CHALLENGE
The reform of state forest management has become a priority issue in Northeast China. Unlike the collective forest areas of Southern China, Northeast China's state forest enterprises (SFEs) have not been successfully transformed. A decline in timber productivity (due to overexploitation and degradation of forests) has been acompanied by economic stagnation and heavy fiscal obligations toward state forest enterprise workers, leaving SFEs highly dependent on subsidies and transfers.

APPROACH
Although the World Bank has been an important partner of the Chinese government in the forestry sector over the past 20 years (supporting over 3 million hectares of plantation establishment and over 1 million hectares of protected areas), its engagement on forestry policy reforms has been limited. With PROFOR support, the World Bank's East Asia and Pacific staff sought to inform policy and institutional reforms in key state forest management areas in Northeast China, to promote the transformation of practices toward economic viability, sustainable forest resource management, and local livelihood security.

The resulting study, State Forest Reform in Northeast China: Issues and options, was published as a Working Paper by PROFOR in October 2013.

Research for this study coincided with the Government's internal evaluation of the first phase of the Natural Forests Protection Program (1998-2010) and the formulation of the program's second phase.

The study drew on several background reports including: a historical review of forest management in the Northeast China by the State Forest Administration; an analysis of extensive data on forest resources and socio-economic conditions from two surveys conducted in 2005 and 2009 surveys by Jintao Xu and Xuemei Jiang; and a critical review of performance and lessons at existing pilot reform sites and state forest enterprises, by Yuehua Wang and Zhenbin Gu. The background papers were originally written in Chinese and shared at a workshop held in Beijing in May 2012. Several of the background papers are available in translation in the annexes of the document

MAIN FINDINGS
The study considers three options for institutional reform:

• the centralization of state forest management;
• the decentralization of local management responsibilities to the province;
• and a combination of the two, with clearly delineated functions and responsibilities.

Ultimately, whichever option is pursued requires current functions and control to be reallocated, and this issue remains divisive and politically sensitive.

The paper concludes by stressing the importance of consolidating stakeholders’ interests to create a common vision for the reform. The assessment of the ongoing pilot reforms will provide a solid foundation to evaluate options for moving forward, though the reforms will need to be set in the context of the wider challenges of social service provision, infrastructure development, and achieving an appropriate balance between resource extraction and protection.  There is considerable scope for the northeastern forests to support the local and national economies, through timber extraction as well as diversified uses including tourism and nontimber forest products.  Achieving this requires central government leadership to reform the current system and put in place the necessary institutional framework and incentive structures.

CHALLENGE
The reform of state forest management has become a priority issue in Northeast China. Unlike the collective forest areas of Southern China, Northeast China's state forest enterprises (SFEs) have not been successfully transformed. A decline in timber productivity (due to overexploitation and degradation of forests) has been acompanied by economic stagnation and heavy fiscal obligations toward state forest enterprise workers, leaving SFEs highly dependent on subsidies and transfers.

APPROACH
Although the World Bank has been an important partner of the Chinese government in the forestry sector over the past 20 years (supporting over 3 million hectares of plantation establishment and over 1 million hectares of protected areas), its engagement on forestry policy reforms has been limited. With PROFOR support, the World Bank's East Asia and Pacific staff sought to inform policy and institutional reforms in key state forest management areas in Northeast China, to promote the transformation of practices toward economic viability, sustainable forest resource management, and local livelihood security.

The resulting study, State Forest Reform in Northeast China: Issues and options, was published as a Working Paper by PROFOR in October 2013.

Research for this study coincided with the Government's internal evaluation of the first phase of the Natural Forests Protection Program (1998-2010) and the formulation of the program's second phase.

The study drew on several background reports including: a historical review of forest management in the Northeast China by the State Forest Administration; an analysis of extensive data on forest resources and socio-economic conditions from two surveys conducted in 2005 and 2009 surveys by Jintao Xu and Xuemei Jiang; and a critical review of performance and lessons at existing pilot reform sites and state forest enterprises, by Yuehua Wang and Zhenbin Gu. The background papers were originally written in Chinese and shared at a workshop held in Beijing in May 2012. Several of the background papers are available in translation in the annexes of the document

MAIN FINDINGS
The study considers three options for institutional reform:

• the centralization of state forest management;
• the decentralization of local management responsibilities to the province;
• and a combination of the two, with clearly delineated functions and responsibilities.

Ultimately, whichever option is pursued requires current functions and control to be reallocated, and this issue remains divisive and politically sensitive.

The paper concludes by stressing the importance of consolidating stakeholders’ interests to create a common vision for the reform. The assessment of the ongoing pilot reforms will provide a solid foundation to evaluate options for moving forward, though the reforms will need to be set in the context of the wider challenges of social service provision, infrastructure development, and achieving an appropriate balance between resource extraction and protection.  There is considerable scope for the northeastern forests to support the local and national economies, through timber extraction as well as diversified uses including tourism and nontimber forest products.  Achieving this requires central government leadership to reform the current system and put in place the necessary institutional framework and incentive structures.

CHALLENGE
The reform of state forest management has become a priority issue in Northeast China. Unlike the collective forest areas of Southern China, Northeast China's state forest enterprises (SFEs) have not been successfully transformed. A decline in timber productivity (due to overexploitation and degradation of forests) has been acompanied by economic stagnation and heavy fiscal obligations toward state forest enterprise workers, leaving SFEs highly dependent on subsidies and transfers.

APPROACH
Although the World Bank has been an important partner of the Chinese government in the forestry sector over the past 20 years (supporting over 3 million hectares of plantation establishment and over 1 million hectares of protected areas), its engagement on forestry policy reforms has been limited. With PROFOR support, the World Bank's East Asia and Pacific staff sought to inform policy and institutional reforms in key state forest management areas in Northeast China, to promote the transformation of practices toward economic viability, sustainable forest resource management, and local livelihood security.

The resulting study, State Forest Reform in Northeast China: Issues and options, was published as a Working Paper by PROFOR in October 2013.

Research for this study coincided with the Government's internal evaluation of the first phase of the Natural Forests Protection Program (1998-2010) and the formulation of the program's second phase.

The study drew on several background reports including: a historical review of forest management in the Northeast China by the State Forest Administration; an analysis of extensive data on forest resources and socio-economic conditions from two surveys conducted in 2005 and 2009 surveys by Jintao Xu and Xuemei Jiang; and a critical review of performance and lessons at existing pilot reform sites and state forest enterprises, by Yuehua Wang and Zhenbin Gu. The background papers were originally written in Chinese and shared at a workshop held in Beijing in May 2012. Several of the background papers are available in translation in the annexes of the document

MAIN FINDINGS
The study considers three options for institutional reform:

• the centralization of state forest management;
• the decentralization of local management responsibilities to the province;
• and a combination of the two, with clearly delineated functions and responsibilities.

Ultimately, whichever option is pursued requires current functions and control to be reallocated, and this issue remains divisive and politically sensitive.

The paper concludes by stressing the importance of consolidating stakeholders’ interests to create a common vision for the reform. The assessment of the ongoing pilot reforms will provide a solid foundation to evaluate options for moving forward, though the reforms will need to be set in the context of the wider challenges of social service provision, infrastructure development, and achieving an appropriate balance between resource extraction and protection.  There is considerable scope for the northeastern forests to support the local and national economies, through timber extraction as well as diversified uses including tourism and nontimber forest products.  Achieving this requires central government leadership to reform the current system and put in place the necessary institutional framework and incentive structures.

CHALLENGE

An active debate on concession policies and forest fiscal systems has taken place for a number of years. Several countries, encompassing a diverse range of forest types and associated industries, are implementing or considering new approaches to allocating rights to utilize forests. While their situations are different, in all cases the objective is to identify the practical ways to ensure that forests can be utilized sustainably and make a more positive contribution to national poverty reduction objectives (as defined in PRSPs or similar statement of policy) through stimulating growth and providing regular and enhanced revenue flows to governments.

Read workshop proceedings for more detail.

The following year, on May 3, 2004, PROFOR organized a side event at UNFF-4 on reforming forest fiscal systems. Representatives from Ghana and Brazil delivered updates on fiscal reform in their countries since the October 2003 workshop.

CHALLENGE

An active debate on concession policies and forest fiscal systems has taken place for a number of years. Several countries, encompassing a diverse range of forest types and associated industries, are implementing or considering new approaches to allocating rights to utilize forests. While their situations are different, in all cases the objective is to identify the practical ways to ensure that forests can be utilized sustainably and make a more positive contribution to national poverty reduction objectives (as defined in PRSPs or similar statement of policy) through stimulating growth and providing regular and enhanced revenue flows to governments.

Read workshop proceedings for more detail.

The following year, on May 3, 2004, PROFOR organized a side event at UNFF-4 on reforming forest fiscal systems. Representatives from Ghana and Brazil delivered updates on fiscal reform in their countries since the October 2003 workshop.

CHALLENGE

An active debate on concession policies and forest fiscal systems has taken place for a number of years. Several countries, encompassing a diverse range of forest types and associated industries, are implementing or considering new approaches to allocating rights to utilize forests. While their situations are different, in all cases the objective is to identify the practical ways to ensure that forests can be utilized sustainably and make a more positive contribution to national poverty reduction objectives (as defined in PRSPs or similar statement of policy) through stimulating growth and providing regular and enhanced revenue flows to governments.

Read workshop proceedings for more detail.

The following year, on May 3, 2004, PROFOR organized a side event at UNFF-4 on reforming forest fiscal systems. Representatives from Ghana and Brazil delivered updates on fiscal reform in their countries since the October 2003 workshop.

CHALLENGE

An active debate on concession policies and forest fiscal systems has taken place for a number of years. Several countries, encompassing a diverse range of forest types and associated industries, are implementing or considering new approaches to allocating rights to utilize forests. While their situations are different, in all cases the objective is to identify the practical ways to ensure that forests can be utilized sustainably and make a more positive contribution to national poverty reduction objectives (as defined in PRSPs or similar statement of policy) through stimulating growth and providing regular and enhanced revenue flows to governments.

Read workshop proceedings for more detail.

The following year, on May 3, 2004, PROFOR organized a side event at UNFF-4 on reforming forest fiscal systems. Representatives from Ghana and Brazil delivered updates on fiscal reform in their countries since the October 2003 workshop.

CHALLENGE

An active debate on concession policies and forest fiscal systems has taken place for a number of years. Several countries, encompassing a diverse range of forest types and associated industries, are implementing or considering new approaches to allocating rights to utilize forests. While their situations are different, in all cases the objective is to identify the practical ways to ensure that forests can be utilized sustainably and make a more positive contribution to national poverty reduction objectives (as defined in PRSPs or similar statement of policy) through stimulating growth and providing regular and enhanced revenue flows to governments.

Read workshop proceedings for more detail.

The following year, on May 3, 2004, PROFOR organized a side event at UNFF-4 on reforming forest fiscal systems. Representatives from Ghana and Brazil delivered updates on fiscal reform in their countries since the October 2003 workshop.

CHALLENGE

Land degradation, deforestation, climate variability and unsustainable land use represent multi-dimensional challenges that require integrated solutions across boundaries to address. For example, programs that promote resilient landscapes should be designed to connect forests, croplands, irrigated agricultural lands, woodlands, protected areas, and agro-silvo-pastoral lands that will optimize the provision and utilization of ecosystem services. Subsequently, World Bank client countries have been increasingly seeking support to move towards such an integrated approach to manage the multi-faceted challenges of managing land, water and other natural resources. This activity will, therefore, consolidate knowledge products that stakeholders can utilize to enhance their knowledge and create synergy on applying resilient landscape concepts to their work.

APPROACH

Two main activity components will be undertaken under this program:

1: Develop and launch a full online Landscape Approach 101 eCourse to be published on the WB Open Learning Campus for WB staff and external clients. The eCourse will consist of 4-5 hours of self-paced learning and will include discussions on key concepts and elements of creating an enabling environment for a landscape approach and the governance structures and tools that support landscape operation. A learning brochure and CD will be produced to accompany the course.

2: Support operationalizing resilient landscape through peer-to-peer knowledge exchange activities by pairing peers at the project level and across regions and countries. The e-course contents will be adapted into face-to-face learning modules, followed by a series of facilitated on-line learning events, BBLs, and putting together practical guides for operational teams.

RESULTS

1. The full online eCourse on Landscape Approach 101 launched in March 2017 published on the WB Open Learning Campus. A self-paced course is now available (see link at left). 
2. In partnership with African Union‘s NEPAD-TerrAfrica Secretariat, and the Bank’s ENR GP, the eCourse contents have been adapted into face-to-face training materials and were used them to support a regional training on “Resilience Landscape” in Nairobi, Kenya in July 2016. Attendees included Natural Resource Management (NRM) project managers, country program coordinators, Sustainable Land Management (SLM) focal points from ministries of Environment, Forestry, and of Agriculture, representing 18 TerrAfrica countries -- Lesotho, Kenya, Togo, DRC, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso, Malawi, Madagascar, Nigeria, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Gambia, Senegal, Burundi, Niger, and Comoros. The attendees rated the training highly and served to test the content of the adapted eCourse.
3. The Bank’s ENR GP and Climate Change CCSA, in collaboration with Mozambique Government delivered a training workshop on the “Landscape Approach” in Nampula, Mozambique, in February 2017. The content of the training was mainly adapted from the Landscape Approach 101 e-course. Participants included 50 representatives of institutions that have direct interest on the landscape approach in Cabo Delgado, Nampula and Zambezia provinces, where the World Bank is supporting the preparation and/or implementation of different integrated landscape management projects. These include the Mozambique Forest Investment Project, the Agriculture and Natural Resources Landscape Management Project, Mozambique Conservation Project, and REDD+ Readiness support.

CHALLENGE

Land degradation, deforestation, climate variability and unsustainable land use represent multi-dimensional challenges that require integrated solutions across boundaries to address. For example, programs that promote resilient landscapes should be designed to connect forests, croplands, irrigated agricultural lands, woodlands, protected areas, and agro-silvo-pastoral lands that will optimize the provision and utilization of ecosystem services. Subsequently, World Bank client countries have been increasingly seeking support to move towards such an integrated approach to manage the multi-faceted challenges of managing land, water and other natural resources. This activity will, therefore, consolidate knowledge products that stakeholders can utilize to enhance their knowledge and create synergy on applying resilient landscape concepts to their work.

APPROACH

Two main activity components will be undertaken under this program:

1: Develop and launch a full online Landscape Approach 101 eCourse to be published on the WB Open Learning Campus for WB staff and external clients. The eCourse will consist of 4-5 hours of self-paced learning and will include discussions on key concepts and elements of creating an enabling environment for a landscape approach and the governance structures and tools that support landscape operation. A learning brochure and CD will be produced to accompany the course.

2: Support operationalizing resilient landscape through peer-to-peer knowledge exchange activities by pairing peers at the project level and across regions and countries. The e-course contents will be adapted into face-to-face learning modules, followed by a series of facilitated on-line learning events, BBLs, and putting together practical guides for operational teams.

RESULTS

1. The full online eCourse on Landscape Approach 101 launched in March 2017 published on the WB Open Learning Campus. A self-paced course is now available (see link at left). 
2. In partnership with African Union‘s NEPAD-TerrAfrica Secretariat, and the Bank’s ENR GP, the eCourse contents have been adapted into face-to-face training materials and were used them to support a regional training on “Resilience Landscape” in Nairobi, Kenya in July 2016. Attendees included Natural Resource Management (NRM) project managers, country program coordinators, Sustainable Land Management (SLM) focal points from ministries of Environment, Forestry, and of Agriculture, representing 18 TerrAfrica countries -- Lesotho, Kenya, Togo, DRC, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso, Malawi, Madagascar, Nigeria, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Gambia, Senegal, Burundi, Niger, and Comoros. The attendees rated the training highly and served to test the content of the adapted eCourse.
3. The Bank’s ENR GP and Climate Change CCSA, in collaboration with Mozambique Government delivered a training workshop on the “Landscape Approach” in Nampula, Mozambique, in February 2017. The content of the training was mainly adapted from the Landscape Approach 101 e-course. Participants included 50 representatives of institutions that have direct interest on the landscape approach in Cabo Delgado, Nampula and Zambezia provinces, where the World Bank is supporting the preparation and/or implementation of different integrated landscape management projects. These include the Mozambique Forest Investment Project, the Agriculture and Natural Resources Landscape Management Project, Mozambique Conservation Project, and REDD+ Readiness support.