Background

CIFOR’s goal is to assist governments, non-government organizations, and the private sector in the development and adoption of economic, financial, and governance policies and practices to encourage sustainable forest management and enhance social justice and livelihood security.

Geographic Focus: Brazil, Bolivia; Cameroon, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Japan, Malawi, Southeast Asia and Zimbabwe

Rapidly growing demand for forest products coupled with institutional weaknesses in investment and trade policy and regulation have been major driving forces for unsustainable commercial forest exploitation. Contradictory or unclear policies, ineffective or inconsistent law enforcement and overall weakness in the rule of law constrain the realization of social and environmental benefits and significantly reduce economic development returns from forests. In Indonesia’s East Kalimantan province alone, economic losses are estimated at $100 million annually in lost timber revenues due to illegal logging.

Addressing these weaknesses will need major reforms in policies and practices in order to promote more effective public regulation and environmentally and socially responsible business behaviour. Policies at international and national levels, and normative frameworks and institutional structures for overseeing finance and trade flows need to be reformed and strengthened. This requires better international and regional policy coordination, concerted and more effective law enforcement and regulation of investment flows, as well as improved cross-sectoral planning, information sharing, monitoring and action within and among countries.

CIFOR’s research and related activities under this theme address these issues and take advantage of opportunities presented by heightened consumer environmental awareness and the rapidly expanding interest by financial investors in socially responsible investment options. The research explores creative opportunities for promoting equitable and sustainable forest use, management, trade and benefit sharing in the context of the new discourse on environmental security, the expanded scope for private-public partnerships following the World Summit on Sustainable Development, and recent donor initiatives to foster improved forest law enforcement, governance and trade in different regions of the world.

Under this theme, CIFOR examines the changes required in trade and investment policies, financial sector legislation, due diligence and risk analysis practices, industrial development strategies and corporate and government transparency and accountability standards to reduce irresponsible practices and forest-related crimes. CIFOR’s research examines market-mediated approaches and tools to encourage improved policies and governance reform in key state and corporate entities. Particular attention is given to political-economic, regulatory levers and instruments, including citizen’s initiatives, to encourage responsible and accountable public and corporate behaviour. The research also explores the role of communities and civil society organizations in spurring public and corporate behavioural reform and in mitigating illegal forest activities, particularly in the context of decentralization and in cases of conflict or post-conflict institution building. In this regard, it builds on and complements research under the first theme as well as research under CIFOR’s other

Goal

To assist governments, non-government organizations, and the private sector to develop and adopt economic, financial, and governance policies and practices to encourage sustainable forest management and enhance social justice and livelihood security.

Sub-Theme Objectives

1. Sub-theme: Financial institutions, trade and corporate accountability

• To provide analytical and technical information needed to improve systems of accountability of government and corporate actors in forest, finance and related sectors.
• To design improved due diligence, risk assessment and monitoring tools and mechanisms for financial institutions, regulatory agencies and civil society organizations to better track and analyze performance and behaviour of key public and corporate entities operating in or impacting on the forest sector.
• To increase understanding of the implications of finance and trade policies and practices for forests and forest-based livelihoods and provide recommendations for policy reforms aimed at enhancing social justice, securing livelihoods and promoting sustainable forest management.
  
  List of Major Projects

2.  Sub-theme: Forest law enforcement, environmental justice and livelihoods

To provide analytical information on illegal forest activities, modes of finance and their impacts on livelihoods, forests and power relations among stakeholders, and to develop policy options and practical approaches to address the problem.

List of Major Projects