FO:LACFC/2002/12

INTRODUCTION

1. Government policies and development objectives can have a profound impact on forest management, often in quite unexpected ways. While policies in the forest sector shape outcomes on the ground, those outside the sector can have even more impact. In the face of globalisation, this is no longer limited to national actions. As a result, efforts are being made to further understand the impacts of changes to reduce uncertainty, maximise synergies, and minimise undesirable effects.

2. Currently, the analysis on cross-sectoral linkages in forestry tends to focus on deforestation in the tropics. However, several studies demonstrate that many other important linkages affect a variety of forest functions. By the same token, positive impacts of forest policies on other sectors are not properly acknowledged. The multiple functions of forests and positive impacts from non-commodity outputs must, therefore, be carefully weighted both nationally and internationally.

Cross-sectoral links

3. A recent evaluation by the World Bank of its forest project portfolio revealed that interventions in other sectors affected forests and trees to a greater degree than the Bank's interventions in the forest sector itself. For example, this and other studies show that:

• structural adjustments to reduce government salary expenditures may have been desirable from a fiscal perspective but resulted in reduced capacity to carry out regulatory functions;
• improved roads to stimulate economic growth have attracted land-poor migrants to clear forests for agriculture; and
• increased demand for power has result in pressure to clear forest land to build more dams.

4. Similarly, forest policies have direct impacts on other sectors, particularly on agriculture for soil and water conservation.

5. Sectors are also linked by issues of common concern: poverty alleviation, food security, social equity, freedom of choice and access to resources, to name a few. Although none can be resolved unilaterally, forestry can provide an entry point. In this regard, collaboration to tackle common problems and use the comparative advantages of each sector requires coordination.

6. The FAO Forestry Department through its Forestry Policy and Institutions Branch, is undertaking a programme of work on the effects of the intersectorial linkages on forests. The main objectives of this work are the following:

• Improve general understanding of the links between the different sectors.
• Improve the formulation and execution of forestry policies and of the plans related with the forestry sector.
• Improve institutional linkages and associations between related sectors.
• Develop criteria and analytical tools for the assessment of policy interaction and impact across sectors.

7. Results and accomplishments of this programme are accessible in the Web page of the FAO Forestry Department: http://www.fao.org/forestry/foris/index.jsp?start_id=5408&lang_id= 3

POINTS FOR DISCUSSION

8. Recognising the ample consensus on the need to integrate forestry policies with the policies of other sectors, the main purpose of the panel is not so much to strengthen this consensus but rather to develop ideas on how to implement said integration. For this purpose, some steps are suggested for discussion:

a) Identify the most critical policy aspects, gaps or actions, outside the forestry policy framework, which affect the forestry sector directly. For example, the system for taxation of the value of forest land or the agricultural production land and the policy on agricultural subsidies. Which will be the criteria to identify these policy actions? Other aspects or actions which also affect the sector.

b) Identify key areas of action for developing ways and methods to ensure the integration of the priorities of the forestry sector with the priorities and policies of the other sectors?

c) In view of the previously identified subjects, it is proposed to formulate recommendations to ensure the integration of forestry priorities in other sectorial and multisectorial policies. The recommendations would be structured in accordance with the different policy levels:

Recommendations for the national level

• Recommendations for the implementation by forestry authorities (forestry departments or commissions).
• Recommendations for the national governments.

Recommendations for regional and international forums

• Recommendations for discussion in forestry fora such as the Committee on Forestry (COFO) or the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF).
• Recommendations for other international fora which have or may have an impact on forestry development at the international level. For example, the negotiations of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Conference on the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climatic Change (UNFCCC), among others.