Co-Chairs’ Summary : First Dialogue on ILCF - Brussels Scoping Dialogue

On June 9–10, 2009, The Forests Dialogue convened a scoping dialogue to discuss how investment in locally controlled forestry can be improved both in the global north and global south. The discussion-based dialogue brought together 30 participants representing a wide range of stakeholders: indigenous peoples, small and family landowners, forest community groups, environmental organizations, forest companies, IGOs and research institutions.

The Forests Dialogue (TFD) convened this dialogue in collaboration with the Growing Forest Partnerships (GFP). Currently the GFP initiative is a collaboration between IUCN, IIED and FAO and is supported by the World Bank. Its goal is to support local initiatives and mechanism that will improve the quality and quantity of investment into the forest sector. It aims to give a voice to marginalized, forest-dependent groups in developing both national and international policy processes.

Locally controlled forestry (LCF) can play an important role in reducing poverty while sustainably managing natural resources. In both developed and developing countries forests and in particular small-scale, locally controlled forestry, contributes significantly to the livelihoods of the rural poor through subsistence safety net but also by providing cash income, employment, fibre, fuel and non-timber forest products including food and an alternative health care system based on natural forest plants.

Together indigenous peoples, forest communities and small forestland owners own or manage a significant part of the world’s forest resources. However, lack of access to capital, outmoded regulatory frameworks, high transaction costs, fragmentation, weak managerial and technical capacity, markets that function at larger scales and lack of security of land tenure undermine communities’ efforts in carrying out sustainable forest management.

TFD views the increasing international attention that forests are receiving vis-à-vis climate change as an opportunity as well as a potential threat to forest dependent peoples. Creating a platform for improved dialogue and partnerships, the Investing in Locally Controlled Forestry (ILCF) dialogue stream convened a meeting of the three rights holder groups to promote a sharing of visions, the identification of a common agenda that highlights the obstacles to be overcome and the opportunities to be realized for sustainable forest management on a national and international level. The immediate goal arising from the scoping dialogue is to effectively include LCF in the decision-making processes and influence the financing mechanisms intended to address poverty and climate change.