Forest concessions and corruption

The paper discusses how corruption influences the logging industry and deprives developing country governments of important revenues. According to the paper the forest industry has the potential to contribute to the economy and increase state revenues in many developing countries. The realisation of these opportunities depends on the governance of the forest industry and the ways in which forests are managed.<br /><br />The paper states that corruption is directly linked to illegal and unsustainable logging, a problem that causes significant environmental damage in terms of erosion and reduced water quality, loss of biodiversity and challenges for communities that are settled in natural forests. To combat these challenges in the forest sector, many countries are developing forest management plans and better monitoring systems, and have established forest concession systems. <br /><br />Donors can play an important role in this process by providing funding and other support to developing country governments. Therefore the paper offers the following policy recommendations: the problem of forest corruption will be different in each single country, and a targeted strategy will require separate analysis of the circumstances<br /> governments should cooperate with foreign competence centres if their own capacity to design a forest management plan is weak <br /> donor agencies should consider offering aid on condition of the development of a forest management plan and reliable monitoring and enforcement systems <br /> better functioning systems in developed countries can serve as models that can be applied in developing countries as well <br /> competition authorities should be asked to advise on balances between competition issues and good cooperation between individual firms.