People of developing countries facing desertification and severe land degradation, particularly in arid and semi-arid areas, can experience extreme food insecurity and abject poverty. In most countries, their relationships with forests and trees are inseparably interlinked and inter-dependent. Poor people recognize that forests and trees protect soil, water and biological diversity, provide shelter and shade for their villages as well as havens for cultural customs and help to combat desertification. To meet their basic food, fuel-wood, fodder, medicine and construction materials from the meagre resources available, they adopt survival attitudes, overexploit forests and rangelands, and provoke alarming rates of deforestation and forest degradation, which further erode their livelihoods.
Decentralized, participatory, intersectoral and multidisciplinary approaches to policy, planning, implementation and monitoring are new to many developing low forest cover countries. They require new institutional frameworks as well as training and skills in forest planning and management. The voice of the forestry sector, which has generally been marginalized, needs to be mainstreamed in intersectoral planning committees and working groups to derive national development priorities and national forest development strategies. In so doing, it should examine the real value and potential roles of natural forests, planted forests and trees outside forests in supporting landscape restoration and sustainable livelihoods in urban and rural landscapes.
It is critical to integrate planted trees and forests in more holistic approaches to provide environmental services, biodiversity benefits and meet people’s short and long-term needs. It is also necessary to make modern technology and traditional knowledge available in more people-oriented approaches to be shared through national and international networks, and sound extension and technical support systems and demonstrations.
The six case studies (Islamic Republic of Iran, Oman, Tunisia, Mali, Ethiopia and Namibia) and the three regional workshops (Tehran, October 2002, Nairobi, December 2002 and Bamako, January 2004) which are summarized in this working paper were carried out under the FAO-Netherlands Partnership Programme as follow up to the Tehran Process, promoting sustainable forest management in low forest cover countries, with focus on the Near East and African Regions
The case studies and regional workshops reflect the uniquely different ecological, social, cultural, environmental and economic conditions prevailing in the regions and outline the role of planted forests and trees outside forests in supporting sustainable forest management and landscape restoration in low forest cover countries. Natural forests, rangelands, woodland resources, trees outside forests, agroforestry, urban and peri-urban forestry, all play important roles in supporting the social, cultural, environmental and economic landscapes, particularly in low forest cover countries.
The case studies and regional workshops highlighted major issues, the policy/legal/ institutional contexts, status of forests and rangelands, constraints, opportunities, gaps in knowledge, lessons learned and the proposed actions for the way forward. These are first steps in translating polices and proposed actions towards implementation.
