Writeshop on Investing in Locally Controlled Forestry

Locally controlled forests involve one billion people and one quarter of the world‘s forests, providing $75 - $100 billion per year in goods and services and a broad range of other economic, environmental, social, cultural and spiritual benefits. Rights-holder organizations such as the Global Alliance of Community Forestry (GACF), the International Family Forest Alliance (IFFA) and the International Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of Tropical Forests (IAITPTF), known collectively as the G3, define locally controlled forestry as follows:
“The local right for forest owner families and communities to make decisions on commercial forest management and land use, with secure tenure rights, freedom of association and access to markets and technology”.
They assert (with some substantive evidence to back it up) that locally controlled forestry leads to responsible, long term sustainable forest management, including protection of biodiversity, improved livelihoods, multiple forest products and services, local enterprises and benefits to society. Investing in locally controlled forestry (ILCF) is a distinctive investment process that respects and strengthens locally controlled forestry as defined above.