; - Canada recommends that the criteria should go beyond simple production values and embrace the need to treat the multiple values of forests in a comprehensive and holistic manner and should not be concerned timber production and harvesting (Criterion 1) exclusively; - Criteria & Indicators has to be carried out regularly (Criterion 2); - It is recommended that the size (Criterion 3) is not a limiting factor for a forest area to be selected as a DA. - Compliance with criterion 2 (regular monitoring of harvest activities) and 5 (involvement of stakeholders into the forest area's management and protection system) should gradually be reached, if that isn t the case yet. Field Visits Cameroon The So o lala Forest Area, proposed by the Cameroon government as DA for SFM, responds to most of the initial criteria for an ITTO DA: A natural forest of appropriate size that is representative for a great part of Cameroon s rain forest (approx. 35'000 ha). Its land tenure is secured. There is an operational forest management plan approved by the government. A contact with a concessionaire has been established and timber harvesting has started. The area is easily accessible. First contacts with stakeholders seem to be well established. Activities are developed under PD 27/99 Rev. 2 (F). We think, therefore, that So o lala might become a strong member of a future ITTO Network of Demonstration Areas on SFM for Production Forests in tropical Africa and worldwide.malaysia Malaysia Without any doubt, Malaysia s MFMA is one of the best candidates for becoming an active demonstration area within the ITTO initiative. It would probably be one of the best options for ITTO and member countries to develop this project area into a global or a regional training center intended for SFM and the fulfillment of ITTO objectives and action plans. This DA is an outstanding possibility for the promotion of sustainable forest mangement for the entire Island of Borneo. Bolivia Bolivia s economy has suffered a strong recession during last years and the timber industry in Pando has resented that situation. Some concessions even had to suspended operations. The risk of this is having forests scorched and land converted to other uses. If the timber industries do not find a way to contribute to socio-economic development while maintaining a management with a friendly disposition towards environmental issues, then that risk will become a reality in short time. Important natural forested areas in the Amazon Basin stand to be lost.

6 V It is the consultant s opinion that Bolivia, Pando and ITTO should continue the efforts initiated by PD 24/97 Rev.1 (F) but concentrate the work on a single concession area in order to develop it into a model for other concessions in Pando, Bolivia and the Amazon Basin. Colombia The Pilot Area of Olaya Herrera could participate actively in the ITTO DA initiative. This is not because the area can be seen right now as a superbly managed area for timber production. It is because most, if not all, criteria proposed in the 2000 questioning process could be fulfilled, if the exercise is undertaken as a process allowing progress from the actual condition to that of a DA. The base line provided by the C&I project, the willingness of the population and institutions are assets hard to find in other settings. This area could be very interesting to ITTO Members as a representative of the natural forests of the Pacific Corridor, also known as Biopacific, located all along Panama, Colombia and Ecuador. International Model Forest Network The concept of MFs for SFM is a valuable answer to combat the worldwide threats against forests. The concept is very flexible and adaptable to many different ecological, economic, social and cultural contexts for forest land use. Starting a MF process asks for very little preconditions. It is probably one of the working approaches to SFM that most consequently emphasizes building of partnerships right from the beginning. Consequent further development of the partnership and care taking can be very motivating to most stakeholders. A good organization of the MF and the application of a transparent planning methodology promoting large participation among stakeholders and a good database for information are very important for a secured progress towards SFM. Research, education, information and networking are essential activities to MFs. MFs offer important opportunities for experimentation at a one-to-one scale for all aspects important to SFM. MFs can furnish important impulses for forest policy making and for community organization at a regional and national level. Depending on the socio-economic context, costs for MFs can be rather low as the Mexican example shows. In other places, important differences may occur. For all those forest landowners who seek to affiliate with a certification scheme for wood products and SFM, MFs create a very useful basis. The concept offers many opportunities for cooperation among national and international organizations and networks. Today the concept is internationally recognized. In 2000, the G8 summit in Japan considered the MF concept a very useful tool to attain the goal of SFM of world-wide forest resources. Many ITTO producer member countries already cooperate or show interest to cooperate with IMFN. Therefore, we think the Canadian MF concept has a good chance to become an internationally recognized concept for SFM, despite the fact that especially European and African countries do not actually show much interest in the concept. RIL Conference It was concluded that RIL is not only possible, but it is a necessary if costly tool. RIL needs new attitudes and approaches, incentives, additional or new equipment, supervision, a link to research and training and a lot of qualified training. Training requires specialized centers, a trainers training program, new forestry schools programs, etc. The question of who pays for the costs and who earns the benefits is still an open subject the ITTO may help to solve. The ITTO DA initiative is both a very good tool and one of the best opportunities for the Organization to forge ahead. Review of other and related initiatives to demonstration areas As presented in subheading 6 (Part II), each agency, program or project dealing with DA, MF or SFM initiatives and tools, has its own profile and attributes. It is also clear that organizations are undertaking complementary initiatives and measures to attain SFM. However, the main point is that they are establishing partnership approaches for that purpose. In the opinion of consultants, the ITTO has the following options for action in this matter: - To commit itself as a whole organization to sufficiently fund (funds for administration and coordination and funds to co-invest at field level) a global project of DAs to be implemented in the habitual way the ITTO manages its project cycle and decision making bodies.

7 VI - To establish a partnership program with allied agencies in DA implementation and development. As suggested, this could be done in cooperation with one or more of the FAO regional offices, CIFOR IMFN or other CRF or secretariats of selected agencies for multilateral cooperation. The New Project Proposal So far, the general objectives of the Pre-project have not been met. ITTO and Member countries will need a new effort to bring forward the ITTO s initiative on Demonstration Areas for the sustainable management of production forests. Today the initial idea of the Pre-project is still very timely as many initiatives outside the ITTO also focusing on SFM prove. In combination with the recently developed tool of Criteria & Indicators by ITTO - and with timber and forest management certification eventually - it is hard to imagine that there could be a more efficient instrument for ITTO to induce producer countries to adopt SFM. The Pre-project s main ideas, therefore, have been brought into a separate project proposal. It provides the framework for installing Demonstration Areas for SFM in interested producer countries and for the planned ITTO Network. With this the proposed project on DA for SFM and DA networking is well in line with the ITTC decisions 7, 8 and 10 (XXX) regarding cooperation with other agencies and for timber certification Recommendations As mentioned above ITTO has two main options for action on DAs initiative for SFM: - To commit itself as a whole organization to sufficiently fund (funds for administration and coordination and funds to co-invest at field level) a global project of DAs to be implemented in the habitual way the ITTO manages its project cycle and decision making bodies. - To establish a partnership program with allied agencies in DA implementation and development. As suggested, this could be done in cooperation with one or more of the FAO regional offices, CIFOR IMFN or other CRF or secretariats of selected agencies for multilateral cooperation. These are not mutually exclusive options, as, in fact, both are most desirable. The first one allows ITTO to develop and keep its identity and vitality in its specialized field of action. The second one allows ITTO more opportunities for networking-work and efficiency.

8 VII For ITTO 1. To undertake the next steps for DAs under full commitment, including funding of a global project, appointing a dedicated and full-time staff, providing support for nominations of DAs and giving clear signals to members about the steps to follow for financing and operating Demonstration Areas for Sustainable Forest Management. Other recommendations to ITTO are: 2. To see the DA initiative as a developing process allowing each country to adapt to it and succeed according to its own particularities; 3. To clearly define DAs, preferably by an expert panel; clarify procedures for nomination, funding, implementation, evaluation, experience sharing and dissemination of results and achievements; 4. To help establish, in the near future, at least three regional DAs, one in each of the three most important tropical forest regions; 5. To start a formal networking effort and form partnerships with relevant international organizations sharing similar and complementary interests in SFM; To producer members: 6. To pay full attention to the DA initiative in order to became active in the decision-making processes of ITTO s concept on DAs and in DA implementation; 7. To prepare project proposals to establish DAs for SFM to be presented to the ITTO; 8. To seek ways to provide appropriate local and national funds for the establishment of DAs within the ITTO and the ITTO Network for DAs; To consumer members 9. To fully commit to the DA initiative by participating actively in the decision-making process and contributing appropriate funding for DA for SFM project proposals made by interested producer countries; 10. To make important efforts at home to allow products from sustainably managed forests to enter the markets freely and fairly.