AFORNET African Forest Research Network

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AFORNETAfrican Forest Research Network

• Yonas Yemshaw

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The forest research situation

• Poor link between research and development
• shortfall of qualified staff
• Poor research management
• poor research infrastructure (office, laboratory,
  communication, etc)

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Why a AFORNET?

• To improve communication among forest scientists
  and institutions (beyond the sector) overcome
  isolation
• A way to achieve a critical mass for forestry
  research
• To expand the application area for research
  results
• As a mechanism to address cross border issues
• As a platform for forest research funding

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AFORNET background

• Started out as a program (Capacity building for
  forestry research CBFR) in 1991
• Evolved into a network after a series of
  technical consultations, field visits and
  interviews with potential stakeholders
• Its functions and structure were defined during
  1998
• adopted at the first meeting of the steering
  Committee held from 15 to 16 June 1999 in
  Uppsala, Sweden

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AFORNET instruments

• Junior Scientists Fellowship Programme
• Thematic Research Program (TRP)
• Short term training (e.g. proposal writing, data
  analysis/handling, scientific writing, etc)
• Information sharing (e.g. Newsletter, E-bulletin,
  Electronic discussion etc)
• Commissioned research

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Research Themes for TRP

• Conservation and wise use of woodlands, rain
  forests
• Community Based Forestry
• Reforestation and rehabilitation of degraded and
  semi-arid lands
• Socio-Economic and Policy Issues and
• Non-Timber Forest Products and Lesser-Known
  Timbers

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Emerging Priorities

• Enhancing the role of trees/forest in rural
  livelihood
• Raising the profile of forestry (accounting of
  services, research-policy making links, etc)
• Socioeconomic and policy research (rural
  participation, public-private sector partnership,
  adoption of technologies, property rights, etc)

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Emerging Priorities

• Ex-sector linkages (Water, crop, livestock,
  energy, etc)
• Institutional strengthening (coordination
  linkage, information sharing, staff upgrading
  retention, etc)
• Non-wood forest products (assessment
  methodologies, best practices in production,
  harvesting, processing, and marketing, etc)

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Emerging Priorities

• Natural forests (silviculture, CI for SFM, etc)
• Invasive species (insects, tree species, etc)
• Services (Biodiversity, land degradation, global
  warming etc)

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AFORNET Contactshttp//www.afornet.org