Forest producer organizations are key in increasing economic and political muscle of local groups, concludes Conference

It was also understood that Forest Producers Organisations (FPOs) will play a growing role in ensuring SFM and sustainable development worldwide. They can also offer services to, and leverage the role of government. However, many governments are yet to recognize their value. To play their roles effectively, many FPOs need to strengthen their capacities. Service providers and governments can facilitate this by creating the proper enabling environments.
The conference was attended by 150 participants from more than 40 countries representing FPOs, service providers, governments, regional and international development partners, non-governmental organizations and donors. The participants shared their experiences and consolidated their findings and recommendations in a Conference Statement.

The conference identified some common characteristics of and conditions for well-functioning FPOs: focus on sustainable land and forest management and broader livelihood needs (beyond timber and NTFPs); competitiveness and economic viability; a clear link to the market; freedom of contract; financial and political independence; democratic leadership and internal governance; voluntary membership, inclusiveness and representativeness: social diversity in membership, including women and youth; organizational models grounded in socio-cultural and economic realities, needs and interests.

“There are still some bumps on the road”, observed Jeffrey Campbell, manager of the Forest and Farm Facility, referring – amongst others - to tenure insecurity, complex government rules, unfair markets, preferential treatment of large-scale producers, “but we are learning how to grow”. He highlighted the vital importance of interactions at all levels for learning - including other sectors – to share experiences, gain ideas, spread innovations, build best practices and gain confidence in what we are doing.

Kwame Owuso from Tropenbos Ghana mentioned in his panel presentation on country experiences several key factors for successful FPOs: work on real issues of the members, functional leadership and self-regulation, a bottom-up approach, active engagement with other stakeholders, capacity building and access to finance. TBI also contributed four posters with experiences on forest producer groups and local enterprise development from respectively Vietnam, DR Congo, Ghana and Latin America.

For more information on the conference, including all presentations, see: http://www.fao.org/partnerships/forest-farm-facility/83759/en/