Cross-sectoral policy impacts in forestry - Examples from within and outside FAO

Public policies related to special economic sectors

Cash crops

Number

Name

Affiliation

Department

Manuel Paveri

FAO

FONP

Country

Area/region

Continent

Other countries with similar policies

Bolivia

South and Central America

Income

Forest cover

Policy involved

Main policy area

Low

High

Public policies related to special economic sectors: Cash crops

Forest/socio-economic classifications

Lowland forest in the humid tropics with a low population density, also highland and mountain forest in a tropical or temperate region

Scale of impact (-3 to +3)

Forest cover

Forest alteration

Management capacity

Forest product processors

Markets & demands

Forest products supply

Soil & water

Socio-economic effects

-1

Summary

Forest in Bolivia has recently been cleared for to make way for coca plantation from which farmers may profit a good deal more than from traditional agriculture.

Policy name or reference

Supporting references, web sites, etc.

Number

Name

Affiliation

Department

Kari Keipi

Inter-American Development Bank

Country/ies

Area/region

Continent

Other countries with similar policies

Brazil

South and Central America

Peru, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Honduras, etc

Income

Forest cover

Policy involved

Main policy area

High

Yes

Public policies related to special economic sectors: Cash crops

Forest/socio-economic classifications

Lowland forest in the humid tropics with a low population density, also highland and mountain forest in a tropical or temperate region

Scale of impact (-3 to +3)

Forest cover

Forest alteration

Management capacity

Forest product processors

Markets & demands

Forest products supply

Soil & water

Socio-economic effects

-2

-1

Summary

Policies favouring agriculture through provision of subsidies have resulted in deforestation in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Honduras, etc.

Policy name or reference

Supporting references, web sites, etc.

Number

Name

Affiliation

Department

Miguel Trossero

FAO

FOPW

Country/ies

Area/region

Continent

Other countries with similar policies

Costa Rica

South and Central America

Income

Forest cover

Policy involved

Main policy area

Low

High

Yes

Public policies related to special economic sectors: Cash crops

Forest/socio-economic classifications

Lowland forest in the humid tropics with a high population density,

Scale of impact (-3 to +3)

Forest cover

Forest alteration

Management capacity

Forest product processors

Markets & demands

Forest products supply

Soil & water

Socio-economic effects

-1

Summary

A credit facility to increase Macadamia nut production in Costa Rica for export markets led to forest clearance.

Policy name or reference

Supporting references, web sites, etc.

Number

Name

Affiliation

Department

Luc Dubreuil

FAO

TCII

Country/ies

Area/region

Continent

Other countries with similar policies

Cote d'Ivoire

Africa

Income

Forest cover

Policy involved

Main policy area

Low

High

Public policies related to special economic sectors: Cash crops

Forest/socio-economic classifications

Lowland forest in the humid tropics with a low population density,

Scale of impact (-3 to +3)

Forest cover

Forest alteration

Management capacity

Forest product processors

Markets & demands

Forest products supply

Soil & water

Socio-economic effects

-2

-1

Summary

In Cote d'Ivoire there has been invasion of forestland for cocoa cultivation. This has often been at the behest of powerful individuals whose primary interest is to profit from cocoa sales.

Policy name or reference

Supporting references, web sites, etc.

Number

Name

Affiliation

Department

Jeremy Broadhead

FAO

FONP

Country/ies

Area/region

Continent

Other countries with similar policies

Indonesia

Kalimantan, Sumatra and recently, Irian Jaya

Asia

Income

Forest cover

Policy involved

Main policy area

Low

High

Yes

Public policies related to special economic sectors: Cash crops

Forest/socio-economic classifications

Lowland forest in the humid tropics with a low population density,

Scale of impact (-3 to +3)

Forest cover

Forest alteration

Management capacity

Forest product processors

Markets & demands

Forest products supply

Soil & water

Socio-economic effects

-3

-2

Summary

Oil palm plantation establishment in Indonesia expanded through the 1990s as a result of demand for palm oil and facilitation by the Government. By 1995 investors had applied for permits to convert a total of 20 million hectares of forestland into oil palm plantation, an area equal to 10% of Indonesia's landmass. Companies used fire as a cheap and fast method of forest clearance, without having first obtained all the necessary permits and were then allowed by the government to plant the land with oil palm. In 1999 a regulation was released that allows plantation companies to establish tree crops in forest areas previously allocated to logging companies.

Policy name or reference

Supporting references, web sites, etc.

Wakker, E (2000) Funding Forest Destruction. The Involvement of Dutch Banks in the Financing of Oil Palm Plantations in Indonesia. Commissioned by Greenpeace

Number

Name

Affiliation

Department

Patrick Durst

FAO

FAORAP

Country/ies

Area/region

Continent

Other countries with similar policies

Indonesia

Asia

Income

Forest cover

Policy involved

Main policy area

Low

High

Yes

Public policies related to special economic sectors: Cash crops

Forest/socio-economic classifications

Lowland forest in the humid tropics with a low population density,

Scale of impact (-3 to +3)

Forest cover

Forest alteration

Management capacity

Forest product processors

Markets & demands

Forest products supply

Soil & water

Socioeconomic effects

-2

-1

Summary

Agricultural, industrial and trade policies are encouraging the expansion of rubber plantations (in Indonesia), often at the expense of natural forests. Scale: hundreds of thousands (millions?) of hectares The changes are largely a result of the availability of credit and subsidies for plantation development, lax land-use regulations and relatively high prices for rubber.

Policy name or reference

Supporting references, web sites, etc.

CIFOR is one of the best sources of information and studies on this.

Number

Name

Affiliation

Department

Suffyan Koroma

FAO

ESCB

Country/ies

Area/region

Continent

Other countries with similar policies

Viet nam

Asia

Income

Forest cover

Policy involved

Main policy area

Low

High

Public policies related to special economic sectors: Cash crops

Forest/socio-economic classifications

Lowland forest in the humid tropics with a high population density,

Scale of impact (-3 to +3)

Forest cover

Forest alteration

Management capacity

Forest product processors

Markets & demands

Forest products supply

Soil & water

Socio-economic effects

-2

Summary

Recent rapid increases in coffee production in Vietnam have been at the expense of forests, which were cleared to establish plantations.

Policy name or reference

Supporting references, web sites, etc.

Number

Name

Affiliation

Department

Jim Bourke

FAO

FOPH

Country/ies

Area/region

Continent

Other countries with similar policies

New Zealand

Farming areas

Ocean

Income

Forest cover

Policy involved

Main policy area

High

Yes

Public policies related to special economic sectors: Cash crops

Forest/socio-economic classifications

Temperate and boreal forest in an industrialised country with a market economy,

Scale of impact (-3 to +3)

Forest cover

Forest alteration

Management capacity

Forest product processors

Markets & demands

Forest products supply

Soil & water

Socio-economic effects

-2

-1

Summary

New Zealand agricultural subsidies prior to market liberalisation and structural adjustment in 1984 resulted in impacts on forests. Fertiliser subsidies made forest clearance for sheep pasture economically viability. When the subsidies were removed, which were highest in low productivity areas, forest regrew.

Policy name or reference

Supporting references, web sites, etc.

http://www.rri.org/envatlas/oceania/new-zealand/nz-index.html

Subsistence crops

Number

Name

Affiliation

Department

Miguel Trossero

FAO

FOPW

Country/ies

Area/region

Continent

Other countries with similar policies

Mexico

Oaxaca

South and Central America

Income

Forest cover

Policy involved

Main policy area

High

Yes

Public policies related to special economic sectors: Subsistence crops

Forest/socio-economic classifications

Lowland forest in the humid tropics with a high population density,

Scale of impact (-3 to +3)

Forest cover

Forest alteration

Management capacity

Forest product processors

Markets & demands

Forest products supply

Soil & water

Socio-economic effects

-1

Summary

Financial support for small farmers in Mexico was given for shifting cultivation that resulted in an unsustainable level of forest clearance.

Policy name or reference

Supporting references, web sites, etc.

Number		Name			Affiliation					Department
40		Claus Eckelmann			FAO					FAOSLAC
Country/ies		Area/region			Continent		Other countries with similar policies
Trinidad & Tobago					South & Central America
Income		Forest cover			Policy involved		Main policy area
High		High			No		Public policies related to special economic sectors: Subsistence crops
Forest/socio-economic classifications

Scale of impact (-3 to +3)
Forest cover	Forest alteration		Management capacity	Forest product processors		Markets & demands		Forest products supply	Soil & water		Socio-economic effects
-2	-1		0	0		0		1	-2		1
Summary
Over the last 50 years the island Trinidad (State: Trinidad and Tobago) has lost approximately one third of its forest cover. This is a personal estimate since exact figures are not available. Much of the forest lost is attributed to squatting, the unauthorised occupation of forestland (forest reserves and other state lands) for agriculture and in most cases subsistence farming. The Forestry Department, even being one of the largest in the Caribbean was not in a position to stop or reverse this development. This is due partly to lack of institutional capacity with in the department, but also due to a lack of political support. All current political developments indicate that the squatters will remain with their lands and that they will become the official owners. This process may take years and may even increase the pressure on forest land since others squatters may be encouraged to occupy more land since there is now an increased chance to become the legal land owner.
Policy name or reference

Supporting references, web sites, etc.
Possibly TFAP for Trinidad and Tobago and FAO Forestry Paper 137/2. But both documents are not specific in describing developments outside Government’s intentions. Also GOTT/FOA/001 Project "Upper Watershed Management Plan for the Maracas Watershed with reports from Krayenhagen", Jack and Goswami (approx. 1982).

Number		Name			Affiliation					Department
41		Suffyan Koroma			FAO					ESCB
Country/ies		Area/region			Continent		Other countries with similar policies
Guinea					Africa
Income		Forest cover			Policy involved		Main policy area
Low		High			No		Public policies related to special economic sectors: Subsistence crops
Forest/socio-economic classifications
Lowland forest in the humid tropics with a low population density,
Scale of impact (-3 to +3)
Forest cover	Forest alteration		Management capacity	Forest product processors		Markets & demands		Forest products supply	Soil & water		Socio-economic effects
-1	0		0	0		0		1	0		1
Summary
Malaysian companies, under BERNAS (Malaysian rice corporation) are investing in rice production in Guinea because there is a shortage of fertile land in Malaysia. This has led to forest clearance
Policy name or reference

Supporting references, web sites, etc.

Number

Name

Affiliation

Department

Hassan AbdelNour

FAO

FAORNE

Country/ies

Continent

Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen

Asia

Income

Forest cover

Policy involved

Main policy area

All

Low

Public policies related to special economic sectors: Subsistence crops

Forest/socio-economic classifications

Lowland forest in the humid tropics with a high population density

Scale of impact (-3 to +3)

Forest cover

Forest alteration

Management capacity

Forest product processors

Markets & demands

Forest products supply

Soil & water

Socio-economic effects

-2

Summary

The greater majority of countries in the Near East Region (NER) do not have sound, functional or effective forest sector policies. As a result, the inherent low forest cover of the region is dwindling fast in the face of clearance for agriculture and urbanisation. This is the situation in individual countries. The summation of it reflects the situation in NER as a whole. The total forest cover of NER in 2000 is estimated at 50 Million Hectares (ha), equivalent to 3.7% of the total surface area of the region and to less than 1% of the world's forests. The meagre cover is shrinking annually at an estimated rate of 500 000 ha. The situation is compounded by the same effect in neighbouring/ concentric regions. Due to the lack of effective forest sector policies, coupled with other factors, the forest cover of the watershed and along the course of the Nile System is disappearing at an even faster rate in such Basin Countries as Ethiopia and Sudan. The forest cover of Ethiopia is reported to have been reduced from 40 to only 4% during the last 50 years, while that of Sudan has gone down from 34 to just around 20% over the outgoing century.

The first sufferers are the very "culprit" sectors themselves and subsequently other economic sectors and hence the entire populations. Nearly all countries of NER are suffering present or imminent shortage of water supply and/or quality with worse future prospects. The shortage in supply and reduction in quality manifest themselves more in such sectors as irrigation, hydropower generation and domestic supply. Other negative impacts of deforestation in NER countries are reflected in the spread of desert-like conditions, change in course of river systems and bank erosion, sand dune encroachment on human settlements, agricultural areas and antiquities/historic sites together with carbon pollution in many cities in the region.

Besides the consequent shortage in the supply of forest products (particularly wood fuel and browse material for domestic livestock and wildlife) and forest services (as highlighted in the previous paragraph), many unique historic monuments, forest type and associations together with their biological diversity are being lost; not just by the peoples of the particular countries or the region but for humanity at large. The following are but examples:

- The displacement of populations in Northern Sudan due to loss of agricultural land through bank erosion and river meandering induced by sand encroachment,

- The loss of cultural heritage in Northern Sudan through burial under encroaching sand,

- The on-going disappearance of Mangrove Associations (Avicennia marina and Rhizophora mucronata) from their northernmost distribution limits in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Sudan;

- That of the invaluable 'Arrar' Associations (Juniperous procera) from the littoral on both sides of the Red Sea in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Sudan;

- That of the unique and truly invaluable biological diversity in Soqatra Island in Yemen; and

- That of the rapid removal of the last remnants of the Acacia/Balanites association in the Northern Hemisphere in Central Sudan.

Policy name or reference

Supporting references, web sites, etc.

FAO (2001). State of The World's Forests 2001. FAO Rome; FAO (2001). Preliminary Results of Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) 2000. FAO Rome.; World Bank's Nile Basin Initiative (2001).

Number

Name

Affiliation

Department

Mette Loyche Wilkie

FAO

FORM

Country/ies

Area/region

Continent

Other countries with similar policies

DPR Korea

Sloping lands

Asia

Income

Forest cover

Policy involved

Main policy area

Low

High

Yes

Public policies related to special economic sectors: Subsistence crops

Forest/socio-economic classifications

Other, Temperate continental forest

Scale of impact (-3 to +3)

Forest cover

Forest alteration

Management capacity

Forest product processors

Markets & demands

Forest products supply

Soil & water

Socio-economic effects

-1

Summary

Following drought and floods in North Korea temporary permits were given to farm on sloping land from which forest was therefore cleared. It appears, however, that the move will be permanent.

Policy name or reference

Supporting references, web sites, etc.

Number

Name

Affiliation

Department

Patrick Durst/Murugesu Pushparajah

FAO

FAORAP/UNDP

Country

Area/region

Continent

Other countries with similar policies

Myanmar

Ayerwaddy Delta

Asia

Income

Forest cover

Policy involved

Main policy area

High

Yes

Public policies related to special economic sectors: Subsistence crops

Forest/socio-economic classifications

Lowland forest in the humid tropics with a low population density,

Scale of impact (-3 to +3)

Forest cover

Forest alteration

Management capacity

Forest product processors

Markets & demands

Forest products supply

Soil & water

Socio-economic effects

-2

Summary

Government policy of promoting rice production/intensification was supported by donors and ADB-supported in Myanmar and has encouraged the rapid clearing, drainage and irrigation of thousands of hectares of mangroves in the Ayerwaddy Delta region. 51% of the mangrove forest was lost between 1974 and 1995 in two of the townships (brackish and saline water areas), and almost 100 % in one township (fresh water area). The annual decrease of forest cover over 21 years (1974-95), in percent based on the 1974 mangrove area was 2.4 %, compared to national forest depletion rate of 0.68 %. Landless people and others saw the policies,, as an opportunity to grab and own land from forest reserves. There have been no studies carried out on the impact of food drive and mangrove deforestation in the delta. There has been a lack of intensified production of existing paddy areas and double cropping with paddy has not given the desired results, whereas new pest and diseases have emerged and the loss of mangroves is clearly visible in the declining yield of fish and reduced protection of shore lines.

Policy name or reference

Supporting references, web sites, etc.

The following gives facts and figures on mangrove deforestation between 1974 and 1995: Land Use Mapping of Ayeywaddy Mangroves, Consultant Report – Prepared by GAF, Company for Applied Remote Sensing, March 1996, Yangon and Munich, March 1996

Number

Name

Affiliation

Department

Nadia Scialabba

FAO

SDRN

Country

Area/region

Continent

Other countries with similar policies

Viet nam

Mekong Delta

Asia

Income

Forest cover

Policy involved

Main policy area

Low

High

Yes

Public policies related to special economic sectors: Subsistence crops

Forest/socio-economic classifications

Lowland forest in the humid tropics with a high population density,

Scale of impact (-3 to +3)

Forest cover

Forest alteration

Management capacity

Forest product processors

Markets & demands

Forest products supply

Soil & water

Socio-economic effects

Summary

Benefits of single trees or patches of trees for agriculture: An illustration of the beneficial role single trees and patches of forests have in maintaining or improving the agricultural carrying capacity of flood plains is given by the following example of the restoration of seriously degraded flood lands in the Mekong delta in Viet Nam. Melaleuca leucadendron, a tree 10 to 20 m tall, once covered an area of 250 000 ha in low-lying, seasonally inundated areas in the Mekong delta in Viet Nam. Years of unmanaged harvesting for fuelwood and the clearing of land for other uses gradually reduced and degraded the Melaleuca forests. During the war in the 1960s and 1970s, a large portion of the Mekong delta was drained and burned. Once the soil dried out, sulphur rose to the surface, reducing the soil pH to 3.9 or lower. Crops, including rice, could not be grown and local people were forced to leave. After the hostilities, local people made tremendous efforts to restore agriculture on the plain. In so doing, they came to realise that the pH of the soil had to be increased. This could only be achieved through watering the soil with fresh water and planting trees. Fresh water was brought on to the plain by new canals, and millions of Melaleuca trees were planted on the most acid soils, since it was the only species that would grow in these conditions. This massive tree planting activity has made the area prosper again also as farmland. In addition, native plant and animal species are gradually returning to the plain. Not only freshwater fish, but also turtles and especially water birds have returned in surprising numbers, thus once again providing a source of food and additional income to local people. (Integrated coastal area management FAO 1998).

Policy name or reference

Supporting references, web sites, etc.

Scialabba, N. (ed.) 1998. Integrated coastal area management and agriculture, forestry and fisheries. FAO Guidelines. Environment and Natural Resources Service, FAO, Rome. 256 p.

Number

Name

Affiliation

Department

Oudara Souvannavong

FAO

FORC

Country/ies

Area/region

Continent

Other countries with similar policies

European Union countries

Europe

Income

Forest cover

Policy involved

Main policy area

High

Yes

Public policies related to special economic sectors: Subsistence crops

Forest/socio-economic classifications

Temperate and boreal forest in an industrialised country with a market economy,

Scale of impact (-3 to +3)

Forest cover

Forest alteration

Management capacity

Forest product processors

Markets & demands

Forest products supply

Soil & water

Socio-economic effects

Summary

Agricultural intensification in the EU has led to policies to take land out of production and into forest/woodland. Flanking measures were adopted in 1992 to accompany the CAP reform. These authorised aid for the environment, early retirement and forestry. As part of one of the main areas of reform -temporary set-aside or reallocating farmland to afforestation or non-food production - Council Regulation (EEC) No 2080/92 of 30 June 1992 (1) instituted a Community aid scheme for forestry measures in agriculture. The aid is part-financed by the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) to promote afforestation as an alternative use of agricultural land and the development of forestry activities on farms, in order to: - accompany the changes to be introduced under the market organisation rules, - contribute towards an eventual improvement in forest resources, - contribute towards forms of countryside management more compatible with environmental balance, - combat the greenhouse effect and absorb carbon dioxide. The Community provides 75% part-financing in Objective 1 regions and 50% in other regions under the EAGGF Guarantee Section. The aid scheme comprises aid for afforestation costs, a premium to cover maintenance of afforested areas, a premium to cover losses of income resulting from afforestation of agricultural land and investment aid for the improvement of woodlands belonging to farmers.

Policy name or reference

Supporting references, web sites, etc.

Report to Parliament and the Council on the application of Regulation (EEC) No 2080/92 instituting a Community aid scheme for forestry measures in agriculture (http://europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/fore/2080_en.pdf)

Number

Name

Affiliation

Department

Adrian Whiteman

FAO

FONS

Country/ies

Area/region

Continent

Other countries with similar policies

EU countries

Europe

Income

Forest cover

Policy involved

Main policy area

High

Yes

Public policies related to special economic sectors: Subsistence crops

Forest/socio-economic classifications

Temperate and boreal forest in an industrialised country with a market economy,

Scale of impact (-3 to +3)

Forest cover

Forest alteration

Management capacity

Forest product processors

Markets & demands

Forest products supply

Soil & water

Socio-economic effects

-3

-1

Summary

Agricultural subsidy often suppresses forestry and establishment of forests by raising the price of land and requiring therefore a greater investment to offset this increased value and to undertake forestry activities.

Policy name or reference

Treaty establishing the European Community (Common agricultural policy)

Supporting references, web sites, etc.

Treaty establishing the European Community,

http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/treaties/dat/ec_cons_treaty_en.pdf

Number

Name

Affiliation

Department

Michael Martin

FAO

FONS

Country/ies

Continent

Other countries with similar policies

WFP work in Sub-Saharan Africa, South/East Asia, North Africa/Middle East, Latin America/Caribbean, Europe/CIS

Several/all

Income

Forest cover

Policy involved

Main policy area

Low

All

Yes

Public policies related to special economic sectors: Subsistence crops

Forest/socio-economic classifications

Wide ranging effects

Scale of impact (-3 to +3)

Forest cover

Forest alteration

Management capacity

Forest product processors

Markets & demands

Forest products supply

Soil & water

Socio-economic effects

-3

-2

-3

Summary

The CAP and the US equivalent policies have guaranteed prices for agricultural produce but have also resulted in food surplus. The surplus may become part of the international food programme either through direct donations, low price sale or via credits supplied to countries in order that they may but the surplus. This results in the destabilisation of agricultural markets and therefore poses difficulties for farmers in making investments in land and farming (e.g. fences, trees, irrigation, and seeds) that could increase efficiency and allow continuous stable production. It may also force farmers to sell up where they are forced to default on loan repayments. Either as a result of selling up or not having a surplus to invest farming becomes more extensive and movement into frontier areas may be necessary both to produce food and to provide employment for the farmers. The power of the WTO may be limited in the effect it can have on these subsidies in the US and EU as the subsidies underpin their unity.

Policy name or reference

World Food Programme

Supporting references, web sites, etc.

Aid Dependence and the Quality of Governance: A Cross-Country Empirical Analysis. Stephen Knack, World Bank.

Number

Name

Affiliation

Department

Suffyan Koroma

FAO

ESCB

Country/ies

Area/region

Continent

Other countries with similar policies

World-wide

Several/all

Income

Forest cover

Policy involved

Main policy area

High

Low

Yes

Public policies related to special economic sectors: Subsistence crops

Forest/socio-economic classifications

Wide ranging effects

Scale of impact (-3 to +3)

Forest cover

Forest alteration

Management capacity

Forest product processors

Markets & demands

Forest products supply

Soil & water

Socio-economic effects

Summary

Genetic modification of cereals to reduce post harvest loss may result in lower land requirement for agriculture and may therefore reduce pressure on forests at the agricultural frontier.

Policy name or reference

Supporting references, web sites, etc.