Forest and Governance

Forest governance pertains to how decisions related to forests and forest dependent people are made, who are responsible, how they wield their power, and how they are held accountable. It encompasses decision-making processes and institutions at local, national, regional and global level. In the context of an increasingly globalized forest sector yet also increasingly decentralized system of management, policy makers, forest managers and stakeholders face competing pressures emanating from both local and global processes. This and the growing array of stakeholders with diverse interests and uneven power have made forest governance increasingly complex and prone to conflict. The programme has identified the following priority research themes with some supporting sub-themes in order to contribute on achieving the goal of sustainable forest management, social justice and equity.

Governance and Multi-stakeholders Forested Landscapes.
Forest Finance and Trade, Low Enforcement and Corporate Accountability.

Overall Goal

The overall goal of the Forests and Governance Programme is to promote good forest governance based on social justice, equity, accountability and transparency.

Intermediate Objectives

Research and related activities under the Forests and Governance Programme are oriented towards catalyzing action to achieve the following objectives:

Enhance the capacity of forest dependent poor and local communities to meaningfully participate, exercise their rights and represent their interests in local, national and international processes for forest-related agenda setting and management decision-making.
Promote greater social and environmental corporate responsibility and accountability of key enterprises operating in, or impacting on, the forest sector.
Support the strengthening or transformation of national and local government policies, processes and practices to better promote sustainable forest management and to more equitably balance competing stakeholder needs and interests based on norms of good governance.
Strengthen the capacity of developing country scientists and partner organizations to conceptualize, design and implement relevant, high quality research through collaboration and association with CIFOR.

Intermediate Results

The programme’s collaborative research and partnership activities are designed, to the extent possible, to yield two or more of the following intermediate results:

generate rigorous analysis, useful information and practical tools for target audiences;
create opportunities for public awareness raising and for partners and key stakeholders, especially from developing countries, to network, exchange information, and engage in peer learning;
enhance collaboration, conflict management, and adaptive learning through strategic use of participatory and action-oriented approaches;
strengthen capacity of different actors for joint planning, analysis, action and monitoring;
develop the capacity of developing country scientists and future leaders in forest policy and governance research.

Expected Impacts

Ultimately, the Forests and Governance Programme expects to contribute toward the realization of the following longer term impacts:

Increased recognition by international processes, national governments and other stakeholders of local communities’ rights, resulting in increased security of their rights over forest resources.
Increased capacity of both communities and grassroots forestry related organizations representing their interests to negotiate, participate in decision-making and manage resources.
Use and adaptation by decision-makers at the local, regional, national levels of CIFOR promoted approaches and tools for social learning, conflict mitigation and improved governance.
Improved financial due diligence, greater accountability of financial institutions to forest-related stakeholders, and greater corporate social responsibility of key enterprises in the forestry sector.
Improved regulatory processes, from local to global levels, and adoption of equitable and practical approaches to illegal logging and forest law enforcement that do not unfairly discriminate against the poor.
Enhanced sensitivity of donor governments’ policies and programmes to links between forests and violent conflict and their increased support for efforts to facilitate dialogue, prevent and mitigate forest-related conflicts.
Increased capacity of local governments at different levels to implement decentralized forest management and improved impacts of decentralization on forests and the poor.
Greater capacity of developing country scientists and partner organizations to conduct research and provide research leadership in forest policy and governance

Target Audiences

The products of the Programme’s research are targeted to key decision-makers and actors in each thematic field. Depending on the issue, these could include: forest users and dwellers; local communities; civil society organizations and citizens groups; extension agents; training providers; forestry bureaucracies; legislators, elected public officials and law enforcement authorities; forest enterprise operators, workers, owners, stockholders and financiers; forest product consumers and the general public.

Important audiences at the global level include donor organizations, multilateral development agencies, inter-governmental bodies and conventions, international conservation NGOs and global corporations dealing in forest resources. Mass media organizations and scientific and policy research community are also important audiences for the Programme. Depending on the topic, the methodology employed and follow-up action required to achieve impact, many of these target audiences can also be partners and collaborators.

Research Themes