1. General Description:
ID:CN-24029
Project resulting from this CN: N/A
Note: CNs are developed into project proposals following consultation with donor(s).
1.1 Project Title:
Strengthening best practice through continuous forest education across the tropicalworld: Alliance for Responsible Forest Management

1.2 Submitting Country/ies:
Costa Rica,Ghana,Thailand

1.3 Specific Location & Country/ies/regions/areas benefitting from the project:
Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean

1.4 Endorsement from ITTO Focal Point:
Letters of support_b_ARFM ITTO Concept Note_231207.pdf
1.5 Intended Project Duration (in months):24
1.6 Indicative Budget (in US$):
ITTO

4,294,788

Counterpart

1,000,000

Total

5,294,788

1.7 Programme Line Focus
Emerging Issues and Innovation
1.8 Project TypeCapacity Building/Training, Pilot/demonstration project, Other
Project Type - Other (please explain):
The ARFM fits into all ITTO project type categories, with a focus on sustained andcontinuous capacity building/training and pilot/demonstration project. We selected‘other’ as the project type as ARFM is cross-disciplinary in delivering education in
responsible forest management. Forest education encompasses a broad spectrum ofcritical aspects such as international forest policy, i.e., conventions, articles andinitiatives, forest legality, both internationally and domestic, forest management
planning such as forest resource assessments (baseline), environmental and social
assessments, forest resource planning and accounting, species selection, forestmodelling, growth and yield and analysis, including financial projections, technicalcapacity building in best practice of responsible forest operations, forest monitoring,auditing and evaluation, including forest technologies, systems and tools, including
mapping and drone surveillance.

1.9 Proposal Summary:
The Alliance for Responsible Forest Management (ARFM) is an international not-forprofit non-governmental charitable foundation with the goal to accelerate theimplementation of responsible forest management across the tropical world. The
ARFM aims to create a coordinated global network of training centres to promote andtrain practitioners on regional best practices in tropical forestry. As an independent
organisation and not a standard setting body, the ARFM shall direct over 30 years ofpeer-reviewed research and applied knowledge to create regionally appropriate bestpractice material, complemented by training centres for practitioners, certification
bodies, auditors, government agencies, private practitioners and communities.
Training will consist of classroom-based (virtual / in-person) and on-site practicaleducation in regional training centres in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the
Caribbean. Utilising decades of forest research and practical experience in field
implementation, ARFM best-practice materials and regional training centres are
subjected to international consultations and do not have influence from specificgroups. The creation of an integrated approach with modular training addressing theentire forest management cycle can render a long-term contribution to resolve thegaps in stakeholder awareness, best management practices, operational
implementation, and capacity building. The approach comprises a wide range ofsystems and methods, including forest management planning, field implementation,
as well as operational supervision, monitoring, control, and evaluation. ARFM shallincorporate quantifiable metrics to support improvement over time and members areencouraged reporting to focus updates and efforts. The work will consist of two
distinct, and inter-related phases of work, each of which will take one year tocomplete: 1) Drafting the regional-specific best practice material; and, 2.
Implementing training and building capacity.

2. Proponent Information:
2.1 Executing Agency Information:
Name of Agency/Organization/Institution:
Alliance for Responsible Forest Management (L) Foundation

Name of main Contact Person:
Dr Michael Galante

Email:
michael.galante@arfm.org
Other E-mail address:
info@arfm.org

Phone:+6087 599 800

Fax:+6087 420 989

URL:
http://www.arfm.org

2.2 Type of Organization:
Civil Society Organization
2.3 Collaborating Agency/ies:
Name of Agency/Organization/Institution:
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Forestry ResearchInstitute of Ghana (CSIR-FORIG)

Name of main Contact Person:
Dr Daniel Ofori

Email Address:
dofori@csir-forig.org.gh

Phone:+233-(0)3220-60123/60373

Fax:+233-(0)3220-60121

URL:
https://csir-forig.org.gh

2.4 Relevant experience of EA:
Collectively the EA has hundreds of years of experience in tropical forestry, andspecific to each region, the Collaborating Agencies have close to half a century ofworking experience with all receiving ITTO grants in the past. The EA andCollaborating Agencies have various concentrations in tropical forestry allowing for abalanced understanding of issues and concepts. While ARFM has recently been
formed, it was done so out of the long standing desire to improve tropical forestry
globally.

3. Relevance:3.1 Conformity with ITTO objectives (ITTA, 2006) and priorities (current SAP):
This project enhances understanding and strengthen the capacities of those working
in tropical forestry including management, silvicultural, commercialisation andinstitutional factors affecting forest management of natural, secondary, planted,
rehabilitated and conservation forestry, all of which conform to the objectives of ITTA
(2006) and ITTO Strategic Action Plan (SAP) (2022-2026). Reference to ITTA (2006),
this project addresses Objectives a, c, d, f, j, l, n, o, p, q, r. Reference to SAP, thisproject specifically addresses Priority 3: Resilience, Restoration and Conservation(targets 12, 13, 14, 18), with support to the objectives of Priority 1: Governance andInvestment (targets 3, 5), and Priority 2: Economics and Tropical Timber Trade(targets 9, 10). This project addresses crosscutting targets 22, 23, 25, 34, 38). ARFM
improves capacity development and strengthens fundamental foundations of tropicalforestry and supports international cooperation and policy development among ITTO
Members, allowing enhancement of internal capacity for achieving exports of tropicaltimber and products from sustainably managed sources. ARFM continually updates
the material and supports ITTO Members to improve implementation frameworks,
resulting in improved forest management and the conservation and enhance otherforest values. ARFM creates best practice material by incorporating techniques andapproaches from all stakeholders, including communities. This project supports acompendium of approaches to support and develop reforestation and therehabilitation of degraded forest lands, incorporating the interest of all stakeholders.
Reaffirming the fundamentals of forest mensuration, this project supports ITTO
Members strengthen the collection and processing of statistics, including informationin the sustainable management of their forests to foster better capacity to improvegovernance. This work supports ITTO Members engage in additional voluntarymechanisms.

3.2 Relevance to the ITTO Programme Lines:
This project relates closely to ITTO Programme Line 4: Emerging issues andinnovation. The impact of this project will generate regionally accepted and multistakeholder reviewed, easy to access, information and training material/techniquesthat will allow stakeholders to understand and improve their work in forestry acrossthe tropical world, towards the implementation of best practice. The project will havea lasting cumulative impact on tropical forestry as the training centres shall become
focal points for excellence and a gateway between the international level and local
levels of governance and implementation, leading to intimate stakeholder
engagement and improved practices. In many respects training centres have been
done before and the regionalisation of training, offered in multiple languages used bypractitioners, including the longevity of this project, as well as offering Executive
Education for Ministerial and upper management, can ensure the centres have thetechnical and financial support for long-term, continuing education programmes of
excellent, needed by the tropical forest industry, to support international
environmental conventions and initiatives. Education shall be administered based on
ITTO Environmental and Social Guidelines as well as guiding principles of genderequality and empowering women, stemming from the Sustainable Development
Goals and the Global Forest Goals that are essential for achieving ITTO’s core
objectives: 1) environmental sustainability; 2) social sustainability; 3) gender equality
and empowering women; 4) good governance; and 5) security of tenure to forest
land and access to forest resources. This project is considered ‘low risk’, due to theminimal or non-adverse environmental or social risks or impacts of the proposed
education and training project. This project supports the enhancement of genderequality, including the 8 ITTO Policy Guidelines on gender equality and empowering
women.

3.3 Relevance to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Global
Forest Goals (GFGs) and other forest related global agenda:
SDG 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full andproductive employment and decent work for all (especially where communities coexists with forest). SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production
patterns. The production and uptake of renewable and sustainable wood fibre
products are vital in achieving SDG 12’s ambition of sustainable use andmanagement of natural resources. SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climatechange and its impacts. The responsible use of wood fibre can expand this carbon
sink beyond the forests to the products. SDG 15: Protect, restore and promotesustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat
desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and biodiversity loss. Throughits influence on forest management practices, the forest sector has the most direct
and substantial ability to drive positive change. GFG: 1: Reverse the loss of forest
cover worldwide through sustainable forest management, including protection,
restoration, afforestation and reforestation, and increase efforts to prevent forest
degradation and contribute to the global effort of addressing climate change. 2:
Enhance forest-based economic, social and environmental benefits, including byimproving the livelihoods of forest-dependent people. 3: Increase significantly thearea of protected forests worldwide and other areas of sustainably managed forests,
as well as the proportion of forest products from sustainably managed forests. 5:
Promote governance frameworks to implement sustainable forest management,
including through the United Nations forest instrument, and enhance the contributionof forests to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 6: Enhance cooperation,
coordination, coherence and synergies on forest-related issues at all levels, including
within the UN System and across Collaborative Partnership on Forests member
organisations, and across sectors and relevant stakeholders.

3.4 Relevance to submitting country’s policies:
Costa Rica - The project contributes to Costa Rica's REDD+ strategy: a. Reducing
even further the deforestation rate in regenerated and old growth forests; b.
Expanding PES coverage; and c. increasing carbon sequestration through theinduction of regeneration, establishment of forest plantations, and promotion of wood
consumption. The project contributes to five main forest policies of the PNDF 20102020: Policy 03: guarantee the sustainable supply of timber and non-timber goods
and environmental services, promoting plantations, agroforestry, sustainable
management and natural regeneration. Policy 04: guarantee conditions that favour
competitiveness in processes, products and services from forest ecosystems. Policy
05: Strengthen competencies of the forestry sector public and private for
implementation and evaluation of the policies. Policy 11: promote the generation anduse of knowledge focused on meeting the needs of forestry, through appliedresearch, formal and non-formal education. Policy 12: promote the culture ofsustainable forest management and its benefits for the inhabitants and the economyof the country. Ghana - The capacity building project contribute to four of the forest
Policy guiding principle of Ghana: 6 Integrating traditional and scientific knowledge topromote sustainable forest management; 8 Promoting value addition of timber andnon-timber forest resources; 12 Promoting capacity development for stakeholders in
the forestry and wildlife sector; 13 Mainstreaming gender and vulnerability issues into
forestry development planning and management; Thailand - The 5th strategy of the
20-Year National Strategy (2018-2037) environmentally growth for sustainable
development—aims to prevent deforestation and increase forest areas to 55% by2037. The 20-Year Strategic Plan for the Ministry of Natural Resources andEnvironment (2017-2036) elaborates to protect and conserve for sustainable
development of resources and biodiversity, including monitoring.

3.5 Linkages to previous/ongoing ITTO and other projects/activities (if any):
Costa Rica Costa Rica has five past/current projects with ITTO with a value of USD
1,258,754. Costa Rica has numerous ‘other’ projects on-going with regards toclimate change, REDD+, biodiversity offsets, etc. Ghana Ghana has 78 past/current
projects with ITTO with a value of USD 26,212,608. Ghana has numerous ‘other’projects on-going with regards to climate change, REDD+, biodiversity offsets, etc.
Thailand Thailand has 32 past/current projects with ITTO with a value of USD
13,061,649. Thailand has numerous ‘other’ projects on-going with regards to climatechange, REDD+, biodiversity offsets, etc. Projects and initiatives funded by ITTO canbe found on the ITTO database: https://www.itto.int/project_search/4. Project synopsis:
4.1 Objectives (reflecting reference to elements within all ITTO Guidelines asapplicable):
ARFM is an international not-for-profit non-governmental charitable foundation withthe goal to accelerate the implementation of responsible forest management acrossthe tropical world. The ARFM aims to create a coordinated global network of training
centres to promote and train practitioners on regional best practices in tropicalforestry. As an independent organisation and not a standard setting body, the ARFM
shall direct over 30 years of peer-reviewed research and applied knowledge to create
regionally appropriate best practice material, complemented by training centres forpractitioners, certification bodies, auditors, government agencies, private
practitioners and communities. Training will consist of classroom-based (virtual / inperson) and on-site practical education in regional training centres in Africa, AsiaPacific, Latin America and the Caribbean. All efforts will be undertaken to develop thenecessary capacity to remove the current barriers to practicing responsible forest
management.Utilising decades of forest research and practical experience in field
implementation, best-practice materials and regional training centres are subjected tointernational consultation and peer-review, and do not have influence from specificgroups. The creation of an integrated approach with modular training components
addressing the entire forest management cycle can render a long-term contribution
to resolve the gaps in stakeholder awareness, best management practices,
operational implementation, and capacity building. The approach comprises a wide
range of systems and methods, including forest management planning, field
implementation, as well as operational supervision, monitoring, control, andevaluation. Adequate knowledge and practical skills are critical to achieve
responsible forestry and ARFM shall develop material with quantifiable metrics tosupport improved training material over time. Members are can establish PSPs tounderstand gaps and focus needs support

4.2 Key problem(s) to be addressed:
Tropical deforestation and degradation Global trends indicate natural tropical forests
are decreasing, with deforestation, severe degradation and land-use change
amongst the leading causes. Relative to the duration of time needed to regenerate
tropical forests and reverse these changes, immediate, decisive and sustained
actions are required. The deforestation drivers are similar in Africa and Asia
(agriculture), while degradation drivers are more similar in Latin America and Asia
(timber extraction). The impacts of deteriorating forest resources on the hydrologicalcycle and water retention capacity cause serious threats to tropical forest
ecosystems. Market-based forest certifications Forest certifications represent 430
million hectares of certified forests, totalling 11% of the world’s 4 billion ha. Despite
being around for 30 yrs, there has been, at best, moderate update of certification
across the tropical world. Reasons why adoption is low include difficulties in how
operations should be implemented and in identifying and measuring appropriate
indicators. In most cases, standards require actions to be undertaken yet they are
not sufficiently well defined, i.e., RIL, leading to interpretation. With almost all
production forests globally harvested at least once in the past 20 years, forest
degradation is estimated to continue in this direction unless clear, decisive action istaken. The opportunity cost of not taking action is dire. Issues in global forest
education Formal education in forestry is not required in operational settings,
resulting in enormous tropical deforestation and degradation, with tremendous
climatic and biodiversity impacts over the past 50 years. A global assessment on
forest education found insufficient curriculum over a wide-range of forest-related
topics including a low diversity of students with females and racial/ethnic minorities
included. Easy access to objective, high-quality digestable information is required atscale and pace.

4.3 Main stakeholders and beneficiaries:
ARFM offers objective structured technical training to: a) forest practitioners; b)
certification bodies and auditors; c) staff of forest-related government agencies; d)civil society; and e) communities. Training consists of classroom-based and on-sitepractical education administered through two approaches: 1. On-site at a specificconcession when ARFM receives a request to provide area-specific training; and, 2.
Regional Training Centres with training consisting of ~20 participants per class. The
creation of best practice material can provide great benefits to multiple stakeholders
across the governance paradigm, from strengthening forest education to Ministers,
Directorship and members of government, to the private sector, civil society andcommunities. The framework of integrating all knowledge from all stakeholders is anincredible approach to scale up beneficiaries at the local and regional level. Not only
does this include the academic sector but supports the body of knowledge andbrings it up to date with current trends and approaches to forestry. For too long,
manuals and material on forest related issues were published at the discrepancy of
research institutes, international organisations, civil society or simply based onfunding decisions from donors, leading to large gaps between versions, iterations or
updates, if they are updated at all. The ARFM addresses these gaps by providing up
to date best practice material developed by consensus involving all stakeholders,which are continuously periodically updated in a prescribed manner. Not only will the
ARFM material benefit international, regional, national, sub-national, private, civil andcommunity actors, it supports keeping the body of knowledge up to date in atransparent and ethical manner, satisfying educational needs, and societal trends
towards improved environmental stewardship of our natural resources, which is alsoa primary function of donors to international organisations such as ITTO.

4.4 Key activities:
Phase 1: Drafting the regional-specific best practice material Work will assemble
regional technical drafting groups (Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the
Caribbean) consisting of recognised regional specialists covering all aspects oftropical forestry. Regional technical drafting groups will consist of one coordinator,
five technical consultants and one post-doc, with expert personnel representing
government, private and community sectors. The importance of including all sectors
is to incorporate regional best practice, both in theory and in practice, including
gender-specific awareness, approaches and application. The drafting groups shall
physically meet two times over an eight month period to develop the first draft of thebest practice material. The first regional stakeholder consultation will be conducted
via the ARFM website for stakeholders to comment and will be open for one month.
The regional technical drafting group will review the comments and prepare a second
draft of the best practice material and will take one month. A second regional
stakeholder consultation will take place for comments over a one month period andthe final draft of best practice material will be developed thereafter. The material will
be published in electronic format and may be printed, depending on budget. Phase
2: Implementing training and building capacity (both in theory and practice) ARFM
shall apply the best practice material and develop teaching modules for each region,i.e., Policy, conventions and agreements, stakeholders in forestry, forest
management planning, forest operations, monitoring, auditing and evaluation, forest
technologies, systems and tools. For this project, ARFM shall deliver training in a
graduated manner, starting with 10 and finishing with 20 participants per month ineach region. This will help to critique and improve the delivery of training over the
one year period.

4.5 Expected outcomes and impacts, including innovation/transformation:
The drafting of region-specific best practice material supports continuing educationand extension training to public and private practitioners, civil society andcommunities covering aspects of regional-specific tropical forest policy,
management, silviculture, wood processing, environment, social, economic,planning, monitoring, trade, etc. to improve sustainable livelihoods, strengthened
local institutions and communities as well as enhance opportunities for women andyouth leadership. Continuous forest education supports legal and sustainable supply
chains for tropical forest products, supports the conservation of tropical forest
biodiversity and ecosystem services at all levels, i.e., from government to community,
encourages tropical forest landscape restoration and resilient livelihoods throughimproved understanding and education, and supports emerging issues andinnovation, such as wood and non-timber forest products processing and value
adding, marketing and commercialisation, incentives and new opportunities.
Inception training shall focus on participants in a position to be a ‘trainer of trainers’,
to maximise the impact of strengthening best practice in each region. ARFM aims to
conduct training for ‘trainers of trainers’, from government, civil, private andcommunities, and estimates to train 398 participants over three regions over theyear. Training will be conducted in languages specific to the needs of the participants
to maximise impact. Easy access to objective, high-quality information on forest
education and learning materials, including through digital platforms, tools, and fieldbased practical training centres, is essential to strengthen responsible forest
management across the tropical world. This work improves quality of life, foster
enhanced education, supporting those working and living in and near to forests,,
including gender, to address deforestation, degradation, biodiversity, and those that
rely on natural resource management.

4.6 Existing funding for (related) initiative(s)/established contacts to potential
donors:All work is currently funded by Climate Forestry Limited, a private company
registered in Malaysia by the Founder, Secretary-General of ARFM, Dr Michael
Galante. ARFM recognises the significant in-kind contribution from all Institutional
Partners and Members of the ARFM Executive Board.

4.7 Any other information deemed necessary/important:Complete collaborating agencies representing Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America
and the Caribbean (respectfully) Africa The Council for Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR), Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (CSIR-FORIG) Dr Daniel
Ofori Director Email: dofori@csir-forig.org.gh Phone: +233-(0)3220-60123/60373
Fax: +233-(0)3220-60121 URL: https://csir-forig.org.gh Asia-Pacific Royal Forest
Department of Thailand Dr Preecha Ongprasert Director, Forestry Foreign Affairs
Office Email: ongprasertpreecha@gmail.com Phone: +66 02 561 4292-3 ext 5035
Fax: - URL: www.forest.go.th/home/ Latin America and the Caribbean The Tropical
Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) Dr Carlos Araya Directorof Business Development, Resource Mobilisation and Strategic Partnerships Email:Carlos.Araya@catie.ac.cr Phone: +1 506 2558 2214 Fax: - URL: www.catie.ac.cr

4.8 Risk mitigation measures:
Material Risk Management, i.e., impact assessment, assignation of scope,probability, financial and mitigation management, is an integral part of the overall
approach of ARFM with three main components: 1) Strategic: ensuring sustainabilityof ARFM and its partners; 2) Wellbeing and successful education experiences forother stakeholders; 3) Environmental, i.e., Free Informed Prior Consent) with local
communities to jointly manage shared resources such as landscapes, catchments
and vulnerable biodiversity) as well as hazard mitigation and avoidance in this era ofanthropogenic climate change. Risk management is essential to achieve theeducational benefits of UNSDG 4. Aspects of risk management are an essential partof ARFM and expected to be planned, budgeted and managed with consistentreporting metrics. Environmental and Social aspects are a vital part of risk
management. General aspects of risk management are introduced, with specificpoints of the processes and practices, from key stakeholder perspectives. ARFM will
implement a specific policy requirement that all ARFM projects and partners will
ensure, prior to project approval, all practicable steps must be taken to manage or
mitigate reasonably known risks by presenting a completed Project Risk
Management process. For new or complex situations, a detailed action plan isrequired whereas for straightforward routine tasks, a standard checklist will suffice.
Project activities and tasks shall be undertaken via a defined process. The plan shallbe practicable and feasible, i.e., viable with procedures including health and safety,
clearly communicated to the relevant parties. Included in the Risk Management
would be the means for relevant stakeholders to provide feedback and any course
reviews will document any such shortcomings together with the steps taken to avoid
in future.

5. Indicative Budget (in US$):
Indicative Budget (in US$):Description

ITTO

Counterpart

Total

Personnel

2,687,068

720,000

3,407,068

Sub-contracts

0

0

0

Travel and DSA

451,8440451,844

Capital Items

193,0000

193,000

Consumables

318,9200318,920

Publication /90,000180,000

270,000

Miscellaneous

38,800100,000

138,800

Total

3,779,632

1,000,000

4,779,632

ITTO Project Monitoring

20,000-20,000

Annual/Final Audit

20,000-20,000ITTO Programme

460,156-

460,156

ITTO Ex-post Evaluation

15,000-15,000

GRAND TOTAL

4,294,788

1,000,000

5,294,788

Dissemination& Review

Support