Forestry research

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Forestry research

• the link between trade and development
• regional integration and cooperation
• support for macro-economic policies
• transport
• food security and rural development
• institutional capacity building in particular
  good governance and rule of law.
• The promotion of Human Rights and equality
  between men and women, environmental
  sustainability and conflict prevention are
  integrated at every stage

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Participation by region for entire STD and INCO
programs Source European Communities (2002).
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Conclusions and recommendations Forest research

• Forests in developing countries faces an urgent
  crisis
• Since 1992, (- last decade) unprecedented
  interest in Environment has been expressed,
  particularly post Rio, agenda 21, international
  conventions, Millennium goals..however the
  translation into actions is difficult and not
  always sufficiently addressed or in the best way.

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- Problems exist both in terms of a lack of a
knowledge base and a Know-do gap - Development
of an evidence base about the forestry is not
easy, given the complex interplay between a
number of determinants including the wide
variations in context between regions/countries. -
Similarly overcoming the know-do gap is complex
it requires further methodological and
conceptual development - Forestry is still the
poor cousin compared to other research areas, and
yet many of the problems call for system-based
solutions rather than bio-technical
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There have been a number of initiatives in recent
years to strengthen forestry issues, yet there
remain important challenges the processes
for identifying forest issues for research
number of neglected areas (there is no accepted
set of criteria for such prioritisation)
increasing the levels of research funding
building the capacity of southern institutions to
allow greater research leadership and
ownership finding ways of addressing the
know-do gap finding ways of funding
longer-term research which at present is
difficult attaining an appropriate balance
between applied and theoretical research
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The EC has been one of the key funding agencies
over the last 10 years in research for
development The review of these experiences
may help both the EC and other agencies to
address the above challenges for forestry. In
particular the EU represents a geopolitical area
with characteristics that are of particular
relevance for developing countries these include
the political acceptance of solidarity
principles, the historical links with developing
countries, the potential financial funding
levels, the experiences of the accession
countries. At its own level it has not yet
addressed the know-do gap.