Tenth session of FAO African Forestry and Wildlife Commission held in South Africa
The tenth session of the FAO African Forestry and Wildlife Commission was held in Sanbonani in Mpumalanga Province of South Africa from 27 November to 1 December 1995. It was attended by representatives of 23 countries and the United Nations Environment Programme as well as by observers from the African Timber Organization, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations, the African Academy of Sciences, the Centre for the Study of the Environment and the World Conservation Union. A summary of discussions and conclusions to the major agenda items is presented below.
State of forestry and wildlife in the region
In the discussion on this topic the Commission noted that, in many countries of the region, forest inventories are either lacking or too general to be used as a basis for making decisions on the sustainable management of resources. The Commission also noted that the lack of statistics on non-wood products and fuelwood made it difficult to make economic evaluations of such products. The Commission recommended that member countries and FAO should intensify their efforts in the assessment of forest resources in the region to foster sustainable forest management.
The Commission noted that forestry contributions to national economies are underestimated and that forest administrations often fail to justify the sector's economic importance in national accounts. It recommended that member countries give special training to foresters on natural resource and environmental accounting and on socioeconomic and financial management as a means of upgrading forestry on national agendas.
The Commission recognized the important roles that people and communities should play in sustainable forest management and noted the importance of decentralizing authority and responsibility for forestry activities, while acknowledging practical difficulties in implementation.
The Commission recognized the need to train and retrain foresters in order to prepare them for new challenges. It also noted that there is a need for effective coordination in forestry research and training in the region. It recommended member countries to increase their efforts in well-planned, targeted, formal training and urged FAO to assist in the coordination of professional-level education and in forestry research networking in the region.
The Commission felt that reliance on donor financing results in the unsustainable financing of forestry programmes in the region and recommended member countries to establish and strengthen self-funding mechanisms for the sustainable management of forest resources in the region. It also recommended that FAO take the lead in the development of a strategy on funding options. The Commission noted the confusion created by different donor-driven frameworks for forestry planning and recommended that member countries' national institutions decide on a precise course of action and take the lead in coordinating donor input.
State of forestry and wildlife in the region
Progress towards sustainable forestry development in the context of UNCED follow-up
The purpose of this item was to inform participants on developments in the forestry sector as follow-up to UNCED and to provide a basis for considering further action. A thorough discussion ensued on particular issues relating to National Forestry Action Programmes (NFAPs), the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests and African participation in it, the social and participatory dimension of forestry and funding of the forestry sector.
The Commission generally recognized that the NFAP process in which many countries were engaged pointed in the right direction. A number of delegations expressed disappointment at the decrease of interest in and financial resources for implementation of these NFAPs; others indicated their adherence to the process through the follow-up and implementation of activities at a local level, the generation of local and national resources and the involvement of local communities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). A number of constraints were highlighted, such as the tightening of the economic sector by structural adjustment plans, insufficient human resources and the interruption of planning and implementation processes by political unrest and war.
The Commission advocated a strong participation of African countries in the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests. However, it also considered the constraints of participation owing to the difficult economic situations of countries and the inadequate flow of information on UNCED-related developments. Measures to improve this situation included linkages with country delegations in New York, support to member countries of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) through the trust fund supporting the Panel and requests to countries organizing meetings to provide adequate support for African participation. The contribution of research in support of sustainable forest management and the work of the intergovernmental Panel, particularly in technology development and transfer, was stressed.
Criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management in Africa
The Commission discussed many aspects relating to the development and use of criteria and indicators and expressed general concerns on costs It welcomed the FAO/UNEP Expert Meeting on Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management in Dry zone Africa, held from 21 to 24 November 1995 in Nairobi, as the first step in the process of the formulation and application of such criteria and indicators at the national level sub-Saharan dry-zone Africa. It recognized, however, the need to develop, improve and adapt them. A number of suggestions, questions and proposals for additions were made.
In-session seminar: investment in forestry in Africa
Noting the complexity of the problem, the Commission suggested the possibility that part of the problem originates from funding mechanisms not being well adapted to the longer time horizon of the forestry sector, a peculiarity it does not share with other competing sectors. The Commission underlined the fact that, while recognizing the importance of both public and private foreign sources of funding, Africa itself must seek local solutions, in general, it felt that governments should create the necessary conditions for attracting greater funding into the sector.
The Commission recommended that African governments should:
· enhance political commitment to and interest in forestry and, to this end, "market" forestry better to politicians;· review their policies and strategies, including existing action plans, with a view to updating them and making them more realistic relative to the availability of funding;
· improve the generation of resources for their own contribution to forestry funding, including through better commercialization of products from plantations and, where appropriate, privatization as well as a more effective collection of revenue - some suggestions were also made for the creation of autonomous forest funds;
· assure donors of their seriousness by improving management of the forestry sector, including accountability for funds.
The Commission called for the authorities in donor and multilateral funding agencies to:
· consider converting or forgiving Africa's heavy debt burden so as to release resources for the sustainable management of forests;· exercise flexibility in applying programmes of structural adjustment;
· put into practice their own frequently expressed desire to coordinate their programmes better;
· show greater flexibility in applying their own priorities so as to accommodate the priorities of beneficiary countries seeking their assistance.
The Commission also recommended that FAO (where appropriate in partnership with other international organizations):
· assist countries in capacity building in matters related to the mobilization of funds and creation of conditions which enhance the attractiveness of forestry for funding;· keep member countries briefed on the forestry priorities, policies and mechanisms of donors and multilateral funding agencies;
· take advantage of its ongoing decentralization to assist African countries better in mobilizing funding;
· seek to influence the opinion of key international decision-makers in the donor community in favour of forestry in Africa.
