ITTO THEMATIC PROGRAMME ON

COMMUNITY FOREST MANAGEMENT AND ENTERPRISE(CFME)PROGRAMME DOCUMENT

3 March 2010

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
I.

II.

PLANNING ELEMENTS

3

1. RATIONALE AND PROBLEM ANALYSIS

3

2. OBJECTIVES

7

3. PROGRAMME STRATEGY

7

4. OUTCOMES/OUTPUTS/DELIVERABLES AND EXPECTED IMPACTS/BENEFITS

13

5. OTHER PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS

15

6. ACTIVITIES

15

7. WORK PLAN, INCLUDING BUDGET ESTIMATES AND DONOR CONTRIBUTIONS

18

OPERATIONAL ELEMENTS

19

ANNEX 1. PROBLEM TREE ANALYSIS OF THE CFME THEMATIC PROGRAMME

21

ANNEX 2 SUCCESS FACTORS OF PAST ITTO PROJECTS IN COMMUNITY FOREST
MANAGEMENT AND ENTERPRISE

22

ANNEX 3. THEMATIC PROGRAMME APPRAISAL PROCESS

24

2

I.

PLANNING ELEMENTS

1.

RATIONALE AND PROBLEM ANALYSIS

Rationale
About 1.6 billion people live in predominantly forest ecosystems or in their vicinity. Forests are important1
resources for the rural poor, with over 800 million people living in forests and woodlands in the tropics.
Forest communities include indigenous peoples and other local groups which have been living long times intheir areas or more recent settlers or immigrants. Many of the very poor are hunting or gathering tribes,
landless people living around forests and landless forest workers.
In addition to livelihood contribution through subsistence safety net, including food, shelter and fuelwood, thetropical forests also provide to communities and smallholders a source of cash income, a capital asset, asource of employment, and an alternative health care system based on forest plants. More needs to be done
to improve the livelihood of forest dependant people when they are interested in moving from thesubsistence livelihoods towards market-based activities. In many tropical zones, most of the cash income
comes from collection and commercialization of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP) such as bamboo, rattan,
bushmeat, wild medicinal and aromatic plants, forest fruits, etc. The employment impact of these activities inthe tropical rural areas is measured in millions both in the informal and formal sector, but reliable estimates
are lacking. However, due to poverty and difficult access many forest communities are living in conditions inwhich even the most minimum standards for education, health, sanitation, potable water, infrastructure andemployment cannot be met. In addition, some forest areas are subject to near-slavery conditions.
Indigenous groups and communities own or are entitled to the use of about 25% of the forests in developing
2
3
countries . According to a recent assessment the forest area owned by communities and indigenous
4
peoples in the ITTO producing member countries in 2008 was about 332 million hectares. This was about
51 million hectares (18%) more than six years earlier demonstrating a strong trend to transfer the formal
ownership to forest communities. However, there are various countries where community forestry is not yet
practiced at all, or is still at initial stages.
Community forests have existed for centuries and represent one of the main forms of forest ownership. For
instance, in Guatemala, Mexico and Papua New Guinea community ownership of forest land has been thedominant tenure form for decades. More recently, the governments in Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, China,
Colombia, Ecuador, Ghana, Guyana, Honduras, India, Peru, Thailand and Venezuela have revised theirpolicies and legislation for this purpose. In addition to transferring or recognizing ownership rights, various
other arrangements are being applied in the devolution of management or use rights to local communities
and their members, Governments in several ITTO producing countries have indicated their interest in
developing community forestry being encouraged by positive experiences in the lead countries.
The process is not, however, simple as community ownership alone is not sufficient to ensure sustainable
forest management and the development of community forest enterprises (CFE). In general, forest
communities are often poorly equipped to manage their forests sustainably and to generate value throughtimber production and various other benefits. One reason for limited success has been that the forest areastransferred to communities have often been degraded lands with limited development potential without
investment in rehabilitation which seriously limits their role as a livelihood source for local people who are inneed of immediate tangible benefits.
In spite of the difficulties, community forest management and enterprises represent a huge opportunity forcontributing to national development goals through poverty reduction, sustainable socio-economic
development and environmental conservation in rural areas. It has become clear that, given the rightconditions and incentives, communities can govern and manage forests sustainably for a variety of1

Chomitz, K M. 2007. At Loggerheads? The World Bank. Washington, D.C.

2

White, A. & Martin, A. 2002. Who Owns the World’s Forests. Forest Trends. Washington, D.C.

3

ITTO/RRI. 2009.Tropical Forest Tenure Assessment. Trends, Challenges and Opportunities. May, 2009.

4

Including China3

5

objectives, and restore degraded landscapes and ecosystems. However, improvement is generally neededin managing natural, human, financial, physical and social assets by communities.
Problem Analysis
The core problem to be addressed by the CFME Thematic Programme is the poverty levels due to theinadequate capacity of indigenous peoples and forest communities to manage their forests and develop
community forest enterprises on a sustainable basis. 6 A number of common factors as direct or underlying
causes are identified in the problem tree analysis of Annex 1 but there is a huge diversity in country and local
situations in the tropical regions as discussed below. Some of the prominent causes of poverty andunsustainable management of community forest resources are:

Lack of clear land tenure and resource rights and inappropriate legal and policy frameworks
Weak organization of forest communities and limited capacity among CFEs due lack of technical,
business and managerial skills
Weak competitiveness in CFEs

Regarding natural assets, land tenure is often insecure and resource rights have not been clarified which is amajor constraint for engaging communities in such long-term endeavours as sustainable forest management(SFM) often yielding benefits only in the long run. Insecurity is a source of risk for community members anddiscourages sustainable practices in forest utilization and community investment in their resources. This ispartly explained by inappropriate legal and policy frameworks which have often been designed for largescale private operators and tend to be biased against small-scale operators like community forest enterprises.
In various ITTO producing member countries there is a lack of clear government policies on community
forest management which is reflected in the absence of targeted public support to this activity. National
policies tend to lack recognition of the economic potential of community forestry and the important social,
cultural and other benefits of CFEs. On the other hand, even in cases where policies exist, there is often lackof confidence among forest authorities in the capacity of indigenous peoples and communities to sustainably
manage their forest resources. This is sometimes coupled with the lack of awareness, commitment,
incentives and capacity among the communities themselves in managing their forests on a sustainable basis
and establishing and operating viable CFEs. The result can be ineffective implementation of public policies topromote community forestry.
Consultations with ITTO producing member country focal points revealed that, in countries with no or weakcommunity forests, government institutions have difficulties to develop this sector due to insufficientunderstanding of community priorities and lack of relevant knowledge.
In most countries, even where legal reforms of tenure arrangements have been carried out, the regulatory
frameworks reflect outmoded legal and tenure arrangements, and can make it impossible for small-scale
actors and communities to benefit from the policy and legal reforms. Discriminatory rules and regulations can7
represent fundamental challenges for forest communities and the rural poor. Regulations often act asbarriers for legal access to forests and markets, unduly raise the transaction costs for community enterprises,and promote unfair sharing of benefits and corruption. In addition, arbitrary changes of rules and obligations
8
can have dire consequences for local people.
Another important factor is increasing numbers of smallholders getting involved in forestry through planting oftrees but they are generally poorly equipped as to enter new ways of production and be effective as market
actors in promoting their interests. Creating upward value chain linkages through partnerships with industrial
companies or cooperative enterprises has proved to be a promising approach to enhance their role.
In forest communities the land-use decisions for agriculture and forestry are closely interlinked in efforts tomeet local livelihood needs. Part of the problem of inappropriate forest land conversion to agriculture is due
to low valuation of forest resources and their benefits. The CFME Thematic Programme focuses on
5

RECOFTC. 2008. People and Forests in a Time of Rapid Change. Strengthening Capacities for Community Forestry to Respond.
RECOFTC’S Strategic Plan 2008–2013. Bangkok.

6

The problem analysis draws on the outcomes of the ITTO Conference on Forest Tenure, Governance and Enterprise: New
Opportunities for Livelihoods and Wealth in Central and West Africa (Yaoundé, Cameroon, 2009) and the ITTO Conference on
Community Forest Management and Enterprises – Global Issues and Opportunities (Rio, Branco, Acre, Brazil, 2007)

7

Oberndorf, R. et al. (eds). 2007. A Cut for the Poor. FAO and RECOFTC. Bangkok.

8

RECOFTC. ibid.

4

enhancing the economic value of forests to contribute to poverty reduction and environmental conservation
based on SFM.
Regarding social assets, weak internal organization is often found in forest communities, particularly thosewhich have a heterogeneous ethnic population structure. This is often associated with differing priorities andconflicting interests among community members sometimes resulting in inequitable sharing of benefits. Basicorganizational capacity and effective participation of all members of the community, including women andmarginalized groups, are preconditions for success in such targeted joint efforts as sustainable forest
management.
Being small and isolated, forest communities do not represent a necessary critical mass as a stakeholder
group to promote common interests in policy development, forest product markets and in the development ofappropriate support services. The underlying reason is weak cooperation among forest communities andtheir enterprises. Forest users’ organizations, networks and alliances are essential to advance community
forestry and CFEs. There has been extensive reliance on external intermediaries such as NGOs andgovernment agencies and short-term project approaches in providing support. Building up necessarycommunity capacity is, however, a long-term endeavour. Capacity building is also needed in forest agencies
to create new attitudes and skills to enhance their facilitation role.
In spite of its importance, traditional knowledge is not usually enough when forests are managed for marketbased production purposes. Indigenous peoples and forest communities typically lack necessary managerial
and technical skills, knowledge and experience in running CFEs and accessing markets. This is a key
constraint which also makes communities vulnerable to external pressures and illicit activities. Building up
community capacity to plan, utilize, monitor and control their forest resources is therefore critical to reduce
illegal logging and associated trade. However, in most ITTO producing member countries the lack of targeted
capacity building and training facilities, weak local intermediaries and inadequate support to communitybased organizations (CBO) are slowing down the progress. Valuable lessons learned have been
accumulated in many countries but this knowledge has not been sufficiently used to replicate and upscale
successful experiences, which shows weakness in knowledge management. Traditional knowledge should
not be lost as it can provide invaluable support to sustainable forest management if systematized, improved
and disseminated together with modern tools to increase competitiveness and market-based approaches.
Competitiveness of community-based enterprises is typically weak as there are major shortcomings in their
human, financial and physical assets. Even in the leading countries only a few CFEs have developed into
medium-sized industrial enterprises, and their capacity to get a fair price for their products and to invest invalue-added activities is low. Apart from niche markets, buyers generally tend to prefer suppliers who canprovide reliable deliveries in sufficient quantities. As CFEs typically lack commercial cooperation and othernetworks they cannot enjoy the economic benefits of scale and specialization keeping their profitability low.
This is coupled with isolation from the market, limitations in market access due to increasing requirements forverifiable legal and sustainable product supply, and general ignorance of the market characteristics andpricing potential. Trade intermediaries tend to unduly exploit such situations for reaping windfall profits
resulting in an inappropriate sharing of benefits for CFEs. Support programmes have often failed due to9absence of adequate economic feasibility assessment of community forest enterprises.
Another set of constraints to the development of forest communities, smallholders and their enterprises canbe their limited access to capital and appropriate technologies. Most rural funding schemes have been
designed for agriculture and only in few countries targeted financing schemes for community forestry exist.
This is particularly problematic in fairly common situations in which the forest areas transferred to community
management are degraded and require significant investment in restoration. Existing credit schemes are nottailored to the needs of community forests which often imply relatively long pay-back periods which are notcompatible with the conditions of regular commercial credit. Financing institutions have little understandingon the business potential of community forest operations. Forest growing stock could be used collateral for
financing of CFEs but it is rarely possible due to lack of relevant regulation and engagement of the banking
sector.
Relevant International and Regional Work
Since 1992 ITTO has accumulated a significant body of knowledge and experience in the development ofcommunity forestry in its producing member countries. A total of 85 projects have been implemented with aninvestment of about USD 40 million. These projects have had a significant impact on country and community
9

Oberndorf et al. 2007. ibid

5

10capacity as revealed by thematic evaluations. It has been clearly demonstrated that community forest
management and enterprises can lead to sustained improvements in livelihoods but they have to beeconomically feasible, which is one of the key issues of the CFME Programme.
ITTO has implemented successful community forestry projects in Bolivia, Ghana, Panama, Peru, thePhilippines and Togo, among others. In addition, many ITTO projects in the field of reforestation and forest
management have included a focus on creating economic and other benefits for the local communities
through their participation in project interventions. Success factors of these projects have been summarizedin Annex 2.
A considerable body of work has also been undertaken by other multilateral and bilateral organizations todevelop community forestry in several countries. Building on its experience in the development of
11
participatory forestry, FAO’s current programme of Community-based Forest Enterprise Development
facilitates and supports (i) training of trainers in market analysis and development, (ii) setting up of the Forest
Connect (FC) network at national levels, (iii) establishment or reinforcement of associations for small andmedium-scale forest enterprises (SMFE), (iv) functioning business development and financial services, and12(v) shaping an enabling policy environment. Forest Connect is a joint effort with the International Institutefor Environment and Development (IIED) which aims to connect SMFEs to national forest programmes,
13
emerging markets (by supporting existing SMFE associations), and service providers (training and finance) .
The Center for People and Forests (RECOFTC) has three operational programmes: (i) Regional and Country
Analysis and Support Programme focuses on analysis of key issues facing community forestry in the region,
demonstrating practices, and sharing lessons learned, (ii) Capacity Building Services Programme assesses
capacity needs and develops capacity-building programs and services, and (iii) Communications, Marketing,and Fundraising Programme for knowledge management. The Center’s thematic focal areas are (a) people,
14
forests, and climate change; (b) markets; and (c) natural resource conflicts. RECOFTC’s geographicalcoverage includes 11 ITTO member countries with four (Cambodia, China, Indonesia and Thailand)
15
belonging to the group of the Center’s focal countries.
Several international initiatives are on-going on strengthening the land tenure and rights of indigenous
peoples and communities to forest resources including the work carried out related to strengthening of forest
governance by multilateral and bilateral development agencies as well work of such NGOs as e.g. the Global
Alliance of Community Forestry (GACF), the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI), the Forest Peoples
Program (FPP) of the World Rainforest Movement. Several others have a broader approach in theircommunity forestry support programmes which have recently often included elements of climate change
mitigation.
Value Added of the CFME Thematic Programme
The main value added of the CFME Programme derives from its comprehensive systematic approach andcomplementarity with other international and regional initiatives related to community forest management
and enterprise. The Programme will support, in a strategic manner, strengthening of the integrated entire
value chain of community forest production covering forest resource management, primary production,
processing and marketing in contrast to many ongoing initiatives which tend to focus on particular aspects
such as land rights and tenure, social development, etc.
ITTO’s competitive edge is that its work has been focused on promotion of socio-economic benefits basedon the linkage between forests and markets for tropical timber. Particularly for the CFME Programme, the
10 Dourojeanni, M. J. & Seve, J. E. 2006. Synthesis Report on Ex-Post Evaluations. Overall Evaluation of ITTO Projects on
Community Participation in Sustainable Forest Management (Bolivia, Ghana, Panama, Peru, Philippines and Togo). CRF(XXXIX)/6.
13 October 2006.
Dourojeanni, M. J. 2007. Synthesis Report Promotion of the Exchange of Experiences at the Regional Level on the Implementationof Sustainable Forest Management through ITTO Supported Projects. CRF(XLI)/8 19 September 2007.
11 The Forests Trees and People Programme Network (FTPP) was FAO’s best-known community forestry programme which run for
15 years ending in 2002.
12 Among ITTO member countries the Programme has carried out activities in Colombia and Nepal(http://www.fao.org/forestry/enterprises/25494/en/).
13 This programme has partners in five ITTO member countries (China, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana and Nepal)(http://www.iied.org/natural-resources/key-issues/forestry/forest-connect-linking-small-and-medium-forest-enterprises-mar).
14 www.recoftc.org
15 RECOFTC. Ibid.

6

following ITTO aspects are relevant: (i) extensive engagement in field-level activities in the three tropicalregions, (ii) strong track record in capacity building, demonstration and scaling up through dissemination of
information on technical aspects and accumulated lessons learned on the development of community forest
enterprises, (iii) comprehensive approach covering the entire value change, (iv) established, well-developed
mechanisms for knowledge sharing at all levels, (iv) extensive geographic coverage representing
approximately 80% of all tropical forests in the world, with potential development for community forestry andenterprises in 36 ITTO member countries, (v) extensive potential outreach to communities and producers
through its present structures (Civil Society Advisory Group and Trade Advisory Group) and services (incl.
Market Information Service).
Thematically, the CFME Programme has a strategic focus on the development of value addition to local
communities through improved production methods and marketing as well as improvement of thecompetitiveness of community forest producers. This makes it complementary to other on-going initiatives
which largely focus on social organization and primary production in forest communities.
ITTO’s accumulated knowledge and long track record in supporting the development of community forest
management and enterprises in member countries includes a total of about 85 projects implemented in thisfield with valuable lessons learned on best practices. Together with other international experience, theselessons have shown that there is a need for further support to forest communities and their enterprises insustainable forest management and competitive processing of timber and timber products for poverty
reduction. The accumulated knowledge in ITTO provides a solid basis for delivering such a support andsharing of knowledge. 16
The CFME Programme has strong synergies with the ITTO Thematic Programme on Trade and Market
Transparency (TMT) which generates outputs on market intelligence which can be directly used bycommunity forest enterprises. Good governance is fundamental for community forest development, andtherefore the CFME Programme has complementary synergies with the ITTO Thematic Programme on
Tropical Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (TFLET) which focuses on strengthening of forest
governance and reduction of illegal logging and trade. There are also synergies with the ITTO Thematic
Programme on Reducing Deforestation and Forest Degradation and Enhancing Environmental Services(REDDES) which, under its demonstration activities, can provide support to forest communities inmaintenance and enhancement of environmental services. The CFME Programme’s support to build
capacity among communities can enhance tapping of such benefits. To harness these synergies and avoid
operational overlaps, a close coordination with the other Thematic Programmes will be established. 17

2.

OBJECTIVES

The general objective of the Thematic Programme is to contribute to poverty reduction in tropical forest areasby: (i) strengthening the ability of forest communities and smallholders to sustainably manage their tropicalforest resources; and (ii) assisting CFEs to add value to and market the products and services obtained fromthese resources.
The specific objectives of the Programme are to strengthen (a) community level capacity in SFM and adding
value to the forest resource, (b) country capacity and enabling conditions for community forest management
and enterprises, and (c) knowledge management at all levels.

3.

PROGRAMME STRATEGYThe Thematic Programme focuses on three strategic areas:
A. Strengthening of community-level capacity in sustainable forest management and adding value tothe forest resource
B. Strengthening of country capacity and enabling conditions in the development of community forest
management and community forest enterprises
C. Knowledge management, including indigenous traditional knowledge on forest resources and their
18
utilization.
16

http://www.itto.int/en/feature03/

17

ITTC Decision 10(XLIV)18

The strategy responds to the recommendations of the ITTO International Conference on Community Forest Management and7

The scope of the Thematic Programme covers creation and strengthening of community forest management
and enterprises based on (a) timber (including rough rural construction lumber), fuelwood, non-timber forest
products and services such as water, carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, ecotourism,
recreation, hunting, traditional medicines, and (b) further processing of timber and NTFPs at small andmedium scales for domestic and export markets.
In the ITTO producing member countries the following country situations can be identified: (i) countries whichhave virtually no community forests or are in initial phases of piloting, (ii) countries which have recognized
the potential of community forestry, developed institutional models and made field-level trials, often withconservation and reforestation goals, and (iii) countries which are moving towards mainstreaming andstrengthening of community forest management and enterprises for commercialization of forest products andservices as tools for poverty reduction and improved livelihoods. The programme strategy is built to address
differing support needs in the three stages of development of community forestry drawing on the lessons
learned from earlier ITTO projects in this field which are summarized in Annex 2.
In the first group the CFME Programme can support interested countries in the elaboration of national or
sub-national strategies for the development of community forest management and enterprises based on adiagnosis of the constraints and opportunities including identification of measures to be taken to create
enabling conditions through legal and institutional reform, to build up necessary initial capacity and to gain
experience on field-level pilot experience in order to devise suitable solutions. Such a support package could
be provided through projects in countries which have little or no experience in this field but which have a firm
political commitment to develop community forestry. The Programme can also facilitate access to othercountries’ experience through knowledge sharing at regional and international levels.
In countries which belong to the second group, the Programme can support adjustment of the legal andpolicy environment for sustainable production-oriented community forest management and enterprises, aswell as related capacity building and field-level interventions to test new approaches which can be replicatedand mainstreamed. In this group of countries, support can also be provided to strengthening of organizationsof forest communities and networks to promote their common interests and to build up capacities among
their members. At this stage clarity about the legal access to forests and products have to be in place.
In the third group of countries the Programme can support the development of commercially oriented
community forest enterprises with a focus on technical and business management skills, access totechnology, markets and capital, market intelligence on domestic and export markets, improved marketing,etc. Strengthening of partnerships, organization of community forest enterprises, marketing networks, as wellas promotion of certification in community forests and chain-of custody are typical areas of programme
support in this country group. At this stage it is necessary that the government has the capacity to effectively
apply forest legislation and authorization of forest use. Building up such capacity can form part of programme
support.
Lack of sufficient forestry education and research are cross-cutting constraints in most country situations andcan be addressed by the Thematic Programme.
At the community level the Programme can support empowerment as well as development andimplementation of approaches with high employment and revenue creation potential and long-term
economic feasibility. Support would be targeted at improving forest management and the production oftimber, timber products, NTFPs and generation of environmental services to supply local needs, local
industry or domestic and export markets. Programme interventions would aim at strengtheningorganizational, managerial and technical skills and the business development of community enterprises,
including their business plans and marketing strategies.
The Programme can support development of strategic community partnerships in timber production with
forest concession companies for mutual benefits this being a key strategic intervention area which offers
possibilities for faster and greater economic benefits for both parties. Together with capacity building throughtraining, the support can be expected to accelerate communities’ direct involvement in the sustainable
management of their forests, timber production, further processing, NTFP production, utilization of forest
residues, and conservation of forest resources.

Enterprises, Rio Branco, Brazil, 15-20 July 2007.

8

Participatory pilot projects can be implemented in situations where necessary legal provisions exist, including
for community land tenure and resource rights, in order to identify and test policy proposals and to develop
manuals, training materials and other capacity building material which can be applied at country and regional
levels.
Project design should be based on participatory planning and community priorities, and clearly targeted atfinancially and economically viable and environmentally sustainable activities adjusted to the wide diversity of
local situations. Pilot projects with potential for replication and mainstreaming are implemented in areas ofparticular importance for poverty reduction and/or biodiversity conservation (representing typical problem
situations e.g. in buffer zones around protected areas, trans-boundary conservation areas and biologicalcorridors).
The implementation strategy represents a programmatic approach at country level to achieve the specificobjective of the Programme through its expected results and deliverables. The strategy would focus on
removing external and internal constraints in the legal, policy and institutional frameworks and build as muchas possible upon horizontal learning among community enterprises and community organizations as well as
technical support. Enabling activities can include assistance to participatory planning and rights mapping tosecure access to the resource base, institution building, community organization for production, analyticalstudies, and monitoring and evaluation. Support can be provided to piloting, and mainstreaming of
successful approaches and models for creating financially and economically viable, socially and culturally
adapted sustainable CFEs. The Programme can also support facilitation of community access to capital,
credit and markets.
The capacity building support of the Programme focuses on awareness raising, technical, managerial andorganizational training; strengthening of forest community associations and networks; horizontal learning andexchange among community-based enterprises; improvement of local governance; diversification of
production activities and services; as well as development of tools for implementing community forest
management and improving the efficiency of CFEs. In addition the Programme can support training offorestry and extension staff in government agencies, NGOs, CBO’s and private companies. Training support
can also include formulation of projects for financing.
The Programme can support generation of information on the contributions of CFE value chains and to the
local and national economies, poverty linkages, and participation of women and less advantaged membersof the rural population. This information is useful to justify decisions on regulatory and institutional reforms
and public sector support to community forestry. The Programme can also facilitate dialogue between thegovernment, community leaders, intermediary organizations and financing institutions to remove identified
constraints and tap development opportunities.
At regional and international levels, the Thematic Programme focuses on knowledge sharing andmanagement to disseminate lessons learned and scale-up positive results. This can also include analyticalwork on tools for policy development applicable in several countries as well as production and disseminationof generic training packages and development of knowledge management networks, including traditional
knowledge. The international and regional level actions are targeted at enhancing the community-level andnational efforts and to scale-up impacts through replication and dissemination (Figure 1). The Programme
makes intensive use of the accumulated knowledge already developed on community forest management
and CFEs to avoid any duplication of work. Common tools and approaches can be developed in sub-regions
as appropriate (e.g. the Congo Basin, Central America, the Amazon Basin, the Mekong River Basin, thePacific Islands, etc.).
Operational partnerships with other organizations supporting community forestry are a critical element of theimplementation of the CFME Programme. Links and cooperation will be established with relevant initiatives
and various bilateral and multilateral programmes to harness synergies and complementarity.
The ultimate target groups are forest communities, indigenous peoples and smallholders, as well as theirorganizations. The intermediate target groups are civil society organizations, knowledge institutions,
government agencies, relevant private organizations, and other forest stakeholders.

9The Programme is open for stakeholders in all ITTO member countries. In view of the fact that community
forestry is less developed in most member countries in Africa than in Latin America and the Asia-Pacific 19 ,the region will receive special consideration in supporting the preparation of project proposals.
The main Programme risks and how they can be addressed are as follows:
(i)

(ii)

(iii)

(iv)

(v)

(vi)

(vii)

(viii)(ix)(x)

Inadequate political will to implement declared commitments on necessary changes in the legal
and institutional framework to develop community forest management. To address this risk, theProgramme includes (a) analytical work on the policy framework and the socio-economic
contributions of community forestry, and (b) promotion of specific awareness raising activities
among decision-makers and key stakeholder groups.
Programme interventions may fail due to inadequate and/or convoluted land tenure systems andrelated regulations and lack of enabling conditions that should be provided by the state, such as
clear land titles and basic education. In such situations the Programme’s support should bedirected to creation of enabling conditions before focusing on the development of community
enterprises. These issues are considered in selecting programme interventions to minimize
possible risks due to lack of enabling conditions.
Government agencies may not be able to provide necessary support and facilitation. This risk
can be addressed through the preparation of national community forestry strategies andengagement of local-level government agencies in planning and implementation of programme
support activities as well as staff training.
Lack of leading role and full participation of communities in all the phases of projects frompreparation to implementation is a risk in projects implemented by intermediaries. This risk isaddressed by adopting the measures for local community participation as outlined in the ITTO
Manual for project formulation. 20
Lack of determination by communities to achieve real change, rather than complacency inreceiving temporary benefits as part of top-down approaches to community development. Thisrisk is addressed by requiring participating communities to provide written statements on theircommitment to implement planned activities.
For community-level pilot projects to lead to sustained results, their economic feasibility needs tobe ensured in tandem with the environmental sustainability and social acceptance. This has
been addressed by inclusion of pre-investment studies related to production of timber, NTFPs
and other goods and services of forests.
Partnership arrangements with the private sector can lead to undesirable results for forest
communities. This risk is addressed through participatory planning measures, adequate
consultations between partners and among community members, as well as transparency of
information and contractual arrangements.
Lack of access to capital by CFEs can impede sustainable growth of economic activities. The
risk is addressed through provision of specific support possibility to facilitate access to capitaland markets.
Financing should be made available including counterpart financing. Targeted fund-raisingefforts, including as part of exit strategies if appropriate, should be included in the Programme
and projects detailed work plans.
The intervention period of support can be too short to generate tangible results to convincecommunity members to continue with improved activities. Due to the pilot nature of the Thematic
Programme, this risk can be addressed by inclusion of specific exit strategies to ensuresustainability of improved practices. The risk can be also reduced by incorporating in projectwork plans the development of benefit-sharing mechanisms and other incentive systems. Such
strategies may also include mobilization of follow-up support from other sources.

The main instruments of the programme implementation are pre-projects and projects as well as activities
proposed by stakeholders in the ITTO developing member countries and submitted through the national
21
ITTO focal points to ensure a coordinated approach. Community-based organizations, associations andalliances of forest communities and indigenous peoples, civil society organizations, government agencies,
research bodies, educational institutions and the private sector can submit proposals prepared through19

Summary Report of Conference on Forest Tenure, Governance and Enterprise: New opportunities for livelihoods and wealth inCentral and West Africa. 25-29 May 2009,Yaoundé, Cameroon. http://www.itto.int/en/workshop_detail/id=44270000
20
ITTO Manual for the Formulation of Projects, Annex B Guidelines for the Participation of Local Communities in the Project Cycle.
21

The provisions of the ITTO Manual for the Formulation of Projects in the Project Cycle are considered in all the activities of theThematic Programme.

10participatory processes and based on the needs and priorities of forest communities. The proposals should
fall under one or more of the strategic interventions of the CFME Programme. A preference is given to
proposals involving partnerships between forest communities, indigenous groups, the public sector, the civilsociety and/or the private sector.
In addition, a limited number of ITTO-implemented activities are carried out in capacity building, knowledge
management, scaling up and other strategic areas which will directly contribute to efforts in member
countries.

11

Figure 1

CFME Thematic Programme Strategy

Programme scope:- Creationandstrengthening ofcommunity forest
management andenterprises
based on:
- Timber, fuelwood,
NTFPs andenvironmental
services (incl.
water, carbon
sequestration,
biodiversity
conservation,
ecotourism,
recreation,
hunting, traditional
medicines)- Timber processing
and NTFPs atsmall and medium
scales fordomestic andexport markets

Community level
Participatory
planning
anddiagnostic
studiesStrengtheningofcommunityorganizations

Training& skills
building

Preinvestment
studies

Businessdevelopmentof CFEs;
marketstudiesCommercial
partnerships
andnetworks,marketingTargetgroupsSpecific
objectives

Generalobjective

Ultimate:(a) strengthencommunity level
capacity in SFM
and adding
value to theforest resource

Contribute topoverty reduction
in tropical forest
areas by:- forest
communities
and smallholders

Country level
Policydevelopment
and strategicplanning incommunity
forestry

Legal andinstitutional
review andreforms

Strengtheningofcooperative
communitybasedorganizations

Technical
guidelines
andmanuals

Training,
educationandextension

Marketdevelopment andintelligence

Targetedfinancing
instruments

Regional and international level
Policydevelopment tools

Training
packages

Access totechnology,
markets andcapital

Networking andpartnerships

12

Other
knowledge
management
andinformation
sharing

Intermediate:- government
agencies- policy
makers- NGOs- other stakeholders(b) strengthencountry capacityand enabling
conditions forcommunity
forestmanagement
and enterprises(c) strengthen
knowledge
management at
all levels(i) strengthening
the ability offorest communities andsmallholders tosustainably
manage their
tropical forest
resources; and(ii) assisting
CFEs to add
value to andmarket the
products andservices obtained
from theseresources.

4.

OUTCOMES/OUTPUTS/DELIVERABLES AND EXPECTED IMPACTS/BENEFITS

Table 1.

Outcomes, Outputs and Deliverables of the CFME ProgrammeSpecific objective
Strengthencommunity level
capacity in SFM andadding value to theforest resource.

Outcomes
Improved knowledge and skills
in implementing sustainable
forest management amongcommunities, smallholders andtheir organizations--

Strengthened organizations offorest communities,
indigenous peoples andsmallholders;

Improved access by CFEs tocapital and technology--

Increased value added ofproduction and strengthened
marketing capacities of-

Outputs
Improved operational practices for community
forest management and enterprises
Trained human resources in implementationof community forestry in the programme
impact area
Increased area of community lands under
SFM; including both natural forests, andplantations for fuelwood, agroforestry andother purposes, as well as restored andrehabilitated forests.
Enhanced conservation of biodiversity, soil,
water, carbon storage and other natural
resources in community forests
Improved consensus building, management
systems and practices in community
organizations
Associations, networking and alliances
established and strengthened among forest
communities, indigenous peoples andsmallholders, and their enterprises
Improved knowledge on technology andfinancing possibilities among forest
communities, indigenous peoples,
smallholders and service providers
Improved knowledge among the financial
community and technology providers on theopportunities and needs of CFEs
Improved mechanisms for financing andtechnology transfer for CFEs identified andpiloted
Improved technical and business
management capability among CFEs
Improved marketing arrangements and

13

-

-

-

-

Deliverables
Number of communities involved in SFM
implementation
Community leaders and members trained andassisted in development and implementation of
SFM (including RIL)
Training materials produced and activities
implemented
Sustainably managed pilot and demonstration
areas established in community forests

Training materials for awareness raising andimproved management systems and practices ofcommunity organizations produced and training
activities implemented
Effectively functioning associations, networks
and alliances
Improved information availability on financing
sources, appropriate technologies and business
management among CFEs
Capacity building initiatives undertaken on
financing and technology
Analytical studies on the design of financing
mechanisms and technological improvements
as well as dissemination activities
Technical training activities on value added
production
Pilot and demonstration initiatives implemented

Specific objective

Strengthen country
capacity andenabling conditions
for community forest
management andenterprises

Outcomes
community forests andenterprises.

Improved enabling policy andlegal frameworks at the country
level to promote community
forest management andenterprises--

Strengthen
knowledge
management at alllevels

Improved knowledge baseand information sharing on
community forest
management and enterprises
on local, national, regional
and international levels

facilitated access to markets by CFEs
Expanded sales of CFEs
Improved family employment and income incommunities directly involved in community
forestry and enterprises
Participatory processes established for
promoting community forestry
Strengthening of land tenure and resourcerights of forest communities, indigenous
peoples and smallholders
Policy, legal and institutional reforms
designed and initiatedImproved policy, legal and institutionalframeworks to promote community forest
management and enterprises
Integration of development of community
forestry and enterprises in national forest
programmes and similar planning frameworks
Local communities empowered to advancesustainable forest management and forest
based enterprises in their areas of influence- Information sharing and knowledge
management systems operational- Improved availability of traditional knowledge
on community forest management

14

in CFE development (incl. management,
production and marketing models)- Commercial partnerships established between
CFEs and private enterprises/investors- Improved market information on the domestic
and export markets- Improved information on the status and potentialof community forest management andenterprises at sub-national and national levels- Stakeholder consultations/dialogues undertaken
for awareness raising and policy development
for community forest management andenterprises- Analytical studies on constraints in land tenure
and resource rights and validated proposals for
improvement- Evidence on policy, institutional and legislativereforms in process- Policy initiatives on community forest
management and enterprises designed andimplemented- Local communities tenure and access to forest
resources clarified and facilitated- Training materials and knowledge products andservices provided- Compilation, assessment, analysis anddissemination of lessons learned at local, national,
regional and international levels.
- Events for sharing experience at
local/national/regional and international levels- Compilation of traditional knowledge on
community forest management

Expected Impacts/Benefits
The main expected direct impacts of the Thematic Programme would be: (i) improved awareness, knowledge
and skills in implementing sustainable forest management among communities, smallholders and theirorganizations (strengthened human assets); (ii) improved access by CFEs to technology, markets andcapital, and strengthened marketing capacities (strengthened financial and physical assets); (iii) increased
value added of CFE products and services; (iv) strengthened organizations of forest communities andsmallholders, and secured land tenure and resource rights (strengthened social and natural assets); and (v)enabling policy, institutional and legal frameworks to promote and implement community forest management.
The social and economic impacts of the Programme are identified by target groups as follows:
For forest communities, indigenous groups and other forest dependent people the Programme will contributeto reduction in rural poverty and improved livelihoods through sustainable forest management, improved
access to forest resources and their products, increased employment and income in forest communities fromproductive activities as well as community empowerment, strengthened community-based organizations andnetworks, and improved skills.
For civil society organizations the Programme’s benefits derive from strengthening their capacity to support
forest communities in improving their livelihoods.
For the private sector the benefits derive from (a) increased supply of wood raw material, (b) improved
cooperation with local communities and smallholders, and (c) practical demonstration of corporate social
responsibility on cooperation with forest communities, including sharing of benefits and responsibilities.
For governments the CFME Programme provides benefits at sub-national and national levels through (a)improving information for policy decisions to achieve sub-national and national development goals, (b)reduced social conflicts in forest areas, (c) improved institutional implementation capacity including forestry
education and research.
For donors and the international community the Programme generates valuable lessons and new knowledge
on how support to community forest management and enterprises can be enhanced through a programmatic
strategic approach to deliver the targeted local, national and global objectives. The related international
programmes would benefit from the synergistic outputs of the ITTO’s CFME Thematic Programme. In thiscontext, of particular importance are the medium and long-term benefits from the Programme activities which
address the implementation gap of SFM not covered by other initiatives.
The environmental impacts of the Programme derive from the expanded implementation of SFM in tropicalforests by adding value to forest resources, directly involving local communities in forest conservation,
sustainable use and by improving other benefits, with the consequent reduction in pressures on degradation,and inappropriate forest land use change (strengthened natural assets). The impacts would include
expanded forest cover and improved forest quality as a result of reduced impact harvesting, protection,
reforestation, conservation and other measures of SFM.

5.

OTHER PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS

The Programme is implemented in close cooperation with ITTO’s Civil Society Advisory Group (CSAG) and
Trade Advisory Group (TAG). The Programme will engage a number of partners in the implementation andwill provide a direct contribution to the effectiveness of various other international, regional and bilateralprogrammes targeted at development of community forest management and enterprises. The CFME
Programme is implemented in cooperation with the relevant activities of the other members of the
Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) and other international and bilateral aid agencies, as
appropriate. Cooperation mechanisms are established with relevant international, national and local civilsociety organizations with experience on building capacity for indigenous peoples and forest communities.

6.

ACTIVITIESIn this section an indicative non-exhaustive list of activities which can be supported by the Programme isprovided. As country situations vary, necessary support interventions can differ and therefore other activities

15

which are consistent with the Programme objectives may be considered in decision-making on the approvalof proposals.
A. Strengthening of community-level capacity in sustainable forest management and adding value
to the forest resource1) Support capacity building of forest communities and community enterprises through pilot anddemonstration projects which may include a variety of activities, such as:a) Diagnostic studies applying rapid rural appraisal and other relevant toolsb) Participatory planning with a shared vision on community forest developmentc) Clarification of the roles, rights and responsibilities of actors, through community-level bylaws andrules, and development of suitable benefit-sharing approaches among community membersd) Clarification of forest and land tenure and conflict resolutione) Forest management planning and related resource assessments, surveys and studiesf) Restoration of degraded forests, reforestation, reduced impact logging and other measures of SFMg) Agroforestry and alternative livelihood systems based on trees and forestsh) Basic and intermediate technology transferi) Strengthening of management and information systemsj) Production planning and quality controlk) Training and organizational developmentl) Feasibility studies and cost-benefit analyses related to production of timber, NTFPs and other goods
and services of forestsm) Financial planning of community forest enterprisesn) Sales and marketing development and development of commercial partnershipso) Innovative approaches in organization, business management and technologies of CFEsp) Strengthening of community organizations to promote their interests taking into account equity andgender issues2) Support capacity building of community-based cooperative organizations (associations, alliances andnetworks) which may include a variety of activities, such as:a) Establishment and strengthening of cooperative organizations to promote economic and social
interests of forest communities, indigenous peoples and smallholders (awareness raising activities,
promotion, workshops, elaboration of rules of operation, etc.)b) Partnership building and networking between cooperative community organizations, their networks
and other partnership arrangementsc) Establishment of databases on community forest enterprises and their products to facilitate
establishment of commercial partnerships with buyers
Pilot and demonstration projects can be implemented by community-based organizations or facilitatingintermediary organizations such as relevant government agencies, civil society organizations, the private
sector and other stakeholders, but in all cases full participation of communities is required. Demonstration
activities of the Programme should include elements for validation of successful approaches.
B.

Strengthening of country capacity and enabling conditions in the development of community
forest management and community forest enterprises3) Support to training and extension programmes, including on value addition and product development aswell as business management and marketing skills, management of secondary forests for timber
production, restoration of degraded areas and reforestation as appropriate in local conditionsa) Development of training packages, technical guidelines, manuals and best practices for community
forest management and community forest enterprisesb) Organization of pilot training courses for community leaders and members, technicians andextension staff at local level.
c) Organization of pilot training courses for government agencies, local NGOs working with forest
communities and indigenous peoples, and other local intermediaries and facilitatorsd) Development of educational programmes for community forestry4) Support to analytical work on the development of community forest management and enterprisesa) Surveys and other analytical work on the current status of community forest management andenterprises to identify development opportunities and constraints, priorities and concerns of local
communities, need for adjustment of the institutional and legal framework for community forestry (e.g.

16b) Analysis of constraints in access to markets and financing by CFEs and smallholders andidentification of measures for their removalc) Improvement of market information and promotion of commercial partnerships between CFEs andbuyers of their products5) Support to development of national policies, legislation and strategic planning for community forestrya) Stakeholder dialogues and other awareness raising activities on the potential of community forest
management and enterprises to contribute to poverty reduction and other national development
goals among decision-makers and key stakeholder groupsb) Adjustment of national policies, legislation and strategies for the development of community forest
management and enterprises, particularly to secure forest tenure and provide legal recognition offorest management rights and responsibilitiesc) Support to forest land use planning and demarcation of forest lands in community forest areas to
avoid tenure disputesd) Development of targeted financing instruments to enable communities, CFEs and smallholders tohave access to capital to finance their investments related to SFM and value added activities
C.

Knowledge management
6) Support to knowledge generation on community forestry and CFEs, including traditional indigenous
forest uses and management methodsa) Conduct analyses on market development of community forest enterprises in Africa, Latin Americaand Asia-Pacificb) Analytical work on tools for scaling up of policy development and implementation practices ofcommunity forestry and CFEs, including benchmarking between countries, lessons learned on thedesign and implementation of policy, legal and institutional reforms and incentives, as well as theidentification of broader applicability of the promising approachesc) Production of generic knowledge tools for implementing community forest management, andimproving the efficiency of CFEs (e.g. generic guidelines for preparing community forest
management plans, improved labour-intensive reduced impact harvesting methods, sustainable
harvesting of NTFPs, efficient methods of small-scale processing, conservation and protection offorest resources)d) Compilation of traditional knowledge on community forest management

7) Support to dissemination and sharing of experiencea) Organization of workshops, seminars, conferences on community forest management andenterprisesb) Creation and strengthening of networks on community forest management and enterprises involving
communities, enterprises, government agencies, associations, NGOs, researchers and otherstakeholders at the national, regional and international levelsc) Production of publications, establishment and maintenance of web pages, listservers, etc.
d) Promotion of horizontal learning activities between community forest and enterprise networkse) Partnership building with interested national, regional and international bodies
Programme support can be provided to activities dedicated to the replication and scaling up of, inter alia,
successful demonstration projects, sharing of lessons learned successful experiences and appropriatetechnology, participatory approaches, as well as innovative, financing mechanisms incentives and otherapproaches in the development of community forest management and enterprises.
If necessary, ITTO may, upon request, provide technical assistance to interested poor forest-dependentcommunities to formulate proposals for the sustainable management of their forests and development ofcommunity forest enterprises.
Proposals for projects/pre-projects/activities can include several elements from different action areas of theProgramme if deemed appropriate. Proposals should be prepared in accordance with the ITTO Manual for
Project Formulation (2008).

17

7.

WORK PLAN, INCLUDING BUDGET ESTIMATES AND DONOR CONTRIBUTIONSWork Plan
The general indicative work plan is given in Table 2. Detailed annual work plans will be prepared to
implement the Programme. Two rounds of call for submissions by stakeholders through the ITTO focal points
are arranged per year. During the first year the following activities are planned:a) Promotion of the Programme launching through various ITTO organized and participated events tocreate awareness among stakeholders on the availability of programme supportb) Organization of the calls for proposalsc) Financing and implementation of selected demonstration projectsd) Conduct analyses on market development of community forest enterprises in Africa, Latin Americaand Asia Pacifice) Provision of support for project formulation to stakeholders who have requested this assistance
Table 2.

General work plan
Year 1

Actions

Year 2

Year 3

1. Programme launching and promotion
2. Calls for proposals●

3. Advisory Committee meetings

●

●
●

●

●

●

●

●
●

●
●

●

4. Implementation of TP activities- A. Strengthening of community-level
capacity- B. Strengthening of country capacity andenabling conditions- C. Knowledge management
5. Annual monitoring reports

●

●

●

6. Review and evaluation of the CFME pilot phaseby the ITTC●

Budget estimates
An indicative three-year budget that would result in significant improvements in the development ofcommunity forest management and enterprises in the three tropical regions is US$10 million (Table 3).
Table 3.

CFME Thematic Programme Budget (Indicative)

Activity (US$ 1,000)
A. Strengthening ofcommunity-level capacity
B. Strengthening ofcountry capacity andenabling conditions
C. Knowledge
management
SUBTOTAL
Programme Management(9.5%)
GRAND TOTAL

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3Total

Per cent

496.0

1,650.0

1,770.0

3,916.0

42.9

1,017.8

1,670.0

1,507.6

4,195.4

46.0

220.0

457.3

334.7

1,012.0

11.1

1,733.8

3,777.3

3,612.3

9,123.4

100.0

166.1

363.8

346.7

876.6

1,899.9

4,141.1

3,959.0

10,000.0

Donor contributions
PledgedBalance

US$ 1,000,000
US$ 9,000,000

TOTAL

US$ 10,000,000
18As at February 2010, donor contributions have been received from the Governments of Japan, the UnitedStates of America, Switzerland, Norway and Sweden.
Counterpart contributions
In addition to donor contributions, implementing agencies for activities or projects developed in theframework of this programme are also expected to contribute financial and in-kind resources, taking into
account their roles, responsibilities and capacities, in principle, with a share consistent with the level of such
inputs in the existing ITTO project portfolio. The counterpart in-kind contributions include provision oflogistical support comprised of services of staff members, office spaces, transportation, etc., provided by the
implementing agencies. On average ITTO projects include counterpart contribution from implementing
agencies of 10-20% of the ITTO budget and this average level is targeted in the CFME Thematic
Programme.

II.

OPERATIONAL ELEMENTS

Composition of the Thematic Programme Advisory Committee
The Advisory Committee (AC) has the following composition:a)Three producer member representatives with recognized expertise on the Thematic Programme;b)
At least one non-donor consumer member representative with recognized expertise on the Thematic
Programme;c)Expert representatives of interested donors and collaborating institutions; andd)Executive Director or his designated representative.
In consultation with members, the Executive Director will invite individuals to participate on Thematic
Programme Advisory Committees.
As a general rule, the membership will not exceed seven members, taking into account the need forbalanced representation among members.
The task of the AC is to assist the Executive Director with the implementation of the Thematic Programme
as follows:
a)
b)
c)

Selection of activities/pre-projects/projects for financing under the Thematic Programme;
Monitoring and evaluation of progress in implementing the Thematic Programme; andIdentification of potential additional sources of voluntary financial contributions to the Thematic
Programme

As a general rule, the AC works and coordinates through electronic means and meets once a year.
Specific selection criteria for proposed activities/projects/pre-projects
In selecting activities/pre-projects/projects for financing, the Thematic Programme Advisory Committee willconsider the following general criteria:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)

Conformity with the Thematic Programme Document and ITTA objectives;
Technical feasibility;
Cost effectiveness;
Environmental and social effects;
Linkages or relevance to other activities/pre-projects/projects under the programme;
Applicability/extension of results, e.g. regionally or globally;
Clear quantitative and qualitative indicators to evaluate progress towards achieving programme
objectives;
Measures to verify the coherence and effectiveness of individual activities/pre-projects/ projects
funded under the programme;
Overall impact and sustainability of outputs and outcomes; and19

j)Mechanisms for effective stakeholder participation.

In addition, the AC will consider the following specific criteriak)l)Potential impact to the achievement of the specific objectives of the Thematic ProgrammeContribution to the Programme deliverables

Administrative arrangements
The Programme is implemented under the direction of the Executive Director of ITTO. The Programme iscoordinated by the ITTO Secretariat.
Monitoring and evaluation procedures
The Programme is monitored according to the procedures of the ITTO Manual for Project Monitoring, Review,
Reporting and Evaluation and using the Organization’s on-line monitoring system as appropriate.
The Advisory Committee monitors the progress of Programme implementation at least once a year based on
the information generated by the monitoring system, including periodic progress reports. A programmatic
monitoring protocol will be developed for the Programme as a whole.
In accordance with the Decision 9/(XLIV) of the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC) the Executive
Director will report at each Council session on the development, status and other relevant information on thepilot operation of the Thematic Programme, and to keep Members informed inter-sessionally through the
ITTO web site.
The effectiveness of the pilot operation of the Thematic Programmes will be reviewed and evaluated after
three years by the ITTC.

Technical and financial reporting procedures
The Programme uses the ITTO standardized reporting formats on individual activities/pre-projects/projects
and the Thematic Programme as a whole. The reporting elements include work-plan, budget, regularprogress, technical and completion reports, inclusive of narrative reports and financial reports, formats forconsolidated narrative and financial reports, monitoring and evaluation reports. The provisions of the ITTO
Manual for Project Monitoring, Review, Reporting and Evaluation will apply, as appropriate. Donor
contributions are not earmarked to specific projects/pre-projects/activities and a common reporting
framework will be applied for participating donors rather than individual reports for each donor.

20

Annex 1.

Impacts

Problem Tree Analysis in the CFME Thematic Programme
Increased poverty
and marginalizationof communities

Directeffects

Reducedlivelihoods

Subcauses

Loss ofenvironmental
services

Inappropriate
sharing of
benefits andsocial conflict

Unsustainable forestry

Low value added of production

Key
problemDirectcausesDeforestationand forest
degradation

Migration of the
youth anddeclining labour
force

Social instability

Inadequate capacity of forest communities and their enterprises in SFM
and socio-economic development

Insecure tenure andresource rights andhigh transaction costsof CFEs

Inappropriate
legal andinstitutionalframework

Lack of clear
policies oncommunity
forestry/CFE
and weakgovernment
supportWeak competitiveness of
CFEs

Weak organization of communities
and lack of technical and business
management skills among CFEs

Weak
cooperation
among CFEs
and lack of
critical mass
to promotecommoninterests

Conflicting
interests
amongcommunity
members

Lack oftargeted
training
facilities

21

Weak local
intermediaries
and support
organizations

Small sizeand lack ofaggregationof supplies
between
CFEs

Lack ofaccess tofinanceandtechnology

Isolationfrom themarket,limitedmarketaccess andknowledge

ANNEX 2
SUCCESS FACTORS OF PAST ITTO PROJECTSIN COMMUNITY FOREST MANAGEMENT AND ENTERPRISE
The following key success factors have been identified in the evaluations of the ITTO-funded projects andcould be considered, as appropriate, in the design and implementation of projects to be financed under theCommunity Forest Management and Enterprise Thematic Programme.
Project design phase Clarification of the commitment of the government to development of community forest management andenterprises
 Participatory planning based on the priorities and needs of communities; rely on bottom-up approach Adequate information provided to communities and their formal commitment to implementation
 Economic feasibility to be established through a cost-benefit analysis
 Early consideration of benefit distribution, gender and socio-cultural aspects
 Need to analyze strategic options to address the actual problems in the field; avoidance of blueprint
solutions Need to have adequate baseline information on the resources and socio-economic conditions to allow
assessment of impact
 In countries with no or limited practical experience in community forest management, need to design anational strategy
Pre-conditions for project success Formal commitment to the project implementation by relevant stakeholders
 Clarity about the tenure and legal access by communities to the forest resource and their right to use
the resource Capacity of the government to effectively apply the forest legislation and to process authorizations offorest use
Technical aspects
 Need to consider all forest outputs and services including non-timber forest products, fauna andenvironmental services
 Need to take stock the relevant existing state-of-the-art to avoid reinventing the wheel
 The quality of forestry and enterprise planning should be adequate In natural forest management projects, there is need to rely on scientific information on tree taxonomy,
phenology, ecological dynamics and relevant silvicultural methods, permanent sample plots and otherelements of adaptive management; in addition to timber, consider utilization of forest residues; theCriteria and Indicators provide a useful framework for identification of relevant aspects of sustainable
management of community forests
 In restoration projects of secondary and degraded forests, need to consider appropriate use of low-cost
natural regeneration when possible
 In plantation projects, critical elements have been species selection to local conditions, seed availability
to meet demand, quality of planting material, phasing of targets to ensure continuous flow of benefits inthe long run and to learn from experience In NTFPs, the phased strategy often involves (i) production of technical material, (ii) establishment ofdemonstration areas, (iii) training and dissemination on harvesting, primary processing and quality
control, and (iv) development of industrial processing and marketing In protection forests, benefits through community management are often largest in sustainable use
buffer zones, biological corridors between protected areas
Economic aspects
 Incentives should be designed to provide tangible benefits for the population during the whole cycle ofthe operation (even beyond the project period) Community forest enterprises should be for-profit and engage those community members who arecommitted to work for them Engagement of the private sector as commercial partners
 Cooperation between communities to have sufficiently large supply capacity to customer demand for
products
 Wages paid in community forest management and enterprises need to be considered costs, not benefits
 Consider and manage economic risks of the community forest enterprise22Social aspects
 Consistent effective participation of communities can be ensured by adequate prior consultations,continuous information flow, as well as transparency on project implementation arrangements andfinancial flows Need to ensure appropriate sharing of benefits, including to the poor members of the community
 Continuous observance of the gender aspects
Capacity building In addition to technical skills, business management and organizational capacities need to be built up
 Use of lead/promotion producers in dissemination of results Training needs to be demand driven and practical but carefully planned
 Production of adequate tools for implementation (guidelines, manuals and technical packages forcommunity forest management and enterprise) is necessary if not available in local language(s) Target groups of the training strategy need to cover all the actors, not only technical staff or community
leaders
 In natural forest management projects training should cover planning (inventory work, environmental
impact assessment, other studies, identification and assessment of strategic options, elaboration ofmanagement plans), implementation (particularly reduced impact logging), commercialization of
products and organizational aspects
Dissemination of results and mainstreaming of experience Identification of key success factors and constraints in local context and their relevance for broader
application
 Mechanisms for exchange of experience (e.g. community visits, community business forums)
 Promotion of community networks
 Policy analysis and response for removing the constraints encountered in community forest
management Communication on the credibility of communities in sustainable management of their forests
 Obligation to the government to make verifiable use of project results
Implementation arrangements
 Need to assess accountability and capability of non-governmental intermediaries
 Careful consideration of the role of project intermediaries (implementation effectiveness, associatedtransaction costs, sustainability of commitment, capacity to continue support after project termination)
 Need to ensure adequate field presence of project staff Need for clarity about ownership and management of project assets after termination (e.g. nurseries,
vehicles, laboratories, etc.)
 Engage communities in monitoring and evaluation
 Mid-term reviews are useful to check relevance of interventions and to remove constraints of progress
Sustainability of project interventions
 Linking with national forest programmes and similar initiatives to ensure post-project government support
 Engagement of commercial partners to ensure post-project revenue generation
 Linking the project with micro-credit, seed financing and credit schemes to ensure post-project financing
 Phasing of project interventions to keep specific project objectives attainable Include specific exit strategies in the project design or during implementation
Sources:
Dourojeanni, M. J. & Seve, J. E. 2006. Synthesis Report on Ex-Post Evaluations. Overall Evaluation of ITTO Projects on
Community Participation in Sustainable Forest Management (Bolivia, Ghana, Panama, Peru, Philippines and Togo).
CRF(XXXIX)/6. 13 October 2006.
Dourojeanni, M. J. 2007. Synthesis Report Promotion of the Exchange of Experiences at the Regional Level on the
Implementation of Sustainable Forest Management through ITTO Supported Projects. CRF(XLI)/8 19 September 2007;
ITTO/Office de Développement et d’Exploitation des Forêts. 2007. Regional Workshop of the ITTO on the Exchanges ofExperiences on the Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) through Projects Supported by ITTO. Final Report. Lomé
Togo, 29-31 May 2007.
OIMT. 2007. Taller Latinoamericano de Intercambio de Experiencias a nivel regional para la implementación delproceso de Ordenación Forestal Sostenible a través de Proyectos aprobados por la Organización Internacional deMaderas Tropìcales, OIMT. Julio 10 – 13, Medellín, Colombia.
Individual ex-post evaluation reports of ITTO projects (PD 46/97 Rev.3(I), PD 146/02 Rev.1 (I) (CEM-CFI(XLIII)/3, 8
October 2009.

23

ANNEX 3

Thematic Process Appraisal Process

Submission of proposals
by proponent

Clearance by the ITTO
country focal point

Screening/pre-appraisal by
the Secretariat

Distribution of pre-appraisal forms andproposal documents to TPAC members

Review by TPAC members- comments

Integration of comments and pre-selection
by the Secretariat- distribution to TPAC members

Recommendation by TPAC members

ED decision24