Forest Tenure, Governance and Enterprise: Experiences and Opportunities for Asia in a Changing Context

Organized by: Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI), International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO).

Hosted by: Ministry of Forestry, Republic of Indonesia.

In collaboration with: World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) Southeast Asia, Samdhana Institute, EU FLEGT Asia, RECOFTC and other partners.

Background and objectives

It is now widely recognized that forest tenure and related governance reforms are necessary for improvements in people’s livelihoods, for the attainment of sustainable forest management and conservation, as well as for addressing climate change. Forest tenure policies and legal frameworks are highly diverse in the Asia-Pacific region, with some countries moving ahead and others still considering reform. As such, much can be learnt from engaging in a review of these legal and regulatory transformations so as to inform the development of forest policies involving community-based enterprise development and REDD+ within emergent dynamics at play in the region.

The Conference aims to promote an in-depth assessment of the relationship between forest tenure, sustainable forest management and income generating enterprises to promote action across a range of Asian countries. It will bring together a wide variety of stakeholders from the Asia-Pacific region and beyond and follow-up to RRI-ITTO organized international tenure conferences held in Acre, Brazil in July 2007, and Yaounde, Cameroon in May 2009.

Expected outcomes

- Improved Asian knowledge base and information sharing on innovative forest tenure policies, legislation, institutional arrangements, and other initiatives in a changing national and global context, with special reference to climate change;

- New understanding of the implications of tenure trends and development of community forest management for the Asia-Pacific countries;

- Asia-wide reflection on the experience of harnessing forest tenure and resource rights in selected Asian countries (China, Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam) to enhance sustainable forest management and livelihood improvement of forest dependent communities;

- Enhanced mechanisms for stakeholders participation and equitable sharing of benefits from the sustainable use and conservation of tropical forest resources including gender equity; and

- Understanding of the status of reforms and initiatives underway in Indonesia by government and civil society organizations and lessons learned for new recommendations for the next steps in reforms.

Participants and speakers

About 200 participants expected: 100 international and regional, 100 from Indonesia, including government and NGO leaders from forested Asia-Pacific countries, regional Asian policy bodies (ASEAN etc), members of civil society and community organizations, researchers, private sector and industry organizations, international NGOs and the development community.

CONTACT

Nayna Jhaveri
njhaveri@rightsandresources.org


edited:28/02/2011
uploaded:28/02/2011