Many organizations and institutions have been, or are currently, testing or piloting multi-stakeholder dialogue mechanisms, aimed at improving decision making in the forestry sector. However, to date, little or no systematic assessment of the effectiveness of the various mechanisms has been conducted. The FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific initiated this study to enhance FAO’s understanding and ability to support institutional adaptation and reform in the forestry sector. It is anticipated that a review of the lessons learned and experiences of the various processes will better position FAO and other international organizations to support countries in the region in developing and fostering effective multi-stakeholder dialogue and decision making processes and mechanisms. Particular attention is given to the role of national government forestry agencies in the region in facilitating, organizing, convening, and participating in multi-stakeholder processes and mechanisms, and their willingness to engage non-governmental organizations and civil society in such approaches. The effective functioning of MSPs also requires the existence of a dynamic and vibrant civil society that has the ability to become organized, to represent a variety of views and to negotiate durable social outcomes. Many countries in the Asia-Pacific region do not have diverse and well organized civil society groups, and these countries tend to retain strong elements of the “government knows best” paradigm and have consequently not embraced MSPs to any great extent.

Type of Case
Printed publication (book, sourcebook, journal article…)

Publisher
FAO

Region
Asia Pacific

Biome
Temperate, Tropical

Forest Type
All forest types (natural and planted)

Primary Designated Function
All