Understanding Forest Tenure: What rights and for Whom

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Understanding Forest Tenure What rights and for
Whom?

• Francesca Romano
• Forestry Policy and Institutions Service
• FAO

Porto Alegre March 2006
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Whos this forest?
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Objectives

• Results of the survey on forest ownership and
  tenure in Southeast Asia
• Stimulate reflection relation Tenure -
  Sustainable Forest Management - Poverty
  Alleviation

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Outline
Facts and figures about forest tenure
Analyze relation between Tenure, SFM and PA
Principles for tenure reform
Emerging tenure systems in Southeast Asia
Action for the future
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Forest tenure A broad concept that includes
ownership, tenancy and other arrangements for the
use of forests. Forest tenure is the combination
of legally or customarily defined forest
ownership rights and arrangements for the
management and use of forest resources. Forest
tenure determines who can use what resource, for
how long and under what conditions.
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A few facts

• About 1.6 billion people rely on forest resources
  (WB 2002)
• Deforestation -7.3 mill ha./year (FRA 2005)
• 85 forests are public (FRA 2005)
• Trends privatization, community involvement in
  forest management
• Forest Trends 22 of forests owned/administered
  by communities in Developing Countries

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Key questions
Yes tenure is important (FAO 2005, UNDP et. al
2005)

• When does forest tenure matter?
• How does forest tenure matter?
• For what?

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Forest tenure assessment
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Area of the Survey
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The Matrix
Level devolution of forest management
responsibilities
Ha of forest under each ownership category and
according to specific forest management categories
Different categories of forest ownership,
according to 5 main categories and 7 related
sub-categories
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Detailed ownership structure

• central government main owner
• decentralization mainly at local/village level
• private property mainly individuals
• community owned 0

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Public forests management categories

• JFM community forests 10 of forests 24
  mil. ha
• Short term concessions to privates 24 70 mil.
  ha

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What do the figures tell?

• Public ownership prevalent
• Devolution of management responsibilities
• to local communities 10
• to local communities private individuals
  small holders 18
• Short term gt long term agreements
• Some emerging trends e.g. allocation to private
  households (China, Vietnam)
• Some pilot schemes e.g. (SFMLA Sabah)

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So What?
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Principles for secure and enabling tenure system
provide clear and secure tenure
enhance capacities to exercise and retain rights
diversify tenure system
acknowledge customary management systems
support disadvantage groups
provide valuable resources
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Enabling factors
SFM and PA
Secure tenure
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Tenure for SFM
State forest (Meghalaya)
Best managed and conserved forests
Forest condition improved Degradation
prevented
Community Forestry (Nepal)
Higher performance than other systems
LGU (Philippines)
Protection of forest and plantation of trees
Private property (Vietnam)
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Tenure for PA
Leasehold forest (Nepal)
Reduced food deficiency
Equity Uplifting from extreme poverty
CBFM (Philippines)
Common property (Vietnam)
Distribution of benefits to the poorest
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Barriers to secure tenure
State control in disguised

• JFM
• private property

• resistance to change
• complex procedures and overregulation

Security of Tenure
Fragility of granted rights
Land policy

• customary rights not recognized
• unclear ownership
• disputes and conflicts
• short term rights

Small trees for small people

• low value resources
• high investment, required
• long term returns

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Implication for SFM and PA

• No management, lack of interest
• No advantage in investing untapped
  potentialities
• Unsustainable forest management
• Illegal activities
• Vulnerability of local communities
• Conflicts

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Identified issues

• Devolved management responsibility with secure
  rights very limited
• Current policies often inadequate
• Tenure systems not diversified and slow to adapt
• Role and responsibilities vague (or
  unrecognized)
• Capacities inadequate and not acknowledged
• Insecurity of tenure -gt unsustainable FM, and
  untapped potentialities

Tenure issues often as root cause of poor
performance in forestry sector
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Opportunities

• Tenure arrangements providing tangible rights to
  local users are conducive to SFM and livelihood
  improvement

Adequate tenure arrangements an essential
building block in need of consolidation
Forest tenure reform a trigger for SFM and rural
development
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???...
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......thoughts and next steps

• Expand the initiative in Africa
• Collaboration with private and communal forest
  owners in Europe
• Plan for Global Forest Resource Assessment 2010
• Study on forest tenure in China
• High Level Commission on Legal Empowerment of the
  Poor.

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Property rights mean self-interested monitors.
No owned creatures are in danger of extinction.
No owned forests are in danger of being leveled.
No one kills the goose that lays the golden egg
when it is his goose Thomas Sowell.
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Back ground slides