Recognizing the economic, social, cultural and environmental importance of planted forests, Governments and other stakeholders asked the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to prepare, together with collaborating partners, a set of principles, guidelines and key considerations in support of the policy, legal, regulatory and technical enabling conditions for planted forests management. An official request from the FAO Member States was made at 17th COFO in 2005. The Voluntary Guidelines for Responsible Management of Planted Forests were derived through an extensive multi-stakeholder process coordinated by FAO over a period of two years. Experts in planted forests from Governments, the private sector (corporate and smallholder), non-governmental (social and environmental) and intergovernmental organizations and academics were involved in the process.
The 18th COFO in 2007 commended FAO for facilitating the multi-stakeholder process to develop the Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Management of Planted Forests and recommended that FAO work with Members and partners, including the private sector, forest owners and environmental NGOs towards the implementation of these Voluntary Guidelines.
The Voluntary Guidelines for Responsible Management of Planted Forests is a tool for improving planning, management and monitoring of planted forests and to help in balancing the trade offs between institutional, economic, political, social, cultural and environmental aspirations and values.
The scope of the guidelines is global: they may be adapted and applied to planted forests in all eco-geographical zones and to countries, regions and landscapes in all stages of socio-economic development. Acceptance and implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines is not legally binding.
The Voluntary Guidelines do not replace existing national or international laws, commitments, treaties or agreements. Rather, they establish a framework supporting dialogue in the formulation of policies, laws, regulations and strategic and management plans that, in turn, will help improve enabling conditions and enhance capacity and capability in planted forests management.
The objectives of the Voluntary Guidelines are to:
• Promote the positive contribution that planted forests can make to meeting people’s livelihood needs, including food security, the production of wood and the safeguarding of environmental values;
• Codify generally accepted principles for strengthening the policy, legal and institutional enabling framework for sound investment in and management of planted forests, including the economic, cultural, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable forest management; and
• Contribute to an improved understanding of planted forests, in order to aid the formulation and implementation of national and sub-national planted forests policies and programmes.
The Voluntary Guidelines for Responsible Management of Planted Forests can be viewed on the following FAO websites:
• About the Process: http://www.fao.org/forestry/site/plantedforestsguide/en/
• Voluntary Guidelines Document: http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/j9256e/j9256e00.htm
