The planning meeting for the North Africa sub-region for the Forestry Outlook Study for Africa (FOSA) took place in Hammamet, Tunisia from 23-25 November 1999.
The Forestry Outlook Study for Africa (FOSA) is an initiative co-ordinated by FAO, in partnership with all the African nations, the African Development Bank, the European Commission, sub-regional and regional inter-governmental organizations, the World Bank and other organizations. FOSA was endorsed by African nations at the 11th Session of the African Forestry and Wildlife Commission (AFWC), held in Dakar, Senegal in April 1998. Activities related to FOSA began in October 1998 and will conclude in July 2002.
FOSA is a process designed to analyse the potential of the forestry sector to contribute to the well being of the African people, by its economic, social and environmental functions. FOSA will analyse the situation; trends and major issues characterising African forestry; will present a vision of the forestry sector in the region to the year 2020; and will identify the policies, programmes and possible investments that will help move the sector in desirable directions.
FOSA is the most recent of the long-standing series of regional forestry outlook studies carried out by FAO. FOSA will draw upon this past experience, in particular that of the Asia-Pacific Forestry Outlook Study, which was recently completed and which entailed a more comprehensive analysis than previous outlook studies. FOSA is, however, distinguished by three features: it relies strongly on collaboration with financial institutions active in the region; it includes efforts to improve the information base upon which the analyses depend; and it has a strong sub-regional orientation.
The African continent has been divided into sub-regions. The North African sub-region consists of the following countries: Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, and Libya.
The objectives of the planning meeting for FOSA were: (i) to introduce FOSA - its objectives and process; (ii) to review the current status of the forestry sector in the countries of the sub-region; (iii) to present the activities of the study and the proposed schedule; and finally, (iv) to define the responsibilities of the FOSA National Focal Points and the nature of their involvement.
