Interlaken workshop on decentralisation, federal systems in forestry and national forest programmes
27.-30.04.2004, Interlaken, Switzerland
Hosts: Switzerland, Indonesia
Organisers: Governments of Switzerland and Indonesia, Center for International Forestry Research Indonesia (CIFOR), Intercooperation, United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF)
Co-sponsors: Governments of Brasil, Canada, Japan, Russia, Switzerland, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States of America
Technical support: Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations through the National Forest Program Facility, World Bank through the Program on Forests (PROFOR), International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), WRI, WWF
Participants: 160 participants from 51 countries
Background
The ‘Interlaken workshop on decentralisation, federal systems in forestry and national forest programmes’ hosted by Switzerland and Indonesia as a country-led initiative (CLI) in support of the UNFF brought together key stakeholders to facilitate exchange of information and experience on the role of decentralisation and federal systems of forestry on the effectiveness of forest governance. The workshop gave special attention to the role of National Forest Programs in supporting and harnessing the efforts of the many stakeholders that have assumed a greater role in forest governance with the growing trend towards decentralised decision-making and community participation. It also sought to foster experience sharing among countries which have decentralised a long time ago and those that are just embarking on decentralisation experiments, and to explore problems that occur and lessons learnt during transitional phases of decentralisation processes.
Workshop themes
- Allocation of roles and responsibilities and coordination at different levels and across sectors
- Maintaining ecosystem functions, sustaining forest productivity, and appropriate application of knowledge and technology
- Policy, regulatory frameworks and equitable benefit sharing
- Financial incentives, investment and private sector partnership
- Participation, conflict and multistakeholder processes
- Capacity building, and technical and information support
Workshop goals
- To analyse the implications of decentralization in key aspects of forest
management for the development of national forest programmes (nfps) and to identify strategies that would allow such programmes to effectively address this issue. - To share the experience of countries that had decentralized their forestry systems some time ago with countries currently undergoing rapid processes of decentralization, including the transitional aspects of decentralization.
- To derive the lessons learned from countries that had implemented
decentralization for use, where appropriate, by other countries in the process of decentralization. - To prepare reflections and proposals for the consideration of the United Nations Forum on Forests related to decentralization, federal/centralized systems of forestry, and their implications for nfps.
Report to the UN
Report to the UN Secretary General: English | Spanish | French | Russian | Arabic | Chinese
Workshop documentation
Full workshop documentation (19 MB)
Opening Statement by State Secretary Philippe Roch, FOEN, Switzerland
Field trips
- Excursion 1: Rugen/Mürren – From Government to Governance
(Christian Küchli/Rudolf Zumstein) - Excursion 2: Brienz – Cooperative federalism to fight natural hazards
(David Kaimowitz/Erica Zimmermann/Ueli Ryter) - Excursion 3: Boltigen – Role of local community organizations and the cantonal forest service (Doris Capistrano/Beat Stucki/Christian von Grünigen)
- Excursion 4: Emmental farm forests – Resource management in privately owned forests (Jürgen Blaser/Walter Marti)
Publication
Earthcan publication: The Politics of Decentralisation – Forests, Power and People edited by Carol J. Pierce Colfer & Doris Capistrano, 2005