A man siting next to a felled tree at the Afi mountain forest reserve near Ikom, cross River, Nigeria |
Various
discussions between investors and forest rights-holders in the recent times have
led to a new guideline for investment with the capability of returning
three-fold on investments.
The
International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) revealed to NaijaAgroNet in a press statement that
the investment guideline if followed will provide livelihood security for local
communities and protection for forests.
The guide
emanated from eleven meetings organised by The Forests Dialogue (TFD) on behalf
of Growing Forest Partnerships and with the support of IIED, the International
Union for the Conservation of Nature, FAO and the World Bank.
Commenting on
the advice on investment in locally-controlled forestry, Gary Dunning of TFD said
that the guide shows how investors and forest-dependent community form
mutually-beneficial partnerships that would deliver social, environmental and
economic gains.
The meetings
have in attendance indigenous people, family foresters, researchers, government
representatives, investment bankers, donors and philanthropists to share views
on the role of investment in the forest sector.
The new
guidelines, according to IIED is a representation of the insights of the
meetings' participants with many case studies from across the globe showing how
investment in locally-controlled forestry offers investors secure access,
reduced risks and better long term management opportunities and an evidence of
social and environmental sustainability.
The lead author
of the guide, Dominic Elson said investing in locally controlled forestry not
only leads to improved economic outcomes but it also leads to an improvement in
the political economy in a way that can help governments of developing
countries to shift into a more sustainable, low-carbon development path.
The guide looks
in detail at how to encourage a happy marriage between ‘enabling investments’
that prepare the ground for commercial success and ‘asset investments’ that
seek a return, usually as profit or products.
The leader of
the team that produced the guide, Chris Buss of IUCN said strong businesses
generate profits worthy of asset investment, “But growing those businesses may
need enabling investments from NGOs, philanthropists or governments for
infrastructure, capacity building or to secure and formalise commercial forest
rights."
Another
contributor to the guide, Duncan Macqueen of IIED that forests provide
livelihoods for a billion people, adding that “About a quarter of the world’s
forests are locally controlled, by members of three major alliances of
indigenous peoples, forest communities and private family smallholders."
Macqueen
revealed that forests also provide goods and services worth $75 - $100 billion
annually, stressing "What’s missing is the investment that can boost these
benefits in a sustainable way and put local people in the driving seat.”
Yinka Awosanya/LS
... Linking agrobiz, people & technology
No comments:
Post a Comment
Share ur views here