Conference Agenda

What have been the main barriers or enablers of tenure reform implementation? How have key barriers been addressed? What approaches have ensured that reforms meet their intended objectives? How can learning be integrated into processes and structures of tenure reform implementation? This session will answer these questions.

Over the past two decades many countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America have adopted and implemented reforms in the natural resources sectors that have aimed at devolving or decentralizing forest and land management to lower levels of governance. The reforms have been aimed at securing the tenure rights of local communities living adjacent to forest resources as a pathway to improved livelihoods and sustainable use and management of forest resources. In addition, reforms have also targeted increased participation of different actors in decision making including women and marginalized groups. In the past five years, some countries have reviewed and re-authorized their laws while others are currently in the process of review and re-adjustment. It will involve a presentation of evidence and lessons from CIFORs Global Comparative Study on Tenure (GCS-Tenure)—see: http://www.cifor.org/gcs-tenure/. The GCS-Tenure is aimed at understanding processes and outcomes of forest tenure reform implementation from the perspective of implementing agencies at national and sub-national levels as well as local communities living adjacent to forests. GCS-Tenure activities began in three countries (Indonesia, Peru, Uganda) which together capture diverse reform types ranging from full ownership rights to communities, partial rights to communities (i.e. joint management between communities and government agencies) and private rights to individuals. These countries also capture diverse social and political settings. The GCS-Tenure has now begun work in Colombia, DRC/Kenya and Nepal. Besides capturing diverse reform types, these countries also exemplify diversity of socio-political settings and contexts under which reform implementation occurs. CIFORs presentation will set the stage by sharing some of the key lessons emerging from this research.

The session will also involve short presentations by forestry officials of the 6 study countries to stimulate discussion and debate. They will focus on sharing their perspectives on what works and what doesn’t in reform implementation and their experiences of approaches that minimized barriers and enabled implementation. They will also present on surprises and unintended consequences and whether or how they addressed the surprises.