Take action to unleash community-based forestry, FAO tells govts

NaijaAgroNet:

Governments across the world have been urged to take action to unleash community-based forestry, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Eva Müller, Director of FAO's Forestry Policy and Resources Division, Ms Eva Muller made this call and said that Community-based forestry has shown itself to be a potent vehicle for promoting sustainable forest management, reducing poverty and generating jobs and income for rural communities.

She said that unlocking its true potential will require greater support by governments through policy reforms and other measures.

Many community-based forestry regimes, she said, are showing great promise as engines for sustainable development but are still performing below their potential, a new FAO report released today at the start of Asia-Pacific Forestry Week says.

Under the approach, local communities partner with governments to play a lead role in making land-use decisions and managing the forestry resources they depend on for their livelihoods.

"Forty years of community based forestry: A review of extent and effectiveness", she said, adding that almost one-third of the world's forest area is now estimated to be under some form of community-based management.

Yet in many cases, while in practice policies may exist for the decentralization and devolution of rights and responsibilities to communities, the right conditions may not yet be in place for them to fully exercise their rights. 

  
Isaac Oyimah/GEE
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