CHALLENGE

Approximately 100 million people live in the miombo region which covers 11 countries of eastern and southern Africa. About 75 million of them are poor and rely on woodlands, characterized by poor soils, as a resource and a safety net in times of stress.

Although exploitation of the woodlands for agriculture, timber and energy (fuelwood) has not contributed to widespread poverty alleviation, conservation of the woodlands would have  opportunity costs for land managers and users that need to be taken into account.  To change the behavior of farmers, payments for avoided deforestation and degradation (REDD+) will have to match or exceed the benefits from other land uses.

APPROACH

Drawing on lessons from two decades of successful community-based natural resource management in the miombo region, as well as cases studies in Namibia, Mozambique and Zambia,  the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) explored the opportunities for pro-poor REDD+ payments.

PROFOR supported this research, in-country consultations and related workshops led by country experts, to facilitate stakeholders’ awareness of the application of REDD+ payments in the national and regional context and different options for maximizing pro-poor returns and to contribute to to a better understanding of REDD+ in the run-up and aftermath of the UNFCC meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009.

RESULTS

Efforts to reduce deforestation in the miombo region will only be successful if:
1. Rights to land, resources and carbon are clarified and reside with farmers and communities.
2. There are legal and policy frameworks in place that value and reward land uses other than agriculture.
3. Payments made exceed the benefits that would accrue to farmers from
alternative land uses including agriculture; timber and energy (charcoal).
4. Implementation allows communities, local government and supporting
organizations to adapt activities to meet local conditions.
5. Implementation recognizes the potentially severe impacts of climate change on ecosystems agriculture and livelihoods in the region.
6. Underlying governance challenges that exist at all levels are addressed.

CHALLENGE

Approximately 100 million people live in the miombo region which covers 11 countries of eastern and southern Africa. About 75 million of them are poor and rely on woodlands, characterized by poor soils, as a resource and a safety net in times of stress.

Although exploitation of the woodlands for agriculture, timber and energy (fuelwood) has not contributed to widespread poverty alleviation, conservation of the woodlands would have  opportunity costs for land managers and users that need to be taken into account.  To change the behavior of farmers, payments for avoided deforestation and degradation (REDD+) will have to match or exceed the benefits from other land uses.

APPROACH

Drawing on lessons from two decades of successful community-based natural resource management in the miombo region, as well as cases studies in Namibia, Mozambique and Zambia,  the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) explored the opportunities for pro-poor REDD+ payments.

PROFOR supported this research, in-country consultations and related workshops led by country experts, to facilitate stakeholders’ awareness of the application of REDD+ payments in the national and regional context and different options for maximizing pro-poor returns and to contribute to to a better understanding of REDD+ in the run-up and aftermath of the UNFCC meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009.

RESULTS

Efforts to reduce deforestation in the miombo region will only be successful if:
1. Rights to land, resources and carbon are clarified and reside with farmers and communities.
2. There are legal and policy frameworks in place that value and reward land uses other than agriculture.
3. Payments made exceed the benefits that would accrue to farmers from
alternative land uses including agriculture; timber and energy (charcoal).
4. Implementation allows communities, local government and supporting
organizations to adapt activities to meet local conditions.
5. Implementation recognizes the potentially severe impacts of climate change on ecosystems agriculture and livelihoods in the region.
6. Underlying governance challenges that exist at all levels are addressed.

CHALLENGE: A Global Imbalance in Forest Investments

The forest community recognizes that the private sector has a role to play in financing sustainable forest management (SFM). There is a considerable gap between the US$70-160 billion that SFM needs each year, and official development assistance to forestry, which only covers about 1 percent of the estimated total financing need.

Despite the private sector’s importance to forests, information on private forest financing remains scarce and inadequate. Data on private forest financing is not systematically reported in either global or regional databases and the quality remains inconsistent. The information that is available, however, points to an uneven distribution of forest investment across regions and countries.

Total private sector plantation investments in developing countries are estimated at US$1,763 million in 2011 (excluding REDD). Latin America accounts for a vast majority of annual investments, with US$1,464 million or 83% of the global total amount. Investments in Asia and Oceania are estimated at US$279 million or 16% of the global total, while private investments in plantation forests in Africa are estimated at US$20 million, or just 1% of total value.  Although Latin America draws the most private forest investment, it is unevenly allocated—Brazil accounts for more than 80% of the regional total.

There is a similar trend of regional imbalance in the estimated 66 million hectares of commercial, production-oriented forest plantations in developing countries, about one third of which are privately owned. Privately-owned plantations are spread over 18.7 million hectares in Latin America and comprise 78% of total commercial-production plantations. In contrast, there are only 5.1 million hectares of commercial plantations in Asia and Oceania and 0.3 million hectares in Africa.

APPROACH

Some countries are struggling to access private forest financing. What factors cause private forest investment to flow to certain countries, and not others? What can countries do to unlock more opportunities?

When assessing potential investments, forest investors compare expected returns and risks. Tree growing conditions, access to markets, growth potential, physical and institutional infrastructure, and the business environment -- including political and economic stability and security of land tenure -- are major determinants of investment flows. The main barriers to financing private investments in SFM in developing countries include high, real and perceived risks such as those related to land tenure; weak availability of both domestic and foreign equity and loan financing; unfavorable terms for financing; and finally, high up-front costs of preparing investment projects in the forestry sector.

To attract more forest investment, the government can take steps to make the investment environment better -- by improving policy and legislation, governance, transparency and infrastructure.  There are also many ways for the public sector to facilitate long-term investments in sustainable wood production. These include strengthening the information base on forest resources and finance, recording and publishing information on domestic investments and improving access to private financing.

FINDINGS

This report makes a number of recommendations to unlock private financing opportunities. These actions include:

Strengthening land tenure systems.

• Policy and legal reforms clarifying the role of the private sector, creating a policy framework for private sector investment in forestry and processing, and active investment promotion with targeted incentive schemes.
• Reducing investment risks, both real and perceived, through guarantees, public-private partnerships, and innovative financing (fund) schemes as well as through provision of information.
• Improving access to financing, for example, by developing new financial instruments favoring long-term investments.
• Collecting and improving access to information around the availability of suitable land for investments, growth and yield, growing conditions in general, risks, and others.
• Improving forest sector governance and transparency.
• Improving transport and other infrastructure.
• Supporting research and development to increase productivity.
• Helping to organize smallholders and communities so that they can enjoy economies of scale, become more eligible for accessing finance, and gain negotiating power.

The publication of this report is forthcoming. Please visit our website or visit our Twitter and Facebook accounts for updates.

CHALLENGE: A Global Imbalance in Forest Investments

The forest community recognizes that the private sector has a role to play in financing sustainable forest management (SFM). There is a considerable gap between the US$70-160 billion that SFM needs each year, and official development assistance to forestry, which only covers about 1 percent of the estimated total financing need.

Despite the private sector’s importance to forests, information on private forest financing remains scarce and inadequate. Data on private forest financing is not systematically reported in either global or regional databases and the quality remains inconsistent. The information that is available, however, points to an uneven distribution of forest investment across regions and countries.

Total private sector plantation investments in developing countries are estimated at US$1,763 million in 2011 (excluding REDD). Latin America accounts for a vast majority of annual investments, with US$1,464 million or 83% of the global total amount. Investments in Asia and Oceania are estimated at US$279 million or 16% of the global total, while private investments in plantation forests in Africa are estimated at US$20 million, or just 1% of total value.  Although Latin America draws the most private forest investment, it is unevenly allocated—Brazil accounts for more than 80% of the regional total.

There is a similar trend of regional imbalance in the estimated 66 million hectares of commercial, production-oriented forest plantations in developing countries, about one third of which are privately owned. Privately-owned plantations are spread over 18.7 million hectares in Latin America and comprise 78% of total commercial-production plantations. In contrast, there are only 5.1 million hectares of commercial plantations in Asia and Oceania and 0.3 million hectares in Africa.

APPROACH

Some countries are struggling to access private forest financing. What factors cause private forest investment to flow to certain countries, and not others? What can countries do to unlock more opportunities?

When assessing potential investments, forest investors compare expected returns and risks. Tree growing conditions, access to markets, growth potential, physical and institutional infrastructure, and the business environment -- including political and economic stability and security of land tenure -- are major determinants of investment flows. The main barriers to financing private investments in SFM in developing countries include high, real and perceived risks such as those related to land tenure; weak availability of both domestic and foreign equity and loan financing; unfavorable terms for financing; and finally, high up-front costs of preparing investment projects in the forestry sector.

To attract more forest investment, the government can take steps to make the investment environment better -- by improving policy and legislation, governance, transparency and infrastructure.  There are also many ways for the public sector to facilitate long-term investments in sustainable wood production. These include strengthening the information base on forest resources and finance, recording and publishing information on domestic investments and improving access to private financing.

FINDINGS

This report makes a number of recommendations to unlock private financing opportunities. These actions include:

Strengthening land tenure systems.

• Policy and legal reforms clarifying the role of the private sector, creating a policy framework for private sector investment in forestry and processing, and active investment promotion with targeted incentive schemes.
• Reducing investment risks, both real and perceived, through guarantees, public-private partnerships, and innovative financing (fund) schemes as well as through provision of information.
• Improving access to financing, for example, by developing new financial instruments favoring long-term investments.
• Collecting and improving access to information around the availability of suitable land for investments, growth and yield, growing conditions in general, risks, and others.
• Improving forest sector governance and transparency.
• Improving transport and other infrastructure.
• Supporting research and development to increase productivity.
• Helping to organize smallholders and communities so that they can enjoy economies of scale, become more eligible for accessing finance, and gain negotiating power.

The publication of this report is forthcoming. Please visit our website or visit our Twitter and Facebook accounts for updates.

The year 2016 was a powerful reminder that trees and forests play a critical role in our environment, economy and society – and that we face tremendous obstacles in protecting and sustainably managing them. With 2016 on track to be the hottest year on record and major development challenges remaining, forests are integral to addressing climate change and building more resilient and economically prosperous communities worldwide. These concerns are seeing progress in global commitments like the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement; building the knowledge base to fulfill these objectives is more important than ever.    

Here at PROFOR, our work over the last year reflects the need to improve our understanding of forests over multiple dimensions. We supported research not only across a range of levels, from fields to countries to landscapes, but also across an array of sectors, since the factors impacting forests are almost always tied to external development agendas. This was made possible through PROFOR’s new programmatic approach, which takes a broad view of forestry’s links to sectors like energy, small and medium enterprises, extractive industries, and disaster risk management, but also areas like poverty and gender.    

Our latest research sheds light on the economic benefits of growing trees on farms in Africa, and how improving methodologies for valuing forests can pinpoint how much they contribute to economic growth. While it’s been known for a while that over a billion people worldwide depend on forests for their livelihoods, it’s less clear if and how forests can provide a pathway out of poverty – PROFOR is supporting a number of forest partners in finding answers.

In Mexico and Kazakhstan, we promoted forest programs with strong community participation. These projects are creating jobs, reducing illegal logging, and building resilience in the face of climate change’s uncertain impacts. In other areas, our research has shown that investing in forests holds significant untapped potential. In the Congo Basin, for instance – home to the world’s second largest tropical forest –building a formal, professional timber industry could go a long way towards improving livelihoods, strengthening legal and sustainable timber markets, and protecting biodiversity-rich ecosystems. Around the world, forests could play a much larger role in reducing the impacts of natural disasters like landslides and storm surge.  

Even where economic development and sustainable forestry seem intractably at odds, PROFOR is helping to find a way forward. In the Republic of Congo, where pressures to exploit minerals and develop agriculture threaten the forests that millions of people rely on, PROFOR helped to produce a roadmap for integrated land use planning. In Mozambique, we supported a roadmap for biodiversity offsets, a “last resort” conservation solution for protecting habitats while tapping into the country’s much-needed mineral and petroleum resources.             

In addition to supporting some 40 activities in 2016 (listed below), PROFOR team members voiced the importance of designing gender savvy development projects; scaling up agricultural practices and innovative financing to restore landscapes; and sustainably managing Southern Africa’s endangered Miombo Woodlands.  

As we assess the achievements of 2016 and look to the challenges in the year ahead, the centrality of forests remains clear, for people and for the planet. This tenet will continue to drive PROFOR’s progress in improving what we know – and shaping how we act – when it comes to our valuable forests.

CHALLENGE

Countries in South Asia are increasingly committed to the improved management of the region’s forests, including for the purpose of making progress towards individual Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) for mitigating and adapting to climate change. 

However, South Asia faces significant challenges in managing its forest sector. For example, decades of conflict in Afghanistan have led to substantial forest loss, while in India, forest cover has stabilized but forest quality is deteriorating. In other countries, development pressures from expanding settlements and agriculture are driving the conversion of forestlands.

As the pressures on forests continue to grow, it is imperative to better understand and measure the current economic contribution of forests, including the costs of forest degradation. It is equally important to assess the efficacy of current regulations and policies around forests, accompanied by an assessment of institutions and technical capacity, where needed. Lack of policies on payments for ecosystem services, for instance, can hinder beneficial forest management activities for reducing sediment in the upper catchments of hydropower plants, or prevent communities from benefitting from such payment mechanisms. At the same time, weak institutions and lack of technical capacity can prevent even the most progressive forest policies from supporting inclusive and sustainable economic growth. 

APPROACH

The objective of this activity is to inform policy dialogue and strategic engagement on forests with South Asian countries as governments move towards sustainable and inclusive economic growth. This programmatic approach consists of the following activities:

• Afghanistan Capacity Development for Natural Resource Management (NRM): In Afghanistan, conflict and the lack of adequate governance structures and management and institutional capacity have heavily damaged the natural resource base that the majority of the population relies on, particularly in rural areas. This activity aims to: (i) raise awareness about the NRM role in supporting livelihoods, enhancing resilience, and reducing vulnerability to climate change and disaster risks; and (ii) assess the capacity of key institutions to implement the newly adopted NRM Strategy.
• Forests, Poverty and Resilience in Bangladesh: The World Bank is undertaking a Country Environmental Analysis focused on urban areas, to demonstrate cost-effective development pathways that tackle acute pollution levels and natural resource degradation in Dhaka, while at the same time controlling congestion and environmental externalities in newly growing cities. As part of this larger activity, PROFOR funding will support an investigation into natural infrastructure’s potential benefits for climate resilience in urban areas and peripheries. Outputs will include an analytical report on the cost of forest degradation in terms of lost revenues, incomes for local communities, and increased damage from extreme events; engagement workshops to consult key stakeholders and discuss the direction of the assessments, the preliminary findings and policy implications; and dissemination workshops.
• India Forest Sector Assessment: To better understand current and emerging challenges in forest management, this activity will assess the demand and supply of forest and timber resources in India, as well as the economic costs of the timber trade and forest fires, and the scope for forest-related agribusinesses to generate jobs. In addition, the activity will identify options for restoring degraded forests, sustainably managing forests, and strengthening forest monitoring and evaluation.
• Pakistan Forestry Sector Engagement Study: Pakistan’s diverse forest resources face rapid deterioration as a result of land conversion by large development projects, and overexploitation by poor communities who have few livelihood alternatives. In response, this activity aims to better understand the contribution of the forestry sector to achieving the country’s development priorities. PROFOR is supporting a review of forest sector policies and management practices through the collection and analysis of secondary information, as well as stakeholder consultations with federal and provincial government officials, development partners, civil society organizations and research institutions.
• Nepal Forests, Poverty and Tourism: The aim of this project is to strengthen the Government of Nepal’s capacity to better manage its natural resources, to deliver on its national goal to reduce poverty through sustainable and inclusive growth. The activity outputs will include: (i) A policy assessment of current practices in management of natural resources, including for tourism purposes and current and potential linkages between conservation, hydropower development, and tourism; and (ii) an engagement note describing the potential contributions of forests to economic growth and jobs, sustainable water resources management, and hydropower development.
• General Knowledge Management: To disseminate the knowledge generated from the various country activities, this component will share experiences and best practices among policy makers and technical experts from the region, including through workshops and study tours, and produce regional and cross-country policy briefs to inform forests investments and policy design.

RESULTS

• In Afghanistan, The development objective was achieved by taking stock of existing practices, engaging the sector’s key stakeholders in an ongoing dialogue at various levels, assessing capacity of Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL), and by developing knowledge about key areas of interest to the Government counterpart. This activity was used as a process for interacting with stakeholders and development partners through informal meetings, knowledge exchange, and high-level roundtables. The MAIL delegation, through the exchange visits to India, learnt about the critical and productive role of women in the NRM sector. They noted that the Natural Resources Management practices relating to gender specific roles such as women-managed committees for better management of renewable natural resources could be replicated in Afghanistan.

• In Bangladesh, a wetland background paper has been finalized. The study is cross-sectoral and covers urban waste management and urban planning/development issues as well as urban wetlands issues. The findings have informed another ASA led by World Bank`s Urban Global Practice “Toward Greater Dhaka”. The study also identified issues and areas of priority in terms of urban environment governance. The report launch event, held on September 16, 2018, was attended by various ministries and departments of Government of Bangladesh, including Ministry of Environment and Forest, Ministry of Water Resource, Ministry of Commerce, ERD, Planning Commission, BREB, LGED, Department of Environment (DOE), DWASA, as well as members of academia, private sector, civil society and media. The findings created avid interest among the attendees and received significant media coverage. The Government of Bangladesh showed interest in new operations around solid and hazardous waste management and the follow up TA will help better scope the potential investments through policy dialogue. 

  The regulatory and institutional analysis conducted as part of CEA informed and made recommendations to ongoing revision of Environment Conservation Rule. The CEA has also contributed to enhancing environmental aspects of the Dhaka Diagnosis led by the World Bank Urban team. The mission had meetings with the DoE on the need to continue with the CEA discussions to identify follow-on activities to address issues of pollution management in Bangladesh’s urbanizing context. The DoE expressed their need for support to assess the size of the pollution problem and to set up a continuous monitoring system. The recommended policy reforms will be followed up as part of policy notes prepared based on the CEA. 

• In India, All three objectives of the activity have been met.  (i) The recommendations of the Forest Fire Prevention and Management Report have been fully taken onboard to inform the National FFPM Plan that is under preparation.  (ii) The Forest Survey of India (FSI) is the lead agency in-charge of developing tools for forest fire detection in India. As part of the ASA, scientists at FSI had the opportunity to interact with scientists from NASA, and Australian experts on Fire Danger Rating Systems, and attend training on data and tools by NASA.  This in turn helped FSI improve its forest fire detection tool and to launch a new tool on Fire Danger Rating System.  The latter is now being tested and piloted in Indian states such as Uttarakhand.  (ii) As previously, described, a workshop with national and international experts was organized in November 2017 to share experiences with best practices on forest fire management.  This activity has been completed.

• In Nepal, Both outputs under this activity have been completed:  (i) Sustainable Tourism Development in Nepal – this report is a joint output of ENR and FCI and provides an overview of potential for tourism development in Nepal, an assessment of the main challenges, and recommendations for way forward.  (ii) Promoting Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas – this is a compilation of case studies of nature-based tourism that can benefit communities and conservation.  The Sustainable Tourism Development in Nepal report has helped inform the design of the Nepal Tourism project that is under preparation.   

  The compilation of case studies on nature-based tourism was used to organize the Conference on Sustainable Nature-based Tourism: Sharing Global Experience in Protected Areas in Nepal on January 21-22, 2019. This conference was jointly organized by ENR GP, FCI GP, and IFC with the Ministry of Forest and Environment (MoFE), Government of Nepal (GoN). GoN officials were very happy with the opportunity granted by the conference to share global experiences, particularly to hear from community leaders and private sector actors on sustainable and inclusive tourism models.  One direct and immediate outcome of the conference was an announcement from the MoFE to consult a wide range of stakeholders on the draft Working Procedures.  This was a request from one of the conference participants particularly to consult tourism operators, and MoFE officials made a commitment to do so during the closing session.  The close-door session on the second day also led to a very productive discussions and a request from the GoN for WBG to provide inputs to the Working Procedures through inputs from experts and a Study Tour for park managers to expose them to innovative models of tourism in protected areas that support conservation and benefit communities.

• In Pakistan, a forest sector review (Policy Note) to highlight available information about the forest sector in Pakistan, its key economic and ecological contributions and challenges faced by the sector has been completed and published here. The forest sector review has identified major issues of the forest sector in the country. It also highlighted challenges and opportunities for promoting forest investments in major ecological zones (different forest types) and poor communities of the country. Lessons learned from previous and ongoing forest investments in the country has been analyzed. It has helped the World Bank to recognize importance of forests, and opportunities it provides in supporting local livelihood, national economy, climate change resilience, gender balance and maximizing finance for development.  As a result, the Bank might engage with the federal government to develop a forest project.  A more detailed report prepared by FAO was launched on August 1, 2019 by the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Climate Change, Malik Amin Aslam and FAO Representative in Pakistan, Minà Dowlatchahi. Two more studies financed by other sources are being finalized, which build on the findings of the forestry sector review.  A study on value chain of key NTFP is ongoing. Another study on catchment management case on the Mangla Dam is also linked with the regional KGGTF catchment study and will be finished by June 2019. 

CHALLENGE

Countries in South Asia are increasingly committed to the improved management of the region’s forests, including for the purpose of making progress towards individual Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) for mitigating and adapting to climate change. 

However, South Asia faces significant challenges in managing its forest sector. For example, decades of conflict in Afghanistan have led to substantial forest loss, while in India, forest cover has stabilized but forest quality is deteriorating. In other countries, development pressures from expanding settlements and agriculture are driving the conversion of forestlands.

As the pressures on forests continue to grow, it is imperative to better understand and measure the current economic contribution of forests, including the costs of forest degradation. It is equally important to assess the efficacy of current regulations and policies around forests, accompanied by an assessment of institutions and technical capacity, where needed. Lack of policies on payments for ecosystem services, for instance, can hinder beneficial forest management activities for reducing sediment in the upper catchments of hydropower plants, or prevent communities from benefitting from such payment mechanisms. At the same time, weak institutions and lack of technical capacity can prevent even the most progressive forest policies from supporting inclusive and sustainable economic growth. 

APPROACH

The objective of this activity is to inform policy dialogue and strategic engagement on forests with South Asian countries as governments move towards sustainable and inclusive economic growth. This programmatic approach consists of the following activities:

• Afghanistan Capacity Development for Natural Resource Management (NRM): In Afghanistan, conflict and the lack of adequate governance structures and management and institutional capacity have heavily damaged the natural resource base that the majority of the population relies on, particularly in rural areas. This activity aims to: (i) raise awareness about the NRM role in supporting livelihoods, enhancing resilience, and reducing vulnerability to climate change and disaster risks; and (ii) assess the capacity of key institutions to implement the newly adopted NRM Strategy.
• Forests, Poverty and Resilience in Bangladesh: The World Bank is undertaking a Country Environmental Analysis focused on urban areas, to demonstrate cost-effective development pathways that tackle acute pollution levels and natural resource degradation in Dhaka, while at the same time controlling congestion and environmental externalities in newly growing cities. As part of this larger activity, PROFOR funding will support an investigation into natural infrastructure’s potential benefits for climate resilience in urban areas and peripheries. Outputs will include an analytical report on the cost of forest degradation in terms of lost revenues, incomes for local communities, and increased damage from extreme events; engagement workshops to consult key stakeholders and discuss the direction of the assessments, the preliminary findings and policy implications; and dissemination workshops.
• India Forest Sector Assessment: To better understand current and emerging challenges in forest management, this activity will assess the demand and supply of forest and timber resources in India, as well as the economic costs of the timber trade and forest fires, and the scope for forest-related agribusinesses to generate jobs. In addition, the activity will identify options for restoring degraded forests, sustainably managing forests, and strengthening forest monitoring and evaluation.
• Pakistan Forestry Sector Engagement Study: Pakistan’s diverse forest resources face rapid deterioration as a result of land conversion by large development projects, and overexploitation by poor communities who have few livelihood alternatives. In response, this activity aims to better understand the contribution of the forestry sector to achieving the country’s development priorities. PROFOR is supporting a review of forest sector policies and management practices through the collection and analysis of secondary information, as well as stakeholder consultations with federal and provincial government officials, development partners, civil society organizations and research institutions.
• Nepal Forests, Poverty and Tourism: The aim of this project is to strengthen the Government of Nepal’s capacity to better manage its natural resources, to deliver on its national goal to reduce poverty through sustainable and inclusive growth. The activity outputs will include: (i) A policy assessment of current practices in management of natural resources, including for tourism purposes and current and potential linkages between conservation, hydropower development, and tourism; and (ii) an engagement note describing the potential contributions of forests to economic growth and jobs, sustainable water resources management, and hydropower development.
• General Knowledge Management: To disseminate the knowledge generated from the various country activities, this component will share experiences and best practices among policy makers and technical experts from the region, including through workshops and study tours, and produce regional and cross-country policy briefs to inform forests investments and policy design.

RESULTS

• In Afghanistan, The development objective was achieved by taking stock of existing practices, engaging the sector’s key stakeholders in an ongoing dialogue at various levels, assessing capacity of Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL), and by developing knowledge about key areas of interest to the Government counterpart. This activity was used as a process for interacting with stakeholders and development partners through informal meetings, knowledge exchange, and high-level roundtables. The MAIL delegation, through the exchange visits to India, learnt about the critical and productive role of women in the NRM sector. They noted that the Natural Resources Management practices relating to gender specific roles such as women-managed committees for better management of renewable natural resources could be replicated in Afghanistan.

• In Bangladesh, a wetland background paper has been finalized. The study is cross-sectoral and covers urban waste management and urban planning/development issues as well as urban wetlands issues. The findings have informed another ASA led by World Bank`s Urban Global Practice “Toward Greater Dhaka”. The study also identified issues and areas of priority in terms of urban environment governance. The report launch event, held on September 16, 2018, was attended by various ministries and departments of Government of Bangladesh, including Ministry of Environment and Forest, Ministry of Water Resource, Ministry of Commerce, ERD, Planning Commission, BREB, LGED, Department of Environment (DOE), DWASA, as well as members of academia, private sector, civil society and media. The findings created avid interest among the attendees and received significant media coverage. The Government of Bangladesh showed interest in new operations around solid and hazardous waste management and the follow up TA will help better scope the potential investments through policy dialogue. 

  The regulatory and institutional analysis conducted as part of CEA informed and made recommendations to ongoing revision of Environment Conservation Rule. The CEA has also contributed to enhancing environmental aspects of the Dhaka Diagnosis led by the World Bank Urban team. The mission had meetings with the DoE on the need to continue with the CEA discussions to identify follow-on activities to address issues of pollution management in Bangladesh’s urbanizing context. The DoE expressed their need for support to assess the size of the pollution problem and to set up a continuous monitoring system. The recommended policy reforms will be followed up as part of policy notes prepared based on the CEA. 

• In India, All three objectives of the activity have been met.  (i) The recommendations of the Forest Fire Prevention and Management Report have been fully taken onboard to inform the National FFPM Plan that is under preparation.  (ii) The Forest Survey of India (FSI) is the lead agency in-charge of developing tools for forest fire detection in India. As part of the ASA, scientists at FSI had the opportunity to interact with scientists from NASA, and Australian experts on Fire Danger Rating Systems, and attend training on data and tools by NASA.  This in turn helped FSI improve its forest fire detection tool and to launch a new tool on Fire Danger Rating System.  The latter is now being tested and piloted in Indian states such as Uttarakhand.  (ii) As previously, described, a workshop with national and international experts was organized in November 2017 to share experiences with best practices on forest fire management.  This activity has been completed.

• In Nepal, Both outputs under this activity have been completed:  (i) Sustainable Tourism Development in Nepal – this report is a joint output of ENR and FCI and provides an overview of potential for tourism development in Nepal, an assessment of the main challenges, and recommendations for way forward.  (ii) Promoting Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas – this is a compilation of case studies of nature-based tourism that can benefit communities and conservation.  The Sustainable Tourism Development in Nepal report has helped inform the design of the Nepal Tourism project that is under preparation.   

  The compilation of case studies on nature-based tourism was used to organize the Conference on Sustainable Nature-based Tourism: Sharing Global Experience in Protected Areas in Nepal on January 21-22, 2019. This conference was jointly organized by ENR GP, FCI GP, and IFC with the Ministry of Forest and Environment (MoFE), Government of Nepal (GoN). GoN officials were very happy with the opportunity granted by the conference to share global experiences, particularly to hear from community leaders and private sector actors on sustainable and inclusive tourism models.  One direct and immediate outcome of the conference was an announcement from the MoFE to consult a wide range of stakeholders on the draft Working Procedures.  This was a request from one of the conference participants particularly to consult tourism operators, and MoFE officials made a commitment to do so during the closing session.  The close-door session on the second day also led to a very productive discussions and a request from the GoN for WBG to provide inputs to the Working Procedures through inputs from experts and a Study Tour for park managers to expose them to innovative models of tourism in protected areas that support conservation and benefit communities.

• In Pakistan, a forest sector review (Policy Note) to highlight available information about the forest sector in Pakistan, its key economic and ecological contributions and challenges faced by the sector has been completed and published here. The forest sector review has identified major issues of the forest sector in the country. It also highlighted challenges and opportunities for promoting forest investments in major ecological zones (different forest types) and poor communities of the country. Lessons learned from previous and ongoing forest investments in the country has been analyzed. It has helped the World Bank to recognize importance of forests, and opportunities it provides in supporting local livelihood, national economy, climate change resilience, gender balance and maximizing finance for development.  As a result, the Bank might engage with the federal government to develop a forest project.  A more detailed report prepared by FAO was launched on August 1, 2019 by the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Climate Change, Malik Amin Aslam and FAO Representative in Pakistan, Minà Dowlatchahi. Two more studies financed by other sources are being finalized, which build on the findings of the forestry sector review.  A study on value chain of key NTFP is ongoing. Another study on catchment management case on the Mangla Dam is also linked with the regional KGGTF catchment study and will be finished by June 2019. 

CHALLENGE

Countries in South Asia are increasingly committed to the improved management of the region’s forests, including for the purpose of making progress towards individual Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) for mitigating and adapting to climate change. 

However, South Asia faces significant challenges in managing its forest sector. For example, decades of conflict in Afghanistan have led to substantial forest loss, while in India, forest cover has stabilized but forest quality is deteriorating. In other countries, development pressures from expanding settlements and agriculture are driving the conversion of forestlands.

As the pressures on forests continue to grow, it is imperative to better understand and measure the current economic contribution of forests, including the costs of forest degradation. It is equally important to assess the efficacy of current regulations and policies around forests, accompanied by an assessment of institutions and technical capacity, where needed. Lack of policies on payments for ecosystem services, for instance, can hinder beneficial forest management activities for reducing sediment in the upper catchments of hydropower plants, or prevent communities from benefitting from such payment mechanisms. At the same time, weak institutions and lack of technical capacity can prevent even the most progressive forest policies from supporting inclusive and sustainable economic growth. 

APPROACH

The objective of this activity is to inform policy dialogue and strategic engagement on forests with South Asian countries as governments move towards sustainable and inclusive economic growth. This programmatic approach consists of the following activities:

• Afghanistan Capacity Development for Natural Resource Management (NRM): In Afghanistan, conflict and the lack of adequate governance structures and management and institutional capacity have heavily damaged the natural resource base that the majority of the population relies on, particularly in rural areas. This activity aims to: (i) raise awareness about the NRM role in supporting livelihoods, enhancing resilience, and reducing vulnerability to climate change and disaster risks; and (ii) assess the capacity of key institutions to implement the newly adopted NRM Strategy.
• Forests, Poverty and Resilience in Bangladesh: The World Bank is undertaking a Country Environmental Analysis focused on urban areas, to demonstrate cost-effective development pathways that tackle acute pollution levels and natural resource degradation in Dhaka, while at the same time controlling congestion and environmental externalities in newly growing cities. As part of this larger activity, PROFOR funding will support an investigation into natural infrastructure’s potential benefits for climate resilience in urban areas and peripheries. Outputs will include an analytical report on the cost of forest degradation in terms of lost revenues, incomes for local communities, and increased damage from extreme events; engagement workshops to consult key stakeholders and discuss the direction of the assessments, the preliminary findings and policy implications; and dissemination workshops.
• India Forest Sector Assessment: To better understand current and emerging challenges in forest management, this activity will assess the demand and supply of forest and timber resources in India, as well as the economic costs of the timber trade and forest fires, and the scope for forest-related agribusinesses to generate jobs. In addition, the activity will identify options for restoring degraded forests, sustainably managing forests, and strengthening forest monitoring and evaluation.
• Pakistan Forestry Sector Engagement Study: Pakistan’s diverse forest resources face rapid deterioration as a result of land conversion by large development projects, and overexploitation by poor communities who have few livelihood alternatives. In response, this activity aims to better understand the contribution of the forestry sector to achieving the country’s development priorities. PROFOR is supporting a review of forest sector policies and management practices through the collection and analysis of secondary information, as well as stakeholder consultations with federal and provincial government officials, development partners, civil society organizations and research institutions.
• Nepal Forests, Poverty and Tourism: The aim of this project is to strengthen the Government of Nepal’s capacity to better manage its natural resources, to deliver on its national goal to reduce poverty through sustainable and inclusive growth. The activity outputs will include: (i) A policy assessment of current practices in management of natural resources, including for tourism purposes and current and potential linkages between conservation, hydropower development, and tourism; and (ii) an engagement note describing the potential contributions of forests to economic growth and jobs, sustainable water resources management, and hydropower development.
• General Knowledge Management: To disseminate the knowledge generated from the various country activities, this component will share experiences and best practices among policy makers and technical experts from the region, including through workshops and study tours, and produce regional and cross-country policy briefs to inform forests investments and policy design.

RESULTS

• In Afghanistan, The development objective was achieved by taking stock of existing practices, engaging the sector’s key stakeholders in an ongoing dialogue at various levels, assessing capacity of Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL), and by developing knowledge about key areas of interest to the Government counterpart. This activity was used as a process for interacting with stakeholders and development partners through informal meetings, knowledge exchange, and high-level roundtables. The MAIL delegation, through the exchange visits to India, learnt about the critical and productive role of women in the NRM sector. They noted that the Natural Resources Management practices relating to gender specific roles such as women-managed committees for better management of renewable natural resources could be replicated in Afghanistan.

• In Bangladesh, a wetland background paper has been finalized. The study is cross-sectoral and covers urban waste management and urban planning/development issues as well as urban wetlands issues. The findings have informed another ASA led by World Bank`s Urban Global Practice “Toward Greater Dhaka”. The study also identified issues and areas of priority in terms of urban environment governance. The report launch event, held on September 16, 2018, was attended by various ministries and departments of Government of Bangladesh, including Ministry of Environment and Forest, Ministry of Water Resource, Ministry of Commerce, ERD, Planning Commission, BREB, LGED, Department of Environment (DOE), DWASA, as well as members of academia, private sector, civil society and media. The findings created avid interest among the attendees and received significant media coverage. The Government of Bangladesh showed interest in new operations around solid and hazardous waste management and the follow up TA will help better scope the potential investments through policy dialogue. 

  The regulatory and institutional analysis conducted as part of CEA informed and made recommendations to ongoing revision of Environment Conservation Rule. The CEA has also contributed to enhancing environmental aspects of the Dhaka Diagnosis led by the World Bank Urban team. The mission had meetings with the DoE on the need to continue with the CEA discussions to identify follow-on activities to address issues of pollution management in Bangladesh’s urbanizing context. The DoE expressed their need for support to assess the size of the pollution problem and to set up a continuous monitoring system. The recommended policy reforms will be followed up as part of policy notes prepared based on the CEA. 

• In India, All three objectives of the activity have been met.  (i) The recommendations of the Forest Fire Prevention and Management Report have been fully taken onboard to inform the National FFPM Plan that is under preparation.  (ii) The Forest Survey of India (FSI) is the lead agency in-charge of developing tools for forest fire detection in India. As part of the ASA, scientists at FSI had the opportunity to interact with scientists from NASA, and Australian experts on Fire Danger Rating Systems, and attend training on data and tools by NASA.  This in turn helped FSI improve its forest fire detection tool and to launch a new tool on Fire Danger Rating System.  The latter is now being tested and piloted in Indian states such as Uttarakhand.  (ii) As previously, described, a workshop with national and international experts was organized in November 2017 to share experiences with best practices on forest fire management.  This activity has been completed.

• In Nepal, Both outputs under this activity have been completed:  (i) Sustainable Tourism Development in Nepal – this report is a joint output of ENR and FCI and provides an overview of potential for tourism development in Nepal, an assessment of the main challenges, and recommendations for way forward.  (ii) Promoting Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas – this is a compilation of case studies of nature-based tourism that can benefit communities and conservation.  The Sustainable Tourism Development in Nepal report has helped inform the design of the Nepal Tourism project that is under preparation.   

  The compilation of case studies on nature-based tourism was used to organize the Conference on Sustainable Nature-based Tourism: Sharing Global Experience in Protected Areas in Nepal on January 21-22, 2019. This conference was jointly organized by ENR GP, FCI GP, and IFC with the Ministry of Forest and Environment (MoFE), Government of Nepal (GoN). GoN officials were very happy with the opportunity granted by the conference to share global experiences, particularly to hear from community leaders and private sector actors on sustainable and inclusive tourism models.  One direct and immediate outcome of the conference was an announcement from the MoFE to consult a wide range of stakeholders on the draft Working Procedures.  This was a request from one of the conference participants particularly to consult tourism operators, and MoFE officials made a commitment to do so during the closing session.  The close-door session on the second day also led to a very productive discussions and a request from the GoN for WBG to provide inputs to the Working Procedures through inputs from experts and a Study Tour for park managers to expose them to innovative models of tourism in protected areas that support conservation and benefit communities.

• In Pakistan, a forest sector review (Policy Note) to highlight available information about the forest sector in Pakistan, its key economic and ecological contributions and challenges faced by the sector has been completed and published here. The forest sector review has identified major issues of the forest sector in the country. It also highlighted challenges and opportunities for promoting forest investments in major ecological zones (different forest types) and poor communities of the country. Lessons learned from previous and ongoing forest investments in the country has been analyzed. It has helped the World Bank to recognize importance of forests, and opportunities it provides in supporting local livelihood, national economy, climate change resilience, gender balance and maximizing finance for development.  As a result, the Bank might engage with the federal government to develop a forest project.  A more detailed report prepared by FAO was launched on August 1, 2019 by the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Climate Change, Malik Amin Aslam and FAO Representative in Pakistan, Minà Dowlatchahi. Two more studies financed by other sources are being finalized, which build on the findings of the forestry sector review.  A study on value chain of key NTFP is ongoing. Another study on catchment management case on the Mangla Dam is also linked with the regional KGGTF catchment study and will be finished by June 2019. 

CHALLENGE

Countries in South Asia are increasingly committed to the improved management of the region’s forests, including for the purpose of making progress towards individual Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) for mitigating and adapting to climate change. 

However, South Asia faces significant challenges in managing its forest sector. For example, decades of conflict in Afghanistan have led to substantial forest loss, while in India, forest cover has stabilized but forest quality is deteriorating. In other countries, development pressures from expanding settlements and agriculture are driving the conversion of forestlands.

As the pressures on forests continue to grow, it is imperative to better understand and measure the current economic contribution of forests, including the costs of forest degradation. It is equally important to assess the efficacy of current regulations and policies around forests, accompanied by an assessment of institutions and technical capacity, where needed. Lack of policies on payments for ecosystem services, for instance, can hinder beneficial forest management activities for reducing sediment in the upper catchments of hydropower plants, or prevent communities from benefitting from such payment mechanisms. At the same time, weak institutions and lack of technical capacity can prevent even the most progressive forest policies from supporting inclusive and sustainable economic growth. 

APPROACH

The objective of this activity is to inform policy dialogue and strategic engagement on forests with South Asian countries as governments move towards sustainable and inclusive economic growth. This programmatic approach consists of the following activities:

• Afghanistan Capacity Development for Natural Resource Management (NRM): In Afghanistan, conflict and the lack of adequate governance structures and management and institutional capacity have heavily damaged the natural resource base that the majority of the population relies on, particularly in rural areas. This activity aims to: (i) raise awareness about the NRM role in supporting livelihoods, enhancing resilience, and reducing vulnerability to climate change and disaster risks; and (ii) assess the capacity of key institutions to implement the newly adopted NRM Strategy.
• Forests, Poverty and Resilience in Bangladesh: The World Bank is undertaking a Country Environmental Analysis focused on urban areas, to demonstrate cost-effective development pathways that tackle acute pollution levels and natural resource degradation in Dhaka, while at the same time controlling congestion and environmental externalities in newly growing cities. As part of this larger activity, PROFOR funding will support an investigation into natural infrastructure’s potential benefits for climate resilience in urban areas and peripheries. Outputs will include an analytical report on the cost of forest degradation in terms of lost revenues, incomes for local communities, and increased damage from extreme events; engagement workshops to consult key stakeholders and discuss the direction of the assessments, the preliminary findings and policy implications; and dissemination workshops.
• India Forest Sector Assessment: To better understand current and emerging challenges in forest management, this activity will assess the demand and supply of forest and timber resources in India, as well as the economic costs of the timber trade and forest fires, and the scope for forest-related agribusinesses to generate jobs. In addition, the activity will identify options for restoring degraded forests, sustainably managing forests, and strengthening forest monitoring and evaluation.
• Pakistan Forestry Sector Engagement Study: Pakistan’s diverse forest resources face rapid deterioration as a result of land conversion by large development projects, and overexploitation by poor communities who have few livelihood alternatives. In response, this activity aims to better understand the contribution of the forestry sector to achieving the country’s development priorities. PROFOR is supporting a review of forest sector policies and management practices through the collection and analysis of secondary information, as well as stakeholder consultations with federal and provincial government officials, development partners, civil society organizations and research institutions.
• Nepal Forests, Poverty and Tourism: The aim of this project is to strengthen the Government of Nepal’s capacity to better manage its natural resources, to deliver on its national goal to reduce poverty through sustainable and inclusive growth. The activity outputs will include: (i) A policy assessment of current practices in management of natural resources, including for tourism purposes and current and potential linkages between conservation, hydropower development, and tourism; and (ii) an engagement note describing the potential contributions of forests to economic growth and jobs, sustainable water resources management, and hydropower development.
• General Knowledge Management: To disseminate the knowledge generated from the various country activities, this component will share experiences and best practices among policy makers and technical experts from the region, including through workshops and study tours, and produce regional and cross-country policy briefs to inform forests investments and policy design.

RESULTS

• In Afghanistan, The development objective was achieved by taking stock of existing practices, engaging the sector’s key stakeholders in an ongoing dialogue at various levels, assessing capacity of Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL), and by developing knowledge about key areas of interest to the Government counterpart. This activity was used as a process for interacting with stakeholders and development partners through informal meetings, knowledge exchange, and high-level roundtables. The MAIL delegation, through the exchange visits to India, learnt about the critical and productive role of women in the NRM sector. They noted that the Natural Resources Management practices relating to gender specific roles such as women-managed committees for better management of renewable natural resources could be replicated in Afghanistan.

• In Bangladesh, a wetland background paper has been finalized. The study is cross-sectoral and covers urban waste management and urban planning/development issues as well as urban wetlands issues. The findings have informed another ASA led by World Bank`s Urban Global Practice “Toward Greater Dhaka”. The study also identified issues and areas of priority in terms of urban environment governance. The report launch event, held on September 16, 2018, was attended by various ministries and departments of Government of Bangladesh, including Ministry of Environment and Forest, Ministry of Water Resource, Ministry of Commerce, ERD, Planning Commission, BREB, LGED, Department of Environment (DOE), DWASA, as well as members of academia, private sector, civil society and media. The findings created avid interest among the attendees and received significant media coverage. The Government of Bangladesh showed interest in new operations around solid and hazardous waste management and the follow up TA will help better scope the potential investments through policy dialogue. 

  The regulatory and institutional analysis conducted as part of CEA informed and made recommendations to ongoing revision of Environment Conservation Rule. The CEA has also contributed to enhancing environmental aspects of the Dhaka Diagnosis led by the World Bank Urban team. The mission had meetings with the DoE on the need to continue with the CEA discussions to identify follow-on activities to address issues of pollution management in Bangladesh’s urbanizing context. The DoE expressed their need for support to assess the size of the pollution problem and to set up a continuous monitoring system. The recommended policy reforms will be followed up as part of policy notes prepared based on the CEA. 

• In India, All three objectives of the activity have been met.  (i) The recommendations of the Forest Fire Prevention and Management Report have been fully taken onboard to inform the National FFPM Plan that is under preparation.  (ii) The Forest Survey of India (FSI) is the lead agency in-charge of developing tools for forest fire detection in India. As part of the ASA, scientists at FSI had the opportunity to interact with scientists from NASA, and Australian experts on Fire Danger Rating Systems, and attend training on data and tools by NASA.  This in turn helped FSI improve its forest fire detection tool and to launch a new tool on Fire Danger Rating System.  The latter is now being tested and piloted in Indian states such as Uttarakhand.  (ii) As previously, described, a workshop with national and international experts was organized in November 2017 to share experiences with best practices on forest fire management.  This activity has been completed.

• In Nepal, Both outputs under this activity have been completed:  (i) Sustainable Tourism Development in Nepal – this report is a joint output of ENR and FCI and provides an overview of potential for tourism development in Nepal, an assessment of the main challenges, and recommendations for way forward.  (ii) Promoting Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas – this is a compilation of case studies of nature-based tourism that can benefit communities and conservation.  The Sustainable Tourism Development in Nepal report has helped inform the design of the Nepal Tourism project that is under preparation.   

  The compilation of case studies on nature-based tourism was used to organize the Conference on Sustainable Nature-based Tourism: Sharing Global Experience in Protected Areas in Nepal on January 21-22, 2019. This conference was jointly organized by ENR GP, FCI GP, and IFC with the Ministry of Forest and Environment (MoFE), Government of Nepal (GoN). GoN officials were very happy with the opportunity granted by the conference to share global experiences, particularly to hear from community leaders and private sector actors on sustainable and inclusive tourism models.  One direct and immediate outcome of the conference was an announcement from the MoFE to consult a wide range of stakeholders on the draft Working Procedures.  This was a request from one of the conference participants particularly to consult tourism operators, and MoFE officials made a commitment to do so during the closing session.  The close-door session on the second day also led to a very productive discussions and a request from the GoN for WBG to provide inputs to the Working Procedures through inputs from experts and a Study Tour for park managers to expose them to innovative models of tourism in protected areas that support conservation and benefit communities.

• In Pakistan, a forest sector review (Policy Note) to highlight available information about the forest sector in Pakistan, its key economic and ecological contributions and challenges faced by the sector has been completed and published here. The forest sector review has identified major issues of the forest sector in the country. It also highlighted challenges and opportunities for promoting forest investments in major ecological zones (different forest types) and poor communities of the country. Lessons learned from previous and ongoing forest investments in the country has been analyzed. It has helped the World Bank to recognize importance of forests, and opportunities it provides in supporting local livelihood, national economy, climate change resilience, gender balance and maximizing finance for development.  As a result, the Bank might engage with the federal government to develop a forest project.  A more detailed report prepared by FAO was launched on August 1, 2019 by the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Climate Change, Malik Amin Aslam and FAO Representative in Pakistan, Minà Dowlatchahi. Two more studies financed by other sources are being finalized, which build on the findings of the forestry sector review.  A study on value chain of key NTFP is ongoing. Another study on catchment management case on the Mangla Dam is also linked with the regional KGGTF catchment study and will be finished by June 2019. 

CHALLENGE

Countries in South Asia are increasingly committed to the improved management of the region’s forests, including for the purpose of making progress towards individual Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) for mitigating and adapting to climate change. 

However, South Asia faces significant challenges in managing its forest sector. For example, decades of conflict in Afghanistan have led to substantial forest loss, while in India, forest cover has stabilized but forest quality is deteriorating. In other countries, development pressures from expanding settlements and agriculture are driving the conversion of forestlands.

As the pressures on forests continue to grow, it is imperative to better understand and measure the current economic contribution of forests, including the costs of forest degradation. It is equally important to assess the efficacy of current regulations and policies around forests, accompanied by an assessment of institutions and technical capacity, where needed. Lack of policies on payments for ecosystem services, for instance, can hinder beneficial forest management activities for reducing sediment in the upper catchments of hydropower plants, or prevent communities from benefitting from such payment mechanisms. At the same time, weak institutions and lack of technical capacity can prevent even the most progressive forest policies from supporting inclusive and sustainable economic growth. 

APPROACH

The objective of this activity is to inform policy dialogue and strategic engagement on forests with South Asian countries as governments move towards sustainable and inclusive economic growth. This programmatic approach consists of the following activities:

• Afghanistan Capacity Development for Natural Resource Management (NRM): In Afghanistan, conflict and the lack of adequate governance structures and management and institutional capacity have heavily damaged the natural resource base that the majority of the population relies on, particularly in rural areas. This activity aims to: (i) raise awareness about the NRM role in supporting livelihoods, enhancing resilience, and reducing vulnerability to climate change and disaster risks; and (ii) assess the capacity of key institutions to implement the newly adopted NRM Strategy.
• Forests, Poverty and Resilience in Bangladesh: The World Bank is undertaking a Country Environmental Analysis focused on urban areas, to demonstrate cost-effective development pathways that tackle acute pollution levels and natural resource degradation in Dhaka, while at the same time controlling congestion and environmental externalities in newly growing cities. As part of this larger activity, PROFOR funding will support an investigation into natural infrastructure’s potential benefits for climate resilience in urban areas and peripheries. Outputs will include an analytical report on the cost of forest degradation in terms of lost revenues, incomes for local communities, and increased damage from extreme events; engagement workshops to consult key stakeholders and discuss the direction of the assessments, the preliminary findings and policy implications; and dissemination workshops.
• India Forest Sector Assessment: To better understand current and emerging challenges in forest management, this activity will assess the demand and supply of forest and timber resources in India, as well as the economic costs of the timber trade and forest fires, and the scope for forest-related agribusinesses to generate jobs. In addition, the activity will identify options for restoring degraded forests, sustainably managing forests, and strengthening forest monitoring and evaluation.
• Pakistan Forestry Sector Engagement Study: Pakistan’s diverse forest resources face rapid deterioration as a result of land conversion by large development projects, and overexploitation by poor communities who have few livelihood alternatives. In response, this activity aims to better understand the contribution of the forestry sector to achieving the country’s development priorities. PROFOR is supporting a review of forest sector policies and management practices through the collection and analysis of secondary information, as well as stakeholder consultations with federal and provincial government officials, development partners, civil society organizations and research institutions.
• Nepal Forests, Poverty and Tourism: The aim of this project is to strengthen the Government of Nepal’s capacity to better manage its natural resources, to deliver on its national goal to reduce poverty through sustainable and inclusive growth. The activity outputs will include: (i) A policy assessment of current practices in management of natural resources, including for tourism purposes and current and potential linkages between conservation, hydropower development, and tourism; and (ii) an engagement note describing the potential contributions of forests to economic growth and jobs, sustainable water resources management, and hydropower development.
• General Knowledge Management: To disseminate the knowledge generated from the various country activities, this component will share experiences and best practices among policy makers and technical experts from the region, including through workshops and study tours, and produce regional and cross-country policy briefs to inform forests investments and policy design.

RESULTS

• In Afghanistan, The development objective was achieved by taking stock of existing practices, engaging the sector’s key stakeholders in an ongoing dialogue at various levels, assessing capacity of Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL), and by developing knowledge about key areas of interest to the Government counterpart. This activity was used as a process for interacting with stakeholders and development partners through informal meetings, knowledge exchange, and high-level roundtables. The MAIL delegation, through the exchange visits to India, learnt about the critical and productive role of women in the NRM sector. They noted that the Natural Resources Management practices relating to gender specific roles such as women-managed committees for better management of renewable natural resources could be replicated in Afghanistan.

• In Bangladesh, a wetland background paper has been finalized. The study is cross-sectoral and covers urban waste management and urban planning/development issues as well as urban wetlands issues. The findings have informed another ASA led by World Bank`s Urban Global Practice “Toward Greater Dhaka”. The study also identified issues and areas of priority in terms of urban environment governance. The report launch event, held on September 16, 2018, was attended by various ministries and departments of Government of Bangladesh, including Ministry of Environment and Forest, Ministry of Water Resource, Ministry of Commerce, ERD, Planning Commission, BREB, LGED, Department of Environment (DOE), DWASA, as well as members of academia, private sector, civil society and media. The findings created avid interest among the attendees and received significant media coverage. The Government of Bangladesh showed interest in new operations around solid and hazardous waste management and the follow up TA will help better scope the potential investments through policy dialogue. 

  The regulatory and institutional analysis conducted as part of CEA informed and made recommendations to ongoing revision of Environment Conservation Rule. The CEA has also contributed to enhancing environmental aspects of the Dhaka Diagnosis led by the World Bank Urban team. The mission had meetings with the DoE on the need to continue with the CEA discussions to identify follow-on activities to address issues of pollution management in Bangladesh’s urbanizing context. The DoE expressed their need for support to assess the size of the pollution problem and to set up a continuous monitoring system. The recommended policy reforms will be followed up as part of policy notes prepared based on the CEA. 

• In India, All three objectives of the activity have been met.  (i) The recommendations of the Forest Fire Prevention and Management Report have been fully taken onboard to inform the National FFPM Plan that is under preparation.  (ii) The Forest Survey of India (FSI) is the lead agency in-charge of developing tools for forest fire detection in India. As part of the ASA, scientists at FSI had the opportunity to interact with scientists from NASA, and Australian experts on Fire Danger Rating Systems, and attend training on data and tools by NASA.  This in turn helped FSI improve its forest fire detection tool and to launch a new tool on Fire Danger Rating System.  The latter is now being tested and piloted in Indian states such as Uttarakhand.  (ii) As previously, described, a workshop with national and international experts was organized in November 2017 to share experiences with best practices on forest fire management.  This activity has been completed.

• In Nepal, Both outputs under this activity have been completed:  (i) Sustainable Tourism Development in Nepal – this report is a joint output of ENR and FCI and provides an overview of potential for tourism development in Nepal, an assessment of the main challenges, and recommendations for way forward.  (ii) Promoting Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas – this is a compilation of case studies of nature-based tourism that can benefit communities and conservation.  The Sustainable Tourism Development in Nepal report has helped inform the design of the Nepal Tourism project that is under preparation.   

  The compilation of case studies on nature-based tourism was used to organize the Conference on Sustainable Nature-based Tourism: Sharing Global Experience in Protected Areas in Nepal on January 21-22, 2019. This conference was jointly organized by ENR GP, FCI GP, and IFC with the Ministry of Forest and Environment (MoFE), Government of Nepal (GoN). GoN officials were very happy with the opportunity granted by the conference to share global experiences, particularly to hear from community leaders and private sector actors on sustainable and inclusive tourism models.  One direct and immediate outcome of the conference was an announcement from the MoFE to consult a wide range of stakeholders on the draft Working Procedures.  This was a request from one of the conference participants particularly to consult tourism operators, and MoFE officials made a commitment to do so during the closing session.  The close-door session on the second day also led to a very productive discussions and a request from the GoN for WBG to provide inputs to the Working Procedures through inputs from experts and a Study Tour for park managers to expose them to innovative models of tourism in protected areas that support conservation and benefit communities.

• In Pakistan, a forest sector review (Policy Note) to highlight available information about the forest sector in Pakistan, its key economic and ecological contributions and challenges faced by the sector has been completed and published here. The forest sector review has identified major issues of the forest sector in the country. It also highlighted challenges and opportunities for promoting forest investments in major ecological zones (different forest types) and poor communities of the country. Lessons learned from previous and ongoing forest investments in the country has been analyzed. It has helped the World Bank to recognize importance of forests, and opportunities it provides in supporting local livelihood, national economy, climate change resilience, gender balance and maximizing finance for development.  As a result, the Bank might engage with the federal government to develop a forest project.  A more detailed report prepared by FAO was launched on August 1, 2019 by the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Climate Change, Malik Amin Aslam and FAO Representative in Pakistan, Minà Dowlatchahi. Two more studies financed by other sources are being finalized, which build on the findings of the forestry sector review.  A study on value chain of key NTFP is ongoing. Another study on catchment management case on the Mangla Dam is also linked with the regional KGGTF catchment study and will be finished by June 2019.