Webinar Series To Promote Dialogue on Forest Governance

Forests are a highly valuable resource — and they are massively threatened by illegal logging and deforestation

In response to the situation, a range of GIZ programmes and projects has emerged around the globe to establish and promote good forest governance.

Sharing common goals, they work towards more transparency, inclusive stakeholder participation and accountability of officials while also targeting corruption. However, on a practical level communication between these initiatives is limited. In November 2017, therefore, a number of programmes joined forces to foster a global exchange on forest governance arrangements and lessons learned, kicking off a profound webinar series.

The first webinar focused on “Wishful thinking or reality? Local communities as equal partners in sustainable forest resources management”. Christian Burren (PAGE), Bastian Flury (ProFEB) and Amare Worku (Sustainable Land Management Programme Ethiopia) shared their experiences with sustainable forest management and protected area management. The ensuing discussion drew in all webinar participants, addressing their questions on negotiation processes to set up governance arrangements and monitoring systems.

What is forest governance?

The concept of forest governance is not universally agreed upon. The term applies to many different norms and processes as well as instruments and people who shape how forests are viewed and treated. This includes culturally formed regulations and arrangements that aim at improving the management, protection and exploitation of forests. It makes an indispensable contribution to tackling climate change and to supporting sustainable development.

Who is leading the initiative

  • Protection and Sustainable Use of Forest Ecosystems and Biodiversity in Laos (ProFEB)
  • Forest Governance Programme (FGP) at GIZ head office
  • Sustainable Natural Resources Management in Madagascar (PAGE)
  • Sustainable Land Management Programme in Ethiopia

Information sharing

As the issues, arrangements and politics of forest governance vary substantially around the world and among GIZ projects, the webinar series and its DMS workspace provide an innovative basis for a fruitful and continuous exchange on forest governance.

Whoever is interested can recommend a topic for discussion or share lessons learned and additional information via the forest governance working group in DMS (GIZ-internal). It includes the presentations from the first webinar as well as basic background material on forest governance such as publications, films and training materials.

Upcoming webinars

To continue the dialogue amongst projects and improve their implementation, the Forest Governance Webinar series will continue in 2018. The next one has a look at “Management of Conflicts over Forest Resources Use” and is scheduled for 21 March 2018, 11:00-13:00 hrs CET.

Contact

Interested in providing an input to the topic? We invite projects to send their suggestions to yvonne.glorius@giz.de by 13 February 2018.