PROFOR's Understanding Forests’ Contribution to Poverty Reduction program of PROFOR is focused on generating knowledge on forests as pathways out of poverty. The research is designed to produce a number of outputs, some of which are: (1) A knowledge review, focusing on synthesizing evidence on the impacts of forestry policies and programs on poverty reduction in evidence maps. (2) A conceptual framework on the potential pathways out of poverty. (3) A compendium of country case studies, providing information on various facets of the forest-poverty nexus, and (4) Dissemination and outreach targeted to specific internal and external users and audiences. The work is being conducted in close collaboration with an external reference group of advisory experts and key institutions that includes representatives from the organizations, such as the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR),  Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF) as well as universities, policy institutes, foundations, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The three subcases included in this evaluation form part of the evidence gathering products in the Understanding Forests’ Contribution to Poverty Reduction program. The program, and the 3 country cases have all been funded from KNOWFOR funds. In the year 2014, the Program on Forests (PROFOR) supported activities in India and Philippines that explored the contribution of forests towards poverty reduction.  In 2015, it supported a similar activity that assessed linkages between poverty and forest dependence in Turkey.