Forests and Livelihoods

In Africa more that 250 million people depend on the forest for their livelihoods. When forests disappear, or when local people are prevented from entering their forests, local populations and their cultures struggle to survive. As part of its commitment to the UN Millennium Development Goals and their focus on poverty reduction, CIFOR’s Forests and Livelihoods Programme targets its research at enhancing livelihoods by improving forest management policies and technologies.

Key projects:

• Non Timber Forest Product (NTFP) markets
• Preference of consumers for NTFP’s
• Forest-based enterprise development
• Ecotourism for sustainable development
• Conservation and development

Forests and Governance

The Forests and Governance Programme focuses its research on promoting good forest governance based on social justice, equity, accountability and transparency. Good forest governance contributes to the well-being of forest dwellers and to a healthy forest. The Forests and Governance Programme’s research and activities are oriented towards benefiting all forest stakeholders.

Key projects:

• Model Forests
• Verification of legality in the forest sector (VERIFOR)
• Forest Governance Learning Group (FGLG)
• Forests and conflicts
• Illegal logging and trade
• Civil Society and Forest Governance, Democratic Republic of Congo

Environmental Services and Sustainable Use of Forests

Although not yet operating in Central Africa, when it comes on line the Environmental Services and Sustainable Use of Forests Programme will undertake research designed to influence global processes on forests, biodiversity, water, desertification, and climate change. It will examine natural, secondary and plantation forests from the forest management unit all the way to the global scale, as well as the way different levels affect each other.