Expand support for participatory forest management with help to level the playing field for community based forest enterprises by working with clients to improve regulations and procedures and integrate small scale informal forestry activities.
This can be supported with analytic work (with clear dissemination strategies), development policy lending, IFC investment and advisory services, and by the incorporation of regulatory issues in project indicators.
Participatory Forest Management, when implemented effectively, has delivered livelihood enhancing benefits as well as positive environmental outcomes. But its potential is often hampered by the failure to devolve true authority to communities and by regulatory environments that often discriminate against small producers. Where this is the case, the benefits enjoyed by communities may be too limited to provide sufficient incentives to ensure sustainable forest management.
Original Response: Agreed: The Bank will continue its analytical work on the policy and business environment for forest close collaboration with the IFC.
In future relevant projects/programs, IFC will promote the broad concept of participatory forest management with the project sponsors where appropriate and within the frame of the project's authorizing environment.
IFC Action 2E: IFC Advisory Services coordinate event on how to support SMFEs and community based forest enterprises in its pipeline.
Indicator: IFC event completed
Baseline: SBA has interviewed various companies in Latin America and India regarding their experiences with community forestry enterprises. Target: Staff from IFC participate in this event and results on SFME experience to be shared
Timeline: FY15
IFC Action 2F: Undertake at least three projects with participatory forest management elements (i.e. community engagement)
Indicator: 3 projects in the pipeline with components that include participatory forest management
Baseline: None of the forest sector projects approved by the Board in FY 13 to date (March 20, 2013) have a participatory forest management component
Target: 3 board approved projects with project appraisal documents that include component(s) of participatory forest management
Timeline: FY 15
IEG agrees that Actions 2F have been undertaken per the Roadmap. Due to the reconfiguration of the Advisory Services, IEG also acknowledges that the planned event on how to support SMFEs and community based forest enterprises did not take place, and retires this roadmap action.
Investment and Advisory services have continued to support SMFE's in several locations:
AS has now developed a signed agreement with Stora Enso in PDR Laos to improve stakeholder engagement and organizational development support for development of village-based forest industries.
The GEF/Africa Sustainable Forest Fund has contracted with Mondi Enterprise Services to deepen and expand its support for SMFE's associated with its Cape Pine forestry operations.
AS is working with Portucel/Mozambique to develop rural agriculture and forestry enterprises in plantation areas and is working to develop Natural Resource Committees needed to foster forest ownership.
Proteak/Mexico continues to expand its out-grower program for wood supply which is creating SMFE's in Tabasco.
All IFC forestry projects continue to require close consultation and participation of affected communities in development of forest management plans.
IEG recognizes the opportunities supported by IFC in Bolivia and Lao to even the playing field for communities and small forest enterprises, while noting the LAO model only partially aligns with the recognized definition of PFM. Participatory forest management refers to processes and mechanisms which enable people with a direct stake in forest resources to be part of decision-making in all aspects of forest management, including policy formulation processes. IEG also pointed to broader areas where IFC could make a difference. IEG reviewed, for example, the Investment Climate portfolio and found that forest investment climate opportunities were missing from many of the assessments done in forest rich countries. This is a missed opportunity. Policy barriers - such as inappropriate regulation or over-regulation - that limit the potential of PFM to lift forest-dependent out of poverty could be more systematically identified and addressed. In Bolivia, IEG found evidence that the embedding of the advisory services team deepened IFC's opportunity to engage forest poor communities, to support appropriate regulatory measures, and to build capacity for sustainable forest management and trade in certified products. Such findings, that extended beyond Bolivia, gave rise to the agreement to convene a learning event - based on the Advisory Services experience. This was agreed to in Action Step 2E. This event, to date, has not taken place. Action Step 2F, as reported ,falls short of providing evidence that IFC's engagements are meaningfully supporting PFM in at least three projects, per the definition of PFM.
As of September 2015, three investments have been approved (FY 2014/15) that involve some dimension of participatory forest management. One of these, in Bolivia, positioned local communities who have rights to areas of natural forest as suppliers, the other two are plantations involving communities as suppliers with management responsibilities over their own production. IFC just signed an AS agreement in Laos for Community Engagement in forestry which will work directly with village communities to identify and manage High Value Conservation Areas and develop community forest resources. In addition, IFC Advisory Services is seeking to formulate an initiative to bring the benefits of forest extension services to community forest enterprises.
(note: Mark Constantine and Leopoldo Sposato have completed reviewed and cleared the update and ratings for this recommendation as a Task Leader and Reviewing Manager and have authorized Kris Luniku to clear in the system on their behalf).
IEG Rating is MEDIUM AND ACTIVE. As stated in the response, one of the three projects referred to in the IFC response does not fit the definition of Participatory Forest Management. A social engagement strategy and a community development fund are good risk mitigation tools (license to operate), but fall short of the types of engagements typically found in a participatory or community forest management project (participatory planning, monitoring, management, + revenue sharing + rights over land and natural resource use and decision-making).
2E: IFC conducting assessment of SMFEâs in Indonesia and Peru to determine SMFE potential. Assessments to be completed in FY15
2F: Stora Enso China Approved by Board in February 2014 contains explicit social engagement strategy and creation of a community development fund. Klabin (Brazil) approved by the Board in December 2013 also includes participatory forest management as part of the company's operations.
Pending investment with Portucel in Mozambique includes participatory planning and community-based NRM as core concepts.
IFC working with two companies in EAP region which include participatory forest management as core element.