Forests for People

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Strengthening national forest programmes

Ewald Rametsteiner, Food and Agriculture Organization

and Jerker Thunberg, National Forest Programme Facility

ore than a decade ago, countries recognized the

importance of comprehensive forest policy frame-

works. They agreed on a common approach known as

national forest programmes (NFPs) to achieve sustainable forest

management. Acknowledging the validity of diverse approaches

to implementing sustainable forest management (SFM), coun-

tries also adopted a set of principles designed to guide NFP

development and implementation. Today, NFP processes are

under way in more than 130 countries, according to the Food

and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Global Forest Resource

Assessment 2010.

The NFP Facility, hosted by FAO, was created in 2002 as a

mechanism to assist countries in developing and implementing

NFPs that address local needs and national priorities effectively

and reflect internationally agreed principles. Aiming to play a

catalytic role, the NFP Facility stimulates broad stakeholder

participation in the NFP process by providing grants directly

to civil society to implement planned NFP activities. The NFP

Facility also facilitates capacity-building and information serv-

ices. By 2011, it supported 70 countries and four regional

initiatives, involving more than 800 local organizations in forest

policy formulation and implementation activities.

Many other international organizations, donors and

development partners have provided assistance for

NFP processes in various countries.

Since the mid-1990s, many countries have made

substantial progress in implementing NFPs and its prin-

ciples. The following are some of the major experiences

gained by the NFP Facility and FAO in support-

ing NFPs. These provide valuable lessons on how to

improve future implementation of NFPs.

A comprehensive governance framework for forest-

related activities

Emerging issues such as climate change, forest law

enforcement and the green economy have had a direct

effect on forests and the way they are managed and

used. In many countries, there has been a prolifera-

tion of forest-related initiatives, including on reducing

deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) or forest

law enforcement and governance (FLEG). This has

increased the need for greater consistency and coordi-

nation among initiatives. The wide adoption of NFPs

Countries reporting the existence of a National Forest Programme

Source: FAO Global Forest Resource Assessment 2010