Framework for Assessing and Monitoring Forest Governance

The Framework outlined in this paper can be used to facilitate description, diagnosis, monitoring, assessment and reporting on the state of governance in a country’s forest sector. It features a globally relevant and comprehensive list of the major elements that describe forest governance.

This document structures the Framwork around the project of  “Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Oddar Meanchey Province, Cambodia: A Community Forestry Initiative for Carbon and Biodiversity Conservation and Poverty Reduction”.

It  provides a frame of reference for organizing governance-relevant information that can be used within and across countries to assess and monitor the governance of forests and forest resources. It can assist countries in reflecting on and responding to critical issues in forest governance in ways that can be measured, tracked and improved over time. By enabling informed discussions among stakeholders on governance in the forest sector, the Framework also seeks to foster opportunities for wider national discussions on overall governance beyond the forest sector.

While the Framework is not an assessment or monitoring tool itself, it can facilitate the use of existing tools specifically designed for the purpose. It can serve as a starting point for understanding forest governance and for contextualizing the various tools available that can be appropriately employed for forest governance assessment and monitoring. In addition, there is a large section on choosing appropriate indicators.

Excerpt

"STRUCTURE OF THE FRAMEWORK

The basic elements of the Framework are its pillars, components and subcomponents. It 
is composed of three fundamental pillars and 13 basic components which are listed here 
and then explained in detail below. 
 
Pillar 1: Policy, legal, institutional and regulatory frameworks
  • Forest-related policies and laws
  • Legal framework to support and protect land tenure, ownership and use rights
  • Concordance of broader development policies with forest policies
  • nstitutional frameworks
  • Financial incentives, economic instruments and bene? t sharing
Pillar 2: Planning and decision-making processes 
  • Stakeholder participation
  • Transparency and accountability 
  • Stakeholder capacity and action
Pillar 3: Implementation, enforcement and compliance
  • Administration of forest resources
  • Forest law enforcement
  • Administration of land tenure and property rights 
  • Cooperation and coordination
  • Measures to address corruption" (PROFOR 2011)

Sources

The program on forests (PROFOR) & Food and agriculture organization Of the United Nations (FAO)2011. Framework For Assessing and Monitoring Forest Governance,  FAO. http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/i2227e/i2227e00.pdf