TFD recommends full-scale dialogue in forests and poverty reduction

Geneva, 3 August 2006 – The Forests Dialogue (TFD) convened a "scoping" dialogue to present numerous questions regarding forests and poverty reduction to a group of experts. The dialogue attempted to identify areas of potential collaboration amongst diverse stakeholders to increase forestry's potential to create poverty reduction initiatives.

The topics of discussion, which took place from 19-21 June 2006 in South Africa, included

• the forest sector's role in poverty reduction
• how can timber, pulp and paper reduce poverty, and
• how can poor communities contribute to sustainable forestry.

The scoping dialogue confirmed that there are enough positive trends to warrant a major push to scale up pro-poor commercial forestry and recommends a full-scale dialogue process as a means to generate practical action towards meeting these requirements.

Dialogue participants, representing forest companies, NGOs, IGOs, labour, development agencies, and research institutions, shared knowledge and experience to highlight some of the key challenges and opportunities of pursuing commercial wood production  as a mechanism to lift people out of poverty.

While the meeting was global in scope, learning and challenges from South Africa featured prominently through field visits and presentations. Local initiatives, such as outgrower schemes in rural cpmmunities, enriched discussions by offering pragmatic examples of ‘pro-poor’ forestry which participants could discuss, challenge and assess.

Main Conclusions of the Scoping Dialogue

1. Commercial forestry has real potential to produce wealth
   The potential of forestry to produce wealth for poor people, through timber or fibre production, and solid wood and pulp and paper processing has been underemphasized as compared to the safety net functions of forests which reduce poverty through provision of fuelwood, grazing, non-timber forests products (such as fruits), etc. However, commercial forestry can also offer safety nets and address other nonincome environmental deprivations facing the poor, as well as deprivations in terms of rights, skills and connections. But this is not automatic: the way that commercial forestry is operated is key. Factors such as efficiency and effectiveness are important, but careful consideration of equity in structuring, corporate-community partnerships and formal/informal employment relationships must also be added.
   
   
   
2. Pro-poor commercial forestry can take many different forms
   Models of pro-poor commercial forestry may include
1. effective management of public forests, efficient revenue capture, and expenditure of this revenue on a variety of pro-poor developments;
2. small and medium enterprises run by, and/or employing, poor people; and
3. large enterprises that directly engage in equitable partnerships with poor people.
   
However, the precise economics and social implications of such models are not yet entirely clear. For instance, discussion highlighted the complexities of out-sourcing silvicultural treatments, harvesting and hauling functions, as well as the conflicting role of technology that increases productivity yet reduces employment. Clearly, finding a balance between profit optimization and equitable benefit sharing between poor people and forest companies will be essential towards realizing pro-poor forestry.


3. Enabling conditions and key drivers steering commercial forestry towards poverty reduction
   Through discussions and working groups, participants identified a number of enabling conditions and key drivers that are helping to realize forestry’s potential to reduce poverty. Significant progress could be made when several of these conditions and drivers are more strongly linked.

• Scoping Dialogue on Poverty Reduction through Commercial Forestry - Co-Chairs’ Summary Report ( 190 kb)

Author Thorsten Arndt Publication Date 3 Aug 2006 Document Type WBCSD news Issue/Topic Development Forest Products Source WBCSD Include In RSS WBCSD News & Updates		190 kb