Subnational | PANORAMA

South America

Financing solutions that protect nature and wildlife through pooling CSR - Green Farm CO2FREE

Ederson A

Zanetti

Prime Property Fraction of CSR program

Transparency, Accountability, Accuracy, Completeness and Third Party Independent Registry

West and Central Africa

Southeast Asia

West and South Europe

Synecoculture (synecological farming) project

Masatoshi

Funabashi

West and Central Africa

Southeast Asia

West and South Europe

Synecoculture (synecological farming) project

Masatoshi

Funabashi

Mainstreaming integrative forest management

For the successful application of the approach, sustainable and integrative forest management needs not only to be piloted and practiced on the ground but also integrated into national strategies, development plans, and long-term forest management planning and monitoring. Consequently, it is equally important to work with forest tenants on the local level as to mainstream the approach on the national level.

The Join Forest Management approach has been anchored in the Forest Code of Tajikistan in 2011. This builds the legal basis of the implementation and accelerates the further dissemination to other parts of the country. Since 2016, a more integrative forest management is practiced for which an inter-sectoral dialogue has been established. This inter-sectoral dialogue facilitates to address environmental, economic and social challenges beyond the mandate of the forest agency. Forest monitoring and management planning are being strengthened through support to the forest inspection unit. Only if a forest management planning system and a forest monitoring structure are in place, an approach such as the integrative forest approach can be out scaled throughout the country and mismanagement, corruption, and wide-scale violations of regulations (e.g. grazing on forest plots) prevented.

The JFM approach follows a multilevel approach, targeting national, regional and local level which has proven to be necessary and consequently successful.

A theoretically sound solution can only be as good in practice as its underlying management planning and monitoring system as well as its political support.

Documentation and dissemination of results

Competence development for forest tenants and staff of State Forest Enterprises

Grazing of forest land

GIZ

Pasture Rotation System

GIZ

Competence development of forest tenants and of State Forest Enterprises (SFE) is likewise an important element of integrative forest management.

On the one hand, training on forest management techniques is required either directly for the forest tenants, who are often new to forest management, or for the local forester and other employees of the SFE. The training includes silvio-cultural techniques, such as grafting and pruning, and management of fruit tree species. On the other hand, training on the rights and responsibilities of the two contract parties, the forest tenant, and the SFE is needed.

Additionally, a modular training for forest tenants and foresters to encourage a landscape perspective when planning forest management activities has been developed. Within these training modules, the tenants identify threats and vulnerabilities of their communities and learn how re-and afforestation can be a suitable disaster risk reduction strategy. Further, land use conflicts on forest land are addressed and the training provides a platform to exchange and identify solutions, e.g. regulating if, when and how much livestock can graze on forest plots. Moreover, forest tenants learn about the benefits of diverse forest areas and the benefits of planting and grafting local tree species.

Increased capacities enable forest tenants to plan and manage their forest plots in a sustainable manner. The same training is given to male and female forest tenants separately, where the cultural setting holds women back in actively participating in the discussions and, consequently, separate sessions become necessary. Giving separate training for women by women has empowered female forest tenants in Tajikistan.

The experience has shown that often it is not only limited knowledge of forest management that hinders the sustainable use of the resource but also a lack of communication and agreements between different land users. Especially, forest and pasture management compete for the limited land resources. In the past, the approach prohibited grazing on Joint Forest Management areas. However, monitoring visits have shown that this rule has frequently been violated. Therefore, rather than prohibiting grazing on forest plots, the aim is to address the problem openly together with the community. Understanding why and when they graze their livestock on forest plots and making them understand how and when it harms the forest the most. This has enabled forest tenants to find solutions, such as the implementation of a pasture rotation system, to reduce the negative impacts of free grazing and to address the problem together with their community.

Landscape perspective

Grazing on Forest Land

GIZ

Benefits of trees for disaster risk reduction

GIZ

By applying a landscape perspective to forest management, the ecosystem as a whole is considered. For this solution, a special focus has been given to biodiversity, climate change adaptation, and pasture management.

A diverse forest plot has multiple benefits for the forest tenant. Firstly, the tenant has a diverse harvest which contributes to food and nutation security. Secondly, species diversity reduces the risk of pests and increases the soil fertility. Thirdly, diverse forests provide a habitat for pollinators, which are crucial for fruit and nut trees.

Tajikistan is prone to disasters, further reinforced by overharvested natural resources and climate change having fierce impacts. Landslides and droughts are common phenomena but the frequency and intensity have increased significantly. Forest cover on slopes and along river banks are an important adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategy.

Further, livestock is frequently grazing on forest areas, as pastures are scarce and the limited land available overused and degraded. Forest grazing reduces ground cover, impedes the root system, and hinders natural forest regeneration. Therefore, grazing must be addressed together with the forest tenants and solutions identified that go beyond the prohibition of grazing in forests.

By applying a landscape perspective, a multitude of problems, difficulties, and risks to the community can be addressed. Consequently, the approach has gained in acceptance by the local communities as it takes environmental, economic and social challenges into account.

The experience has shown that political land delineations often do not correspond with ecosystem boundaries. Areas, assigned for re- and afforestation, do usually not cover a whole ecosystem but are part of a bigger ecosystem with which the forest area interacts and shares resources. Consequently, forest management needs to consider implications by and interactions with the wider ecosystem the forest plot is part of. As various land use types and land use rights interact in one ecosystem for which different ministerial bodies are responsible, the establishment of an inter-sectoral dialogue to foster coordination and cooperation of all involved actors at landscape level has proven to be successful. Within the JFM implementation in Tajikistan, a bi-annual exchange has been established, where practitioners, relevant ministries and local as well as international organizations exchange. This exchange platform is not only appreciated by partners but also helped to include the landscape perspective. Therefore, an exchange platform is highly recommendable.

Joint Forest Management (JFM) approach

Joint Forest Management (JFM) is a participatory forest management approach that allows the local population – either individuals or groups – to become involved in forest management and support the rehabilitation of degraded natural forests over the long term. These individuals sign a contract for the land use rights with the State Forest Enterprises for a period of 20 years, with the possibility for prolongation. This encourages the tenants to sustainably manage and rehabilitate their forest plot of usually 1-2 ha in size. In addition to the contract, management and annual plans serve as tools for forest management planning and for the monitoring of activities and results. They are developed jointly by the State Forest Enterprises and the respective tenant for each individual plot. Typical tasks specified in the annual plan are measures to protect the plot from livestock grazing, planting of trees, harvesting and pruning. Further, the annual plan specifies the harvest shares of the State Forest Enterprises and the forest tenant according to a fair sharing principle defined in the contract. The management plan, developed, for a 5 year period, specifies long-term goals, such as the installation of an irrigation channel or the diversification of the forest plot.

While land use rights in Tajikistan are typically given for a short period (usually for one single season), the 20-year contract with the State Forest Enterprises enables the tenant to develop a long-term forest management plan. The joint forest management approach has been first introduced in Tajikistan in 2006 and ever since gained in reputation. In 2011, the approach was formalized and anchored in the national forest code.

The experience has shown that for the introduction of JFM the support by external facilitators (e.g. field staff or a local NGO) is indispensable. Both contracting parties, forest tenant and State Forest Enterprise, need to have a clear understanding of their rights, rules, and obligations. Therefore, it is highly recommended to have experienced and skilled facilitators present in the field, who have a sound understanding of the approach and of the local context. Further, the facilitators need to guide the tenants as well as the staff of the State Forest Enterprises through the process of selecting a forest area, introducing the approach to the communities, selecting forest tenants, delineating the individual plots, concluding the contract, and developing the annual- and management plans. Further, the establishment of forest tenant groups has proven to be successful, especially since, in Tajikistan, community groups are relatively common. Jointly, the forest tenants perform activities such as harvesting, pruning or fencing.

Joint Forest Management Manual for facilitators, NGOs, experts – Documented exp…

Manual on the Savings Book Approach for afforestation