Contribution of Forestry to Poverty Alleviation - APFNet

Foreword
Since the launch of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) over a decade ago,
concerted efforts have been made around the world to improve the contribution of
different economic sectors to poverty eradication. In the Asia-Pacific region, the
forestry sector is of great importance in this respect due to the elevated rates of poverty
prevalent in highly forested areas. Obstacles to reducing poverty through forestry are,
however, many: forests areas are often far from markets and poor people frequently
lack marketing knowledge, financial capital and/or networks necessary to reap benefits
from forest related activities. Unstable land and resource tenure also continue to hamper
efforts to improve prospects for rural people and authorities have often been reluctant to
devolve rights to the local level.
As economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region continues apace, efforts to ensure that
the poorest are not left behind must be redoubled. Rates of poverty remain unacceptably
high in significant areas of many countries in the region and, although jobs in forestry
do result from economic expansion, environmental degradation and social upheaval are
common side effects. Health and safety issues may also arise, while the so called ‘trickle
down’ effect may never materialise. More recently, payments for ecosystem services,
especially climate change related payment mechanisms, have attracted much attention
in forestry, but debate remains in relation to their potential impacts on poverty.
With the 2015 target for achieving the MDGs—including halving poverty—just around
the corner, FAO, with support from the Asia-Pacific Network for Sustainable Forest
Management and Forest Rehabilitation (APFNet) and the Asia Forest Network (AFN),
embarked upon a project entitled: “Making forestry work for the poor: Adapting forest
policies to poverty alleviation strategies in Asia and the Pacific.” The project aimed to
assess the extent to which poverty has been reduced through forestry activities in the
region and to strengthen capacities to tackle poverty within the sector.
This publication represents a key output of the project and includes eleven reports
respectively outlining the contribution of forestry to poverty alleviation in Bhutan,
Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Philippines,
Thailand and Viet Nam. The reports draw particular attention to the need for genuine
allocation of rights to local levels, combined with measures to support forest management
and livelihood development. Without such concessions, poverty reduction and sustainable
forest management goals may remain elusive.
A few countries in the region have made great strides in forest management in recent
years and investments are already paying dividends in terms of poverty reduction,
income generation, environmental rehabilitation and forest products production. It is
the hope of the partners involved in producing this publication that efforts to share the
benefits of economic growth in eradicating poverty and promoting sustainable forest
management will proliferate and secure a leading role for the forestry sector in attaining
the MDGs.
Hiroyuki Konuma
Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
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