The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has published guidance to help small and medium-sized forest enterprises plan how to manage forests, so they continue to provide a wide range of products and services for generations to come. Source: Timberbiz
The Guide to multiple-use forest management planning for small and medium forest enterprises offers step-by-step guidance for planning how to take care of and use forests sustainably to meet specific environmental, economic, social and cultural objectives.
It shows small and medium-scale forest managers how to address administrative, economic, legal, social, technical and scientific aspects of forest management, applying globally recognized standards.
“This publication fills the gap for guidance for small and medium forest enterprises, who tend not to have the resources to develop detailed management plans and often face barriers such as policies that do not recognize their role, rights or needs and difficulty accessing support and finance,” said FAO Forestry Officer Kenichi Shono.
Good forest management planning can potentially help them overcome these barriers and increase the monetary value that communities, managers and owners obtain from forests aswell as ensuring forests are managed sustainably, the guide explains.
Forest management planning has been a feature of forestry for centuries and has evolved from a focus on timber to a more holistic approach integrating environmental, economic and social dimensions. It is an increasingly formal and legal process for ensuring the sustained flow of the many products and services that forests provide from water regulation and climate change mitigation to supporting food security, biodiversity, livelihoods and the culture of local communities.
FAO’s new 151-page guide outlines the general planning process and specific considerations for small and medium forest enterprises. It explains how to collect and analyse data using accessible and affordable tools and how to put together a robust plan using standard templates and agreed timeframes to achieve defined objectives.
includes creating a business plan, planning for unusual events and monitoring and evaluating progress.
It also identifies minimum requirements for all forest management planning and additional actions that are ‘good to have’ if there are resources or capacity.
The guide is designed to be adapted to any national or local context and is already in use for projects in Armenia, Myanmar, Lebanon, Tanzania and the Near East and North Africa.
You can download the guide here.
