Workshop on forest governance and decentralisation in Africa
8.-11.4.2008, Durban, South Africa
Hosts: South Africa, Switzerland
Organisors: Department Water Affairs and Forestry South Africa (DWAF), Federal Office for the Environment Switzerland (FOEN), Center for International Forestry Research Indonesia (CIFOR), Intercooperation, Secretariat of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF)
Co-sponsors: Governments of South Africa, Finland, Germany, Norway, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Federal Office for the Environment Switzerland (FOEN), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), South African Forestry Company Limited, sappi, mondi, the eThikwini Metropolitan Council
Participants: 187 participants from 34 countries
Background
This workshop on “forest governance and decentralisation in Africa” brought together diverse stakeholders, policy makers and international experts to share experience and explore opportunities for generating concrete gains from governance reforms and decentralised forest management. This initiative in support of the United Nations Forum on Forests provided a platform for bringing lessons from other international and national processes to bear on Africa’s own experiences with decentralisation. The workshop enabled the sharing of experiences and facilitated the expression of voices of stakeholders at different levels, particularly of local people in their struggle to manage locally important resources that are, at the same time, of global interest. As local perspectives also enrich international discussions, the workshop also aimed to strengthen local involvement in the regional and global dialogue on forests.
Participants included UNFF member countries, subnational government units, civil society organisations, universities and research organisations, regional bodies, the private sector and international agencies.
Workshop themes
- Decentralised forest management and livelihoods
- Conservation, sustainable forest management and forest governance
- International trade, finance and forest sector governance reform
Report to the UN
Report to the UN Secretary General: English | Spanish | French | Russian | Arabic | Chinese
Workshop documentation
Full workshop documentation (40 MB)
Key presentation by Wahjudi Wardojo, Ministry of Forestry, Indonesia
Field trips
- Field trip 1: “Ndelu Trust” – history of forest tenure reforms in South Africa and their effect on rural livelihoods
- Field trip 2: “Seven Oaks” – governance of water for use by forestry and other sectorsents (certification) on land use practice, and the social and ecological effects of these practices
Publication
Earthscan publication: Governing Africa’s Forests in a Globalized World, edited by Laura A. German, Alain Karsenty & Anne-Marie Tiani, 2010.
View photo gallery Durban 2008