Forests and Governance Portfolio

9 January 2015, Wageningen University

Steven Lawry, Research Director

Overview - GOV Portfolio Several projects are completed or to be completed

in 2014:• PROFORMAL, social impacts of FSC, Governance

of Indirect LU Changes, Large Scale land acquisition for oil palm, economic choices and trade-offs in REDD

On-going research (e.g. furniture value chains, large-scale investments & business models, integrated law enforcement, Emerging economies, planted forests, gender, land tenure.

Started in 2014: tenure reforms (IFAD/EC + GEF)

New initiatives: bioeconomy, sustainable commodity supply, corporate governance in oil palm, political economy of fire and haze in SE Asia, political economy of bioenergy dynamics in Eastern & Southern Africa, Trade in timber and wildlife

Multi-scale governance – policy, institutions and incentives influence on land, agriculture, forest goods and services

Land and landscape governance – impacts and outcomes of tenure reforms and associated benefit sharing arrangements

Market-based governance of value chains – leverage points and benefits from adoption of improved processes and practices

Corporate governance (inc. finance) – conditions and outcomes from enhancing business social and environmental performance

Institutional arrangements and architectures – outcomes from innovations in regulatory and market-based mechanisms

Mainstreaming gender and social inclusion – across the research cycle from research design to M&E

Main perspectives in our work

Land and forest tenure reform – for securing rights of smallholders and communities under differentiated contexts of evolving land reforms

Land-based investment and business models – for assessing impacts and business models that deliver improved social and environmental outcomes

Planted forest initiative – for assessing the social performance of certified vs. similar non-certified FMUs in Cameroon, Republic of Congo and Gabon

Integrated law enforcement - for enhancing the effectiveness of enforcement-based approaches and identification of innovative strategies

Highlights on ongoing research

Land and forest tenure reforms

Close to 2 decades of reforms ostensibly aimed at securing local tenure (rights recognition) Improve livelihoods Incentives for sustainable land

management

Uneven implementation, with mixed results: Limited transfer of rights Role of customary systems not

fully accounted for On-going external threats via

competing interests and uses Internal differentiation, including

gender Administrative gaps/bottlenecks

Approach

Consultative & partnering—diverse actors with multiple roles and interests Geographic scope: Indonesia, Uganda, Peru, Nepal, DRC, Ecuador

Three interactive pillars:• Research: comparative; diagnostic; good practice principles;

indicators for monitoring tenure security; tools/strategies for integrating multiple interests

• Multi-stakeholder engagement: joint problem solving; scenarios development; experience sharing;

• Knowledge sharing and capacity enhancement: workshops; needs assessments; tools (eg conflict resolution; gender integration); tenure literacy;

Improved tenure policies, strategies and implementation practices:-knowledge of law-conflict resolution-enforcement/guarantees-coordination and roles/responsibilities

Control

Influence

Interest

Makarere University

CIFOR

HAVILAH company

AUPWAE

Project Advisory Committee Community

groups

Min of Gender

Regulatoryauthorities

FSSD

Local politicians

District Government

FAO

Ministries

MPs for study area

EAC

Nat. NGOs

Traditional leaders

Womensgroups

Secure tenure/rights for women, men and marginalized groups

Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Enhancement

Diagnostic research &

analysis

Uganda ParliamentAU

Regional & Int’l Agencies

Land-based investment and business models

Economic choices and trade-offs of REDD+ in Asia– Regional review of commercial land investments reveals very low spatial and

financial transparency of land allocation/acquisition decision making.– The gendered impact of oil palm investments on rural livelihoods is uneven.

Smallholders adding oil palm to their repertoire have benefitted. But further expansion of plantations is leading to casualization of labour and constraining smallholder options. These trends pose serious risk of impoverishment, especially for women as a group.

Large-scale investments in food, feed and energy

– While the global attention relating to commercial land use continues to be large scale investments, our research in Indonesia indicates the growing prominence of SMEs

Planted Forests Initiative

Stakeholders’ perceptions of industrial plantations in Indonesia and implications for their integration in the landscape

Potential of market-based instruments to foster restoration and the provision of ecosystem services

Emerging research issues: Labor and rural development Community forest enterprises Mapping production potential

from plantations (with ENV) Assessing restoration potential

in Indonesia (with ENV)

Integrated law enforcement

Looking at the continuum from enforcement to rewards (Carrots and Sticks) Mutual Legal Assistance as a tool to address transnational environmental crime Banks’ Due Diligence on forestry investments Environmental valuation in Indonesia: Calculate state revenue losses Risk of Corruption in REDD+ Review 10 years of forest-related cases in the Indonesian Supreme Court

Possible future research Wildlife & timber trade Community ownership rights to

wildlife and forests “Green banking” to drive

sustainable landscape finance

Corporate governance – Understanding changes in corporate investments, partnerships and public relations as they adopt or not adopt new standards on forest and land use (0 deforestation pledges)

Bio/green economy – Develop best practice business guidelines for forest-biomass related international commodity value chains (with LIV)

Smallholders and land tenure – How integrated farm, forest and tree management are impeded by forest regulations; How rural property rights affect migration, forest investments, gender and social equity (with LIV)

Fire and Haze – Understanding the political economy of forest and peat fire in Indonesia (with ENV)

Building new “bodies of research”

The PROFORMAL project formally ended in 2014. Project resulted in extensive data and number of publications

including detailed country specific policy options. What more can we do with the project results?

Going beyond projectsInformal domestic timber markets

Draft additional papers targeting boundary partners to increase potential impact of PROFORMAL

Financial support for staff time from Flagship 5 to ensure alignment with flagship 5 2015-2016 outcomes.

Key challenges

Fund raising for emerging topics and regional hubs (Central, West and East Africa and Latin America)

Applying Theory of Change research practices to ensure better uptake of research finding by boundary partners

Building strategic partnerships with key actors in the policy arena including private sector