Workshop on forest governance and decentralization in Asia and the Pacific
4.-6.9.2006, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Host: Indonesia
Organisers & partner organisations: Ministry of Home Affairs Indonesia, Ministry of Forestry Indonesia, Federal Office for the Environment Switzerland (FOEN), Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Food and Agricuture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), Regional Community Forestry Training Center (RECOFTC), Center for International Forestry Research Indonesia (CIFOR) , Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit, Intercooperation, International Tropical Timer Organization (ITTO) Japan
Co-sponsors: Asia Forest Partnership (AFP), Governments of Japan, the Philippines, Department for International Development United Kingdom (DFID), Federal Office for the Environment Switzerland (FOEN), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), United States of America, Canadian Forest Service
Participants: 133 participants from 22 countries
Background
The Asian Forest Partnership (AFP) sponsored the Yogyakarta workshop on “forest governance and decentralisation in Asia and the Pacific” hosted by the Government of Indonesia, from 4-6 September 2006. The Workshop focused on roles, rights, responsibilities and institutions, with special attention to gender, law enforcement, equity, land tenure and use, land rehabilitation, and fire. The three-day meeting included one day of field trips around Yogyakarta to see Indonesian decentralization in action.
The Yogyakarta workshop on forest governance and decentralisation in Asia and the Pacific included 133 invited participants, coming from various sectors (e.g., government, academia, NGOs, research institutions, donors). The first day, eight analytical presentations were made, representing a number of the Asia Forest Partnership countries. The field trip focused attention on Indonesia’s experience; and the final day consisted of intense, facilitated working group sessions, designed to develop recommendations and lessons learned from the workshop. These were forwarded to UNFF. Special efforts were made to ensure representation from all levels in the decentralization process, from national to local.
Workshop themes
- Implementation of decentralization and broader governance reform in the forestry sector at different levels of administration.
- National and sub-national forest policy formulation and implementation processes, poverty reduction strategies.
- Approaches for strengthening policies, institutions, and practices of decentralized forest governance systems to reduce the gap between theory and practice.
Workshop goals
- Better understanding of the concept and implementation of decentralization in the general context of forest governance in Asia and the Pacific.
- Identified opportunities for complementary national policy responses, capacity building and best practices for information flow.
- Identified strategies and instruments for overcoming constraints to effective decentralization and sustainable forest management at regional, national, sub-national and local levels.
- Determined mechanisms and activities to ensure the follow-up of the recommendations of the workshop.
Main workshop documents
Key presentation by Switzerland
Presentation of workshop highlights and key messages by Doris Capistrano