In West and Central Asia, governments, the private sector, communities, farmers and civil society organizations are making substantial efforts to improve the management of forest and tree resources. However, most countries face enormous challenges in this regard. This publication, the main report of the Forestry Outlook Study for West and Central Asia (FOWECA), provides a long-term perspective of changes in the forest sector. Implemented in partnership with the countries, the study covered 23 countries in West Asia, Central Asia and the southern Caucasus. This report outlines the probable developments, including broader regional and global issues which need to be taken into account in developing national policies and programmes. It then discusses what needs to be done to enhance the contribution of forests and trees to society. It focuses particularly on probable development scenarios, their implications for society in terms of the availability of goods and services, and the priorities and strategies that may be pursued to improve the situation. This analysis will be of particular interest to planners, investors and decision-makers at the regional, subregional and national levels.
In west and central Asia, governments, the private sector, communities, farmers and civil society organizations are making substantial efforts to improve the management of forest and tree resources. However, most countries face enormous challenges in this regard. This publication, the main report of the Forestry Outlook Study for West and Central Asia (FOWECA), provides a long-term perspective of changes in the forest sector. Implemented in partnership with the countries, the study covered 23 countries in West Asia, Central Asia and the southern Caucasus. This report outlines the probable developments, including broader regional and global issues which need to be taken into account in developing national policies and programs. It then discusses what needs to be done to enhance the contribution of forests and trees to society. It focuses particularly on probable development scenarios, their implications for society in terms of the availability of goods and services, and the priorities and strategies that may be pursued to improve the situation. This analysis will be of particular interest to planners, investors and decision-makers at the regional, subregional and national levels.
In West and Central Asia, governments, the private sector, communities, farmers and civil society organizations are making substantial efforts to improve the management of forest and tree resources. However, most countries face enormous challenges in this regard. This publication, the main report of the Forestry Outlook Study for West and Central Asia (FOWECA), provides a long-term perspective of changes in the forest sector. Implemented in partnership with the countries, the study covered 23 countries in West Asia, Central Asia and the southern Caucasus. This report outlines the probable developments, including broader regional and global issues which need to be taken into account in developing national policies and programmes. It then discusses what needs to be done to enhance the contribution of forests and trees to society. It focuses particularly on probable development scenarios, their implications for society in terms of the availability of goods and services, and the priorities and strategies that may be pursued to improve the situation. This analysis will be of particular interest to planners, investors and decision-makers at the regional, subregional and national levels.
�With tens of millions of hectares and hundreds of millions of lives in the balance, the debate over who should control South Asia�s forests is of tremendous political significance. This book provides an insightfuland thorough assessment of important forest management transitions currently underway.�MARK POFFENBERGER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY FORESTRY INTERNATIONAL�The contributions in this volume not only breathe life into the fi eld of writing and analysis related to forests, they do so on the strength of extraordinarily insightful research. Kudos to Springate-Baginski and Blaikie for providing us with a set of thoroughly researched, provocative studies that should be required reading not only for those interested in community forestry in south Asia, but in resource governance anywhere.� ARUN AGRAWAL, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF NATURAL RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, USA�Makes a significant contribution to theory and practice of participatory forest management.�YAM MALLA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, REGIONAL COMMUNITY FORESTRY TRAINING CENTER FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC, BANGKOK�This excellent and timely book provides thought-provoking insights to the issues of power and politics in forestry and the difficulties of transforming age-old structures that circumscribe the access of the poor to forests and their resources; it challenges our assumptions of the benefits of participatory forest management and the role of forestry in poverty reduction. It should be of interest to policy-makers and to all those who have been involved with the struggle of transforming forestry over the decades.�DR MARY HOBLEY, HOBLEY SHIELDS ASSOCIATES (NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING CONSULTANCY)�A rare combination of extensive field study, social science insights and policy studies � will be of immense value�DR N. C. SAXENA, MEMBER OF NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL, GOVERNMENT OF INDIAIn recent decades �participatory� approaches to forest management have been introduced around the world. This book assesses their implementation in the highly politicized environments of India and Nepal. The authors critically examine the policy, implementation processes and causal factors affecting livelihood impacts. Considering narratives and field practice, with data from over 60 study villages and over 1000 household interviews, the book demonstrates why particular field outcomes have occurred and why policy reform often proves so difficult. Research findings on which the book is based are already influencing policy in India and Nepal, and the research and analysis have great relevance to forestry management in a wide range of countries.Published with DFID.
This book provides a profound geographical description and analysis of Central Asia. The authors take a synthetic approach in a period of critical transformation in the post-soviet time. The monograph analyzes comprehensively the physical and human geography as well as human-nature interactions of Central Asia with focus on Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Natural processes are described at a systemic scale, focusing on ecological impacts and consequences and contemporary human adaptations and organization. It also discusses in which ways the human organizations try to apply solutions for their needs such as security, territorial management and resources renewability, material and functional needs, identity elaborations, culture and communication. The Geography of Central Asia appeals to scientists and students of regional geography and interested academics from other areas such as social, political, economic and environmental studies within the context of Central Asia. The book is also a very useful resource for field trips into this area.
"This publication consolidates and synthesizes two more comprehensive studies commissioned by FAO in 2007 and published as working papers. They are Forests and energy in developing countries by Ivan Tomaselli and Forests and energy in OECD countries by Warren Mabee and Jack Saddler. ... A draft version of the consolidated paper, prepared by Douglas Kneeland and Andrea Perlis, was distributed at the FAO Conference Special Event: Forests and Energy in November 2007. The present edition, prepared by Jeremy Broadhead and edited by Maria Casa, incorporates comments received from member countries. Miguel Trossero, Simmone Rose, Sebastian Hetsch and Gustavo Best also contributed"--P. vii.
The study on the state of forests in the Caucasus and Central Asia aims to present the forest resources and the forest sector of the region, including trends in, and pressures on the resource, to describe the policies and institutions for the forest sector in the region and to list the major challenges the sector faces, and the policy responses in place or planned. The study is a cooperative effort by the author, the UNECE/FAO secretariat and national experts, done with the use of the best available data. It attempts to cover all dimensions of sustainable forest management and includes national profiles of all countries of the region.
Since the 1970s and 1980s, community-based forestry has grown in popularity, based on the concept that local communities, when granted sufficient property rights over local forest commons, can organize autonomously and develop local institutions to regulate the use of natural resources and manage them sustainably. Over time, various forms of community-based forestry have evolved in different countries, but all have at their heart the notion of some level of participation by smallholders and community groups in planning and implementation. This publication is FAO’s first comprehensive look at the impact of community-based forestry since previous reviews in 1991 and 2001. It considers both collaborative regimes (forestry practised on land with formal communal tenure requiring collective action) and smallholder forestry (on land that is generally privately owned). The publication examines the extent of community-based forestry globally and regionally and assesses its effectiveness in delivering on key biophysical and socioeconomic outcomes, i.e. moving towards sustainable forest management and improving local livelihoods. The report is targeted at policy-makers, practitioners, researchers, communities and civil society.
