Making forest concessions in the tropics work to achieve the 2030 Agenda: Voluntary Guidelines
2018
code Tegegne, Y.T. | Van Brusselen, J. | Cramm, M. | Linhares-Juvenal, T. | Pacheco, P. | Sabogal, C. | Tuomasjukka, D.
The decision to develop a set of voluntary guidelines for forest concessions in the tropics, in the context of the 2030 Agenda, stems from the need to advance the implementation of sustainable forest management (SFM). In tropical countries, where deforestation rates are decreasing but remain alarming, and public production forests represent a large share of total production forests, the impact of forest concessions as a policy instrument can be significant. They can determine either unsustainable or sustainable behaviour, depending on the commitment and capacity of those implementing the concessions, and the regulatory and economic environment. To date, forest concessions have delivered mixed results, as demonstrated by the various regional studies and reports conducted under the Forest Concessions Initiative (FCI). However, this negative perception is not only associated with the effectiveness of forest concessions in meeting conservation and development goals, but also with timber production. The specific objective of these Voluntary Guidelines is to promote the sustainable management of public production natural forests in tropical countries through forest concessions, thereby fulfilling their potential contribution to the achievement of Agenda 2030. Forest concession regimes are treated here as forest policy instruments, and should be aligned with the sustainable forest management objectives agreed by countries in the UNFF. The current Guidelines intend to serve as guidance for making forest concessions an effective economic instrument of forest policy in the context of the 2030 Agenda, transforming them into an instrument capable of delivering sustainable forest management in all its dimensions, and generating socio-economic benefits to relevant stakeholders.
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