CHALLENGE

How can rural communities take advantage of complex REDD+ initiatives to reduce poverty? What are some of the barriers to bottom-up, community climate change projects?

APPROACH

In order to map out opportunities and hurdles facing rural communities in developing countries, a framework for a community forest climate project was developed in Zambézia Province, Mozambique during 2008-2009 by Indufor. Lessons learned were summarized in a paper called "Lessons from developing a REDD+ A/R project in Zambézia, Mozambique." This work complements the IIED publication "Preparing for REDD in dryland forests," also supported by PROFOR.

CHALLENGE

Taking gender into consideration in relation to forests matters because how, why and where men and women access, use and manage forests differs. These differences matter for the design of policies, institutional arrangements and interventions aimed at supporting sustainable forest landscapes. Persistent gender gaps remain across all regions in: access to services, access to markets and value-addition activities, land and tree tenure, voice and agency, and hiring labor. In addition to these, gender differences in the capacity for addressing climate change has been recognized as an issue that affects not only productivity but widens existing gender gaps in many places. But the challenges and appropriate solutions are not the same everywhere, which is why gender analysis to identify critical gender gaps at the project inception stage is so important. 

APPROACH

PROFOR’s program on Catalyzing Gender-Forests Actions aims to see that every PROFOR activity has clear gender-related objectives and actions identified and implemented. By sharing knowledge of practices that are generating gender-responsive forest projects, programs and investments, the goal is to influence and see improved project and program design and implementation of gender ‘best practices’ across the WBG and with its clients and partners, leading to projects that are more inclusive and able to measure improved equity impacts.

The underlying theory of change of this work is that through greater awareness of the relative lack of targeted gender efforts in many forests projects and programs, and a better understanding of the kinds of actions that could be, and are being, successfully undertaken in some, that project teams will include gender-targeted investments and actions in their plans from the outset, starting at the design stage.

OUTPUTS

• Working Paper: Taking Action on Gender Gaps in Forest Landscapes examines the types of gender inequalities that exist in forest landscapes, and the gender considerations or actions that many countries are taking to address these gaps. It reviews and synthesizes a wide range of World Bank and partner projects and forest sector investments in different regions.
• A brief, entitled ‘Enhancing Effectiveness of Forest Landscape Programs through Gender-Responsive Actions’ is part of a series of briefs on lessons for gender-responsive landscape restoration, shared at the Global Landscapes Forum meeting held in Nairobi in August, 2018. Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) aims to achieve ecological integrity and enhance human well-being in deforested or degraded landscapes. Evidence shows that addressing gender equality and women’s rights is critical for addressing this dual objective. The World Bank, CIFOR, WOCAN, RRI, IUCN, WRI, FAO, ViAgroforestry and other partners representing civil society, multilateral organizations, researchers and private sector actors have joined together to highlight a number of useful lessons and recommendations rooted in their diverse experiences and expertise – all working in different ways to enhance the gender-responsiveness of forest landscape restoration efforts.
• A brief, entitled ‘Gender in Forest Landscape Projects: Actions and Indicators’ succinctly shares practical suggestions as to potential gender-responsive activities and actions, and indicators to measure progress towards gender outcomes, that WBG clients/ project teams can potentially include in their forest landscape projects, programs and investments.
• A guidance note entitled ‘Gender and Forest Landscapes: Enhancing Development Impacts of Projects and Programs’. It provides suggestions for developers and leaders of forests projects and programs to enhance participation by, benefits to, and empowerment of women and other potential beneficiaries with limited voice and agency. The guide identifies potential gender-responsive activities and actions that can be included throughout the project cycle.
• Key resources for project designers, researchers, development practitioners and others with an interest in understanding the issues related to, and links between, forests and gender, including: 1) An annotated bibliography of gender and forests literature (broadly defined to include landscapes with forests and agroforestry); 2) A guide that describes a range of tools and approaches freely available for the study and analysis of issues related to forest-gender/poverty issues.
• A Gender focused Portfolio Review of Forest Projects for the Environment and Natural Resources Program on Forests of the Wold Bank, which analyzes the forest portfolio for the past 5 years (FY11-16), identifying projects that include gender-related dimensions related to analyses, actions, and indicators for monitoring and evaluating progress towards gender-related outcomes. A brief is also available on the portfolio review.

Incorporating gender in PROFOR-supported tools and frameworks

• PROFOR Forest-Poverty toolkit – these tools are used in a participatory manner with communities and local governments to better understand: (i) forest resource uses and forest product value chains; (ii) sustainable natural resource-based livelihood opportunities; and (iii) enabling conditions and constraints for natural resource enterprise development.  In the Philippines, a PROFOR-supported initiative collected sex- and wealth-disaggregated information using the toolkit to inform local and national forest policies and practices aimed at climate resilience.  In Cambodia, the toolkit is being used in an options assessment of ‘forest-smart’ investments for sustainable livelihoods and forest landscapes.
• Forest Governance tool - this participatory governance assessment approach aims at putting practical approaches into the hands of practitioners, policy makers, and decision makers and enable them to systematically consider and address the wide range of governance issues involved in sustainable forest landscape management. This tool is being broadened in scope to include gender issues and tested in several countries, including Mexico and Liberia.
• ROAM - PROFOR assisted IUCN in incorporating gender in the Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM) approach. It now includes social and cultural aspects of forest landscape restoration (gender, culture, youth). Applications in Malawi, Brazil, and Rwanda have resulted in new gender-responsive restoration guidelines, and it soon will be implemented in Mozambique and Burundi.
• Country Forest Notes – These Notes aim to assess forests’ contribution to poverty and economic development, and analyze current and potential underlying drivers of deforestation in order to promote sustainable development at transformational scale.  They identify the potential for ‘forest-smart’ investments and help to streamline and coordinate WBG engagement in the forest and other sectors critical to sustainable forest management and forest-smart development goals (agriculture, energy, mining, etc). Originally envisioned to focus on the why, what and how questions and opportunities around livelihoods, poverty reduction and forest interventions, gender dimensions (the ‘who’) are also now being incorporated for many countries, including Vietnam, Liberia, Mexico, Zambia and Nepal.
• PRIME – A new framework aimed at identifying investments, policies, projects, and strategies key to sustainable poverty reduction in diverse forest landscapes highlights five key areas – Productivity, Rights, Investments, Markets, and Ecosystem services, or PRIME. Gender considerations play a role in all five, and thus are highlighted as a cross-cutting and critical area to consider within this investment framework. Forest project designers, governments and others can apply it to enhance the role of forest landscapes in poverty alleviation in a more equitable and sustainable manner.

A global exchange of gender-forests information

Just how are forest landscape projects and initiatives addressing gender-related challenges and opportunities? A recent global event was a good place to pose this question to a diverse range of forest agency staff and others working on climate change and forest landscape management challenges. A joint Forest Investment Program (FIP) and Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) Knowledge together some 150 participants from over 40 countries in Luang Prabang, Lao PDR on Sept 28, 2017 in conjunction with FIP and FCPF pilot country and country participant reporting and planning meetings. This event focused on knowledge sharing and joint learning on a wide range of topics such as engaging private sector in landscape programs, small and medium-sized forest enterprise financing for sustainable forest management, successes and challenges in combating illegal logging, communicating on REDD+, and gender.

• A detailed summary of the gender session and many other shared gender-forests resources from the Laos meeting can be found here

Results

• The gender-forests briefs informed the design and implementation of REDD+ gender-action plans in Cameroon, Ghana, Guatemala, Mexico, and Uganda, and these countries are inspiring other FCPF and FIP country partners (e.g., Côte d’Ivoire, Lao PDR) to also develop gender-action plans/road maps to increase the involvement of, and benefits to, women and other less empowered peoples from forest-related investments, projects, programs, and policies. 
• For a new Forest Investment Project in Benin, eight project-specific gender gaps and actions/activities were identified and included in the PAD.
• In Côte d’Ivoire, a gender analysis informed the design of the DGM, which included several gender gaps, activities, and indicators (i.e., gender tagged) in the PAD based on the TA provided by this program.
• PROFOR gender knowledge products have influenced FIP/CIF/FCPF/REDD+ Investment Plans/Forest projects in Côte d’Ivoire, Mexico, Uganda, Ghana, and Cameroon.

CHALLENGE

Taking gender into consideration in relation to forests matters because how, why and where men and women access, use and manage forests differs. These differences matter for the design of policies, institutional arrangements and interventions aimed at supporting sustainable forest landscapes. Persistent gender gaps remain across all regions in: access to services, access to markets and value-addition activities, land and tree tenure, voice and agency, and hiring labor. In addition to these, gender differences in the capacity for addressing climate change has been recognized as an issue that affects not only productivity but widens existing gender gaps in many places. But the challenges and appropriate solutions are not the same everywhere, which is why gender analysis to identify critical gender gaps at the project inception stage is so important. 

APPROACH

PROFOR’s program on Catalyzing Gender-Forests Actions aims to see that every PROFOR activity has clear gender-related objectives and actions identified and implemented. By sharing knowledge of practices that are generating gender-responsive forest projects, programs and investments, the goal is to influence and see improved project and program design and implementation of gender ‘best practices’ across the WBG and with its clients and partners, leading to projects that are more inclusive and able to measure improved equity impacts.

The underlying theory of change of this work is that through greater awareness of the relative lack of targeted gender efforts in many forests projects and programs, and a better understanding of the kinds of actions that could be, and are being, successfully undertaken in some, that project teams will include gender-targeted investments and actions in their plans from the outset, starting at the design stage.

OUTPUTS

• Working Paper: Taking Action on Gender Gaps in Forest Landscapes examines the types of gender inequalities that exist in forest landscapes, and the gender considerations or actions that many countries are taking to address these gaps. It reviews and synthesizes a wide range of World Bank and partner projects and forest sector investments in different regions.
• A brief, entitled ‘Enhancing Effectiveness of Forest Landscape Programs through Gender-Responsive Actions’ is part of a series of briefs on lessons for gender-responsive landscape restoration, shared at the Global Landscapes Forum meeting held in Nairobi in August, 2018. Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) aims to achieve ecological integrity and enhance human well-being in deforested or degraded landscapes. Evidence shows that addressing gender equality and women’s rights is critical for addressing this dual objective. The World Bank, CIFOR, WOCAN, RRI, IUCN, WRI, FAO, ViAgroforestry and other partners representing civil society, multilateral organizations, researchers and private sector actors have joined together to highlight a number of useful lessons and recommendations rooted in their diverse experiences and expertise – all working in different ways to enhance the gender-responsiveness of forest landscape restoration efforts.
• A brief, entitled ‘Gender in Forest Landscape Projects: Actions and Indicators’ succinctly shares practical suggestions as to potential gender-responsive activities and actions, and indicators to measure progress towards gender outcomes, that WBG clients/ project teams can potentially include in their forest landscape projects, programs and investments.
• A guidance note entitled ‘Gender and Forest Landscapes: Enhancing Development Impacts of Projects and Programs’. It provides suggestions for developers and leaders of forests projects and programs to enhance participation by, benefits to, and empowerment of women and other potential beneficiaries with limited voice and agency. The guide identifies potential gender-responsive activities and actions that can be included throughout the project cycle.
• Key resources for project designers, researchers, development practitioners and others with an interest in understanding the issues related to, and links between, forests and gender, including: 1) An annotated bibliography of gender and forests literature (broadly defined to include landscapes with forests and agroforestry); 2) A guide that describes a range of tools and approaches freely available for the study and analysis of issues related to forest-gender/poverty issues.
• A Gender focused Portfolio Review of Forest Projects for the Environment and Natural Resources Program on Forests of the Wold Bank, which analyzes the forest portfolio for the past 5 years (FY11-16), identifying projects that include gender-related dimensions related to analyses, actions, and indicators for monitoring and evaluating progress towards gender-related outcomes. A brief is also available on the portfolio review.

Incorporating gender in PROFOR-supported tools and frameworks

• PROFOR Forest-Poverty toolkit – these tools are used in a participatory manner with communities and local governments to better understand: (i) forest resource uses and forest product value chains; (ii) sustainable natural resource-based livelihood opportunities; and (iii) enabling conditions and constraints for natural resource enterprise development.  In the Philippines, a PROFOR-supported initiative collected sex- and wealth-disaggregated information using the toolkit to inform local and national forest policies and practices aimed at climate resilience.  In Cambodia, the toolkit is being used in an options assessment of ‘forest-smart’ investments for sustainable livelihoods and forest landscapes.
• Forest Governance tool - this participatory governance assessment approach aims at putting practical approaches into the hands of practitioners, policy makers, and decision makers and enable them to systematically consider and address the wide range of governance issues involved in sustainable forest landscape management. This tool is being broadened in scope to include gender issues and tested in several countries, including Mexico and Liberia.
• ROAM - PROFOR assisted IUCN in incorporating gender in the Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM) approach. It now includes social and cultural aspects of forest landscape restoration (gender, culture, youth). Applications in Malawi, Brazil, and Rwanda have resulted in new gender-responsive restoration guidelines, and it soon will be implemented in Mozambique and Burundi.
• Country Forest Notes – These Notes aim to assess forests’ contribution to poverty and economic development, and analyze current and potential underlying drivers of deforestation in order to promote sustainable development at transformational scale.  They identify the potential for ‘forest-smart’ investments and help to streamline and coordinate WBG engagement in the forest and other sectors critical to sustainable forest management and forest-smart development goals (agriculture, energy, mining, etc). Originally envisioned to focus on the why, what and how questions and opportunities around livelihoods, poverty reduction and forest interventions, gender dimensions (the ‘who’) are also now being incorporated for many countries, including Vietnam, Liberia, Mexico, Zambia and Nepal.
• PRIME – A new framework aimed at identifying investments, policies, projects, and strategies key to sustainable poverty reduction in diverse forest landscapes highlights five key areas – Productivity, Rights, Investments, Markets, and Ecosystem services, or PRIME. Gender considerations play a role in all five, and thus are highlighted as a cross-cutting and critical area to consider within this investment framework. Forest project designers, governments and others can apply it to enhance the role of forest landscapes in poverty alleviation in a more equitable and sustainable manner.

A global exchange of gender-forests information

Just how are forest landscape projects and initiatives addressing gender-related challenges and opportunities? A recent global event was a good place to pose this question to a diverse range of forest agency staff and others working on climate change and forest landscape management challenges. A joint Forest Investment Program (FIP) and Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) Knowledge together some 150 participants from over 40 countries in Luang Prabang, Lao PDR on Sept 28, 2017 in conjunction with FIP and FCPF pilot country and country participant reporting and planning meetings. This event focused on knowledge sharing and joint learning on a wide range of topics such as engaging private sector in landscape programs, small and medium-sized forest enterprise financing for sustainable forest management, successes and challenges in combating illegal logging, communicating on REDD+, and gender.

• A detailed summary of the gender session and many other shared gender-forests resources from the Laos meeting can be found here

Results

• The gender-forests briefs informed the design and implementation of REDD+ gender-action plans in Cameroon, Ghana, Guatemala, Mexico, and Uganda, and these countries are inspiring other FCPF and FIP country partners (e.g., Côte d’Ivoire, Lao PDR) to also develop gender-action plans/road maps to increase the involvement of, and benefits to, women and other less empowered peoples from forest-related investments, projects, programs, and policies. 
• For a new Forest Investment Project in Benin, eight project-specific gender gaps and actions/activities were identified and included in the PAD.
• In Côte d’Ivoire, a gender analysis informed the design of the DGM, which included several gender gaps, activities, and indicators (i.e., gender tagged) in the PAD based on the TA provided by this program.
• PROFOR gender knowledge products have influenced FIP/CIF/FCPF/REDD+ Investment Plans/Forest projects in Côte d’Ivoire, Mexico, Uganda, Ghana, and Cameroon.

Providing information to motivate market activitiy

CHALLENGE

Worldwide, there is growing interest in market-based approaches to conservation. Public regulation and protected area systems, while critical, are insufficient to stop widespread resource degradation. For natural resources to be conserved they must be more valuable than the alternative uses of land and in order for them to be well-managed, good stewardship must be rewarded over bad stewardship. Markets and payments for ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration, watershed protection, and biodiversity conservation are emerging as a viable alternative to protect and restore ecosystems while rewarding landowners for good land management practices. However, these approaches currently exist as pilots and certain barriers obstruct their development to an ecologically significant scale and among communities in developing countries.

Lack of information - about buyers and sellers, about how these markets work, about how to design and monitor payment systems - is the most fundamental barrier obstructing market development around the world. This lack of information leads to high transaction costs, confusion on how to value ecosystem services, high uncertainties and risk, and general suspicion of market mechanisms.

APPROACH

This project is designed to overcome this barrier of information in order to motivate market activity among policy makers, private companies, and NGOs. In addition, it seeks to democratize information and understanding on these markets among landowners and communities that have traditionally been excluded from the benefits of market mechanisms.

RESULTS

In partnership with Forest Trends and others, this PROFOR activity supported the development of the Ecosystem Marketplace.

The Ecosystem Marketplace is an internet-based clearinghouse and companion bulletin update initiated by the Katoomba Group. It serves as a 'one-stop-shop' of information on ecosystem service markets worldwide.

Another element of this activity was the field-testing of tools and resource materials for PES project planning, design and implementation will to serve as resources for communities, NGOs, and policymakers. The tools provide practical guidance on establishing markets and payment schemes for ecosystem services and will be designed through guidance from community groups and others.

Providing information to motivate market activitiy

CHALLENGE

Worldwide, there is growing interest in market-based approaches to conservation. Public regulation and protected area systems, while critical, are insufficient to stop widespread resource degradation. For natural resources to be conserved they must be more valuable than the alternative uses of land and in order for them to be well-managed, good stewardship must be rewarded over bad stewardship. Markets and payments for ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration, watershed protection, and biodiversity conservation are emerging as a viable alternative to protect and restore ecosystems while rewarding landowners for good land management practices. However, these approaches currently exist as pilots and certain barriers obstruct their development to an ecologically significant scale and among communities in developing countries.

Lack of information - about buyers and sellers, about how these markets work, about how to design and monitor payment systems - is the most fundamental barrier obstructing market development around the world. This lack of information leads to high transaction costs, confusion on how to value ecosystem services, high uncertainties and risk, and general suspicion of market mechanisms.

APPROACH

This project is designed to overcome this barrier of information in order to motivate market activity among policy makers, private companies, and NGOs. In addition, it seeks to democratize information and understanding on these markets among landowners and communities that have traditionally been excluded from the benefits of market mechanisms.

RESULTS

In partnership with Forest Trends and others, this PROFOR activity supported the development of the Ecosystem Marketplace.

The Ecosystem Marketplace is an internet-based clearinghouse and companion bulletin update initiated by the Katoomba Group. It serves as a 'one-stop-shop' of information on ecosystem service markets worldwide.

Another element of this activity was the field-testing of tools and resource materials for PES project planning, design and implementation will to serve as resources for communities, NGOs, and policymakers. The tools provide practical guidance on establishing markets and payment schemes for ecosystem services and will be designed through guidance from community groups and others.

CHALLENGE

The commercial forestry sector in the Central African Republic (CAR) has considerable potential to attract private investment and contribute to economic development. CAR’s productive forests are governed by sustainable management plans and they still offer a wealth of harvestable species for which there is substantial demand on international markets.

Prior to 2013, the forestry sector represented over 6 percent of GDP, roughly half of total exports, and about 10 percent of state revenues. It also provided some 4,000 direct jobs and 6,000 indirect jobs. Under the country’s revenue-sharing framework, forestry companies were required to pay local communities about FCFA 1 billion per year. The forestry sector’s legal and regulatory framework is exceptionally strong, both by the standards of comparable countries and relative to other economic sectors in CAR, and the country has actively participated in international certification systems and multilateral efforts to combat climate change.

However, the 2013 political crisis largely halted activity in the forestry sector. Nearly all forestry companies suspended operations, and most suffered a significant degree of property damage and looting. To facilitate the sector’s recovery an analysis is needed to understand the current state of the forestry sector and key steps that the government can take to normalize operations.

APPROACH

This PROFOR grant was used to support a single study to analyze:  1) the state of forest resources and commercial forestry; 2) institutional arrangements for sustainable forest management; 3) forestry laws and related fiscal instruments; 4) the role of the forestry sector in the national economy and the impact of political crisis; and 5) legality, traceability and the FLEGT process as it applies to CAR.

RESULTS

The key output is a report, The Commercial Forestry Sector in Central African Republic, which identifies the following priorities for operations and increasing fiscal revenues:

1. Mobilize forest sector investment
2. Support local development of forest communities
3. Upgrade forest sector infrastructure
4. Strengthen institutional capacity

The findings have helped Congo Basin countries better understand the diversity of factors of deforestation --beyond logging -- and the impact of indirect external factors such as global commodity demand. They also contributed to the Central Africa Policy Notes developed as a basis for World Bank re-engagement with the Government of CAR following the political crisis. The knowledge generated from this activity is critically important as Congo Basin countries prepare their REDD+ and broader development strategies.

CHALLENGE

The commercial forestry sector in the Central African Republic (CAR) has considerable potential to attract private investment and contribute to economic development. CAR’s productive forests are governed by sustainable management plans and they still offer a wealth of harvestable species for which there is substantial demand on international markets.

Prior to 2013, the forestry sector represented over 6 percent of GDP, roughly half of total exports, and about 10 percent of state revenues. It also provided some 4,000 direct jobs and 6,000 indirect jobs. Under the country’s revenue-sharing framework, forestry companies were required to pay local communities about FCFA 1 billion per year. The forestry sector’s legal and regulatory framework is exceptionally strong, both by the standards of comparable countries and relative to other economic sectors in CAR, and the country has actively participated in international certification systems and multilateral efforts to combat climate change.

However, the 2013 political crisis largely halted activity in the forestry sector. Nearly all forestry companies suspended operations, and most suffered a significant degree of property damage and looting. To facilitate the sector’s recovery an analysis is needed to understand the current state of the forestry sector and key steps that the government can take to normalize operations.

APPROACH

This PROFOR grant was used to support a single study to analyze:  1) the state of forest resources and commercial forestry; 2) institutional arrangements for sustainable forest management; 3) forestry laws and related fiscal instruments; 4) the role of the forestry sector in the national economy and the impact of political crisis; and 5) legality, traceability and the FLEGT process as it applies to CAR.

RESULTS

The key output is a report, The Commercial Forestry Sector in Central African Republic, which identifies the following priorities for operations and increasing fiscal revenues:

1. Mobilize forest sector investment
2. Support local development of forest communities
3. Upgrade forest sector infrastructure
4. Strengthen institutional capacity

The findings have helped Congo Basin countries better understand the diversity of factors of deforestation --beyond logging -- and the impact of indirect external factors such as global commodity demand. They also contributed to the Central Africa Policy Notes developed as a basis for World Bank re-engagement with the Government of CAR following the political crisis. The knowledge generated from this activity is critically important as Congo Basin countries prepare their REDD+ and broader development strategies.

CHALLENGE
Although only 5% of the world's forests are located in Southeast Asia, the region accounted for about 17% of global forest loss in 2000 to 2010: An area about the size of Vietnam was deforested in the past decade. Illegal logging is one major force driving deforestation and degradation. This results in loss of biodiversity, tax revenue and the potential of forest resources to contribute to poverty reduction.

In tropical regions, the challenge of improving forest management to meet certification standards, and increasing pressure to prove timber legality, has led to development of verification schemes. These schemes offer third-party assurance of legality, and, potentially, a step-wise approach to full certification.

However several issues need to be addressed:

• There are several well established certification schemes and an increasing number of verification schemes. The extent to which they offer proof of compliance with national laws and regulations is not well understood.
• Certification is seen as a complementary tool for law enforcement to stimulate compliance and reduce illegality; however its enforcement power might be limited by its voluntary nature and other constraints.

APPROACH
Currently there is a proliferation of private and official standards. These standards range from those that apply to all (legality), to those that are compulsory to all exports to the EU and US markets (EU timber regulation and amended Lacey act), and finally to completely voluntary schemes (SFM certification).

With support from PROFOR, the World Bank's East Asia staff in collaboration with the Bank's Agriculture and Rural Development Department examined linkages between certification/verification and forest law enforcement and how the two might be strengthened. The study compared different schemes, considered the proof of legal compliance that they offer, and examined their credibility.

The study focused on certified and verified production forests in Vietnam, Lao PDR, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, and covered both plantations and natural forests.

MAIN FINDINGS
This activity produced a discussion paper assessing the certification and verification systems currently in place in Southeast Asia, which was published in December 2012 and is available on this page.The report shows that:

• Voluntary certification is at early stages of acceptance and application in the Southeast Asian case study countries, where there is significant potential to expand use of this tool. Only 11% of the production forest area is certified and less than 6% of forest plantations. However, the countries in the region are aiming to increase timber production from forest plantations and consequently promote certification of these areas. It is estimated that the potential to increase certification in natural and plantation forests in the case study countries is large, particularly in Indonesia and Malaysia.
• Continued pressures from environmentally-sensitive markets, especially in Europe, North America, Oceania and Japan, will oblige producer countries to provide evidence of legality and sustainability if they wish to retain their export markets. Legality verification, third party certification and stepwise programs offered by independent third party assessors can potentially provide evidence of legality and sustainability to meet the requirements of these discerning markets.
• Although verification and certification schemes and standards differ, there is evidence that the principles, criteria, policies and standards are becoming increasingly harmonized. Certification increasingly includes both legality and sustainability criteria, or at least certification and verification are functioning in a more mutually supportive way. The scope of legality and law enforcement is also increasingly being extended beyond immediate forest laws and regulations, creating new challenges.
• FLEGT VPAs and voluntary certification processes differ in standards, scope, approach and procedures, but they are potentially mutually supportive. VPAs can benefit from verification and certification traceability mechanisms and auditing processes at the forest management unit level. Voluntary approaches can also pioneer best practice approaches in countries that are not ready for nation-wide regulatory approaches. In turn, voluntary certification may benefit from VPAs, particularly in creating greater clarity on legality definitions, standards, indicators and verification procedures, multi-stakeholder processes in the sector and enhanced transparency and public disclosure.
• Financial credit institutions seeking to evaluate the legality and sustainability risk of their forestry clients use verification and certification as useful tools to reduce environmental, social and governance risk. In fact, many international commercial banks have policies that require forest certification schemes, some with a stated preference for FSC certification. As most international commercial bank staff are not specialists in SFM, third party certification fulfills a critical role in monitoring legality and sustainability of forests and forest products trade.
• Local banks in Southeast Asia have focused on traditional financial risk and had little reference to social or environmental criteria or a prerequisite of certification. As a significant funding source for the forestry sector in Southeast Asia, this should be a key target area where outreach could encourage greater legality and sustainability awareness in their “know your client” guidelines.

RESULTS
The report was presented at the ITTO workshop on "Tracking Technologies for Forest Governance" in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in May 14-17, 2012, which was attended by a wide range of participants from national agencies in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, international organizations, including representatives from the CITES Secretariat, EU-EFI FLEGT Asia Regional Program, FAO, ITTO, the private sector and NGOs.

CHALLENGE
Although only 5% of the world's forests are located in Southeast Asia, the region accounted for about 17% of global forest loss in 2000 to 2010: An area about the size of Vietnam was deforested in the past decade. Illegal logging is one major force driving deforestation and degradation. This results in loss of biodiversity, tax revenue and the potential of forest resources to contribute to poverty reduction.

In tropical regions, the challenge of improving forest management to meet certification standards, and increasing pressure to prove timber legality, has led to development of verification schemes. These schemes offer third-party assurance of legality, and, potentially, a step-wise approach to full certification.

However several issues need to be addressed:

• There are several well established certification schemes and an increasing number of verification schemes. The extent to which they offer proof of compliance with national laws and regulations is not well understood.
• Certification is seen as a complementary tool for law enforcement to stimulate compliance and reduce illegality; however its enforcement power might be limited by its voluntary nature and other constraints.

APPROACH
Currently there is a proliferation of private and official standards. These standards range from those that apply to all (legality), to those that are compulsory to all exports to the EU and US markets (EU timber regulation and amended Lacey act), and finally to completely voluntary schemes (SFM certification).

With support from PROFOR, the World Bank's East Asia staff in collaboration with the Bank's Agriculture and Rural Development Department examined linkages between certification/verification and forest law enforcement and how the two might be strengthened. The study compared different schemes, considered the proof of legal compliance that they offer, and examined their credibility.

The study focused on certified and verified production forests in Vietnam, Lao PDR, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, and covered both plantations and natural forests.

MAIN FINDINGS
This activity produced a discussion paper assessing the certification and verification systems currently in place in Southeast Asia, which was published in December 2012 and is available on this page.The report shows that:

• Voluntary certification is at early stages of acceptance and application in the Southeast Asian case study countries, where there is significant potential to expand use of this tool. Only 11% of the production forest area is certified and less than 6% of forest plantations. However, the countries in the region are aiming to increase timber production from forest plantations and consequently promote certification of these areas. It is estimated that the potential to increase certification in natural and plantation forests in the case study countries is large, particularly in Indonesia and Malaysia.
• Continued pressures from environmentally-sensitive markets, especially in Europe, North America, Oceania and Japan, will oblige producer countries to provide evidence of legality and sustainability if they wish to retain their export markets. Legality verification, third party certification and stepwise programs offered by independent third party assessors can potentially provide evidence of legality and sustainability to meet the requirements of these discerning markets.
• Although verification and certification schemes and standards differ, there is evidence that the principles, criteria, policies and standards are becoming increasingly harmonized. Certification increasingly includes both legality and sustainability criteria, or at least certification and verification are functioning in a more mutually supportive way. The scope of legality and law enforcement is also increasingly being extended beyond immediate forest laws and regulations, creating new challenges.
• FLEGT VPAs and voluntary certification processes differ in standards, scope, approach and procedures, but they are potentially mutually supportive. VPAs can benefit from verification and certification traceability mechanisms and auditing processes at the forest management unit level. Voluntary approaches can also pioneer best practice approaches in countries that are not ready for nation-wide regulatory approaches. In turn, voluntary certification may benefit from VPAs, particularly in creating greater clarity on legality definitions, standards, indicators and verification procedures, multi-stakeholder processes in the sector and enhanced transparency and public disclosure.
• Financial credit institutions seeking to evaluate the legality and sustainability risk of their forestry clients use verification and certification as useful tools to reduce environmental, social and governance risk. In fact, many international commercial banks have policies that require forest certification schemes, some with a stated preference for FSC certification. As most international commercial bank staff are not specialists in SFM, third party certification fulfills a critical role in monitoring legality and sustainability of forests and forest products trade.
• Local banks in Southeast Asia have focused on traditional financial risk and had little reference to social or environmental criteria or a prerequisite of certification. As a significant funding source for the forestry sector in Southeast Asia, this should be a key target area where outreach could encourage greater legality and sustainability awareness in their “know your client” guidelines.

RESULTS
The report was presented at the ITTO workshop on "Tracking Technologies for Forest Governance" in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in May 14-17, 2012, which was attended by a wide range of participants from national agencies in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, international organizations, including representatives from the CITES Secretariat, EU-EFI FLEGT Asia Regional Program, FAO, ITTO, the private sector and NGOs.

CHALLENGE
Although only 5% of the world's forests are located in Southeast Asia, the region accounted for about 17% of global forest loss in 2000 to 2010: An area about the size of Vietnam was deforested in the past decade. Illegal logging is one major force driving deforestation and degradation. This results in loss of biodiversity, tax revenue and the potential of forest resources to contribute to poverty reduction.

In tropical regions, the challenge of improving forest management to meet certification standards, and increasing pressure to prove timber legality, has led to development of verification schemes. These schemes offer third-party assurance of legality, and, potentially, a step-wise approach to full certification.

However several issues need to be addressed:

• There are several well established certification schemes and an increasing number of verification schemes. The extent to which they offer proof of compliance with national laws and regulations is not well understood.
• Certification is seen as a complementary tool for law enforcement to stimulate compliance and reduce illegality; however its enforcement power might be limited by its voluntary nature and other constraints.

APPROACH
Currently there is a proliferation of private and official standards. These standards range from those that apply to all (legality), to those that are compulsory to all exports to the EU and US markets (EU timber regulation and amended Lacey act), and finally to completely voluntary schemes (SFM certification).

With support from PROFOR, the World Bank's East Asia staff in collaboration with the Bank's Agriculture and Rural Development Department examined linkages between certification/verification and forest law enforcement and how the two might be strengthened. The study compared different schemes, considered the proof of legal compliance that they offer, and examined their credibility.

The study focused on certified and verified production forests in Vietnam, Lao PDR, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, and covered both plantations and natural forests.

MAIN FINDINGS
This activity produced a discussion paper assessing the certification and verification systems currently in place in Southeast Asia, which was published in December 2012 and is available on this page.The report shows that:

• Voluntary certification is at early stages of acceptance and application in the Southeast Asian case study countries, where there is significant potential to expand use of this tool. Only 11% of the production forest area is certified and less than 6% of forest plantations. However, the countries in the region are aiming to increase timber production from forest plantations and consequently promote certification of these areas. It is estimated that the potential to increase certification in natural and plantation forests in the case study countries is large, particularly in Indonesia and Malaysia.
• Continued pressures from environmentally-sensitive markets, especially in Europe, North America, Oceania and Japan, will oblige producer countries to provide evidence of legality and sustainability if they wish to retain their export markets. Legality verification, third party certification and stepwise programs offered by independent third party assessors can potentially provide evidence of legality and sustainability to meet the requirements of these discerning markets.
• Although verification and certification schemes and standards differ, there is evidence that the principles, criteria, policies and standards are becoming increasingly harmonized. Certification increasingly includes both legality and sustainability criteria, or at least certification and verification are functioning in a more mutually supportive way. The scope of legality and law enforcement is also increasingly being extended beyond immediate forest laws and regulations, creating new challenges.
• FLEGT VPAs and voluntary certification processes differ in standards, scope, approach and procedures, but they are potentially mutually supportive. VPAs can benefit from verification and certification traceability mechanisms and auditing processes at the forest management unit level. Voluntary approaches can also pioneer best practice approaches in countries that are not ready for nation-wide regulatory approaches. In turn, voluntary certification may benefit from VPAs, particularly in creating greater clarity on legality definitions, standards, indicators and verification procedures, multi-stakeholder processes in the sector and enhanced transparency and public disclosure.
• Financial credit institutions seeking to evaluate the legality and sustainability risk of their forestry clients use verification and certification as useful tools to reduce environmental, social and governance risk. In fact, many international commercial banks have policies that require forest certification schemes, some with a stated preference for FSC certification. As most international commercial bank staff are not specialists in SFM, third party certification fulfills a critical role in monitoring legality and sustainability of forests and forest products trade.
• Local banks in Southeast Asia have focused on traditional financial risk and had little reference to social or environmental criteria or a prerequisite of certification. As a significant funding source for the forestry sector in Southeast Asia, this should be a key target area where outreach could encourage greater legality and sustainability awareness in their “know your client” guidelines.

RESULTS
The report was presented at the ITTO workshop on "Tracking Technologies for Forest Governance" in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in May 14-17, 2012, which was attended by a wide range of participants from national agencies in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, international organizations, including representatives from the CITES Secretariat, EU-EFI FLEGT Asia Regional Program, FAO, ITTO, the private sector and NGOs.