This briefing paper applies a rights perspective to understanding legal and institutional reform of the tropical forest sector. The sector is characterised by strongly competing interests, and massive differences in the power of stakeholders to influence the application of the law. The regulatory regime governing the sector often discriminates against the poor. This is of particular concern in the context of donor- and industry-led initiatives to combat illegal logging. Upholding legal frameworks which already fail to accommodate local rights could compound injustices. A rights perspective focuses attention on the channels by which the poor can contest and uphold their claims in the face of national and international interests in the forest sector.

This paper explores lessons for verification in the timber trade in the light of the increasing pressure on timber producer states to guarantee the legality of their production on international markets. The need to attest to the legality of traded goods demands a system to verify the authenticity of the claim, and it is with this aspect of timber policy development that the present article is concerned. The requirements for timber verification are placed in the context of diverse experiences of verification in relation to international treaties and conventions. Drawing on the evidence of such international processes, the topic of verification turns out to be rather more complex than might initially be assumed. Issues that, at one level, appear narrowly technical and specific to the forest sector raise broader questions about political structures and relationships, and forms of public accountability. The paper discusses the implications of this, and identifies a number of principles of verification systems design.

'Illegal logging is currently the central policy preoccupation of development assistance to tropical forestry. It is easy to see why. It is all too symptomatic of the poor state of governance in many forest-rich societies, and the low levels of accountability in public affairs.'

'There is increasing recognition that the conservation and sustainable management of forests depend on a consensus in society over the rules and regulations under which forest goods are processed. However, despite the widespread promotion of forest management plans, timber harvest controls and traditional law enforcement, illegality within
the sector remains widespread.'

Illegal logging is an issue of major national and international concern. Combating illegal logging depends on effective enforcement operations to ensure compliance and identify forest crime. Independent monitors have an important role in ‘monitoring the monitors’ and verifying legality. This briefing paper examines the part that external agencies can play in this work. Drawing on a number of recent experiences, consideration is given to the way in which independent monitoring might be structured, and some of the issues which need to be borne in mind when decisions are made as to what forms of monitoring to deploy.

Commercialisation of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) has been widely promoted as an approach to rural development in tropical forest areas. However, donor investments in the development of NTFP resources have often failed to deliver the expected benefits in terms of poverty alleviation and improved conservation of natural resources. This briefing paper discusses different conceptions of what constitutes successful commercialisation and examines the key factors that influence the outcome of NTFP commercialisation initiatives.

Speaking in the second panel of the Brussels Briefing on 'The climate challenge for ACP agriculture', Leo Peskett (ODI) argues that Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) offers a high potential to further both environment and development. REDD foresees that developing countries would be expected to reduce deforestation and degradation through policies and measures such as agricultural intensification or sustainable forest management in return for payments from industrialized countries. However, as REDD is a market machanism, it presents also risks, among which how to make sure that the financial flows can be be channeled and reach the small farmers.

Source: Euforic.tv - see www.brusselsbriefings.net

This paper summarises current potential and challenges facing the development of payments for ecosystem services (PES) as a means of promoting the sustainable management or conservation of tropical forests, including the challenge of combining equity or poverty reduction objectives with environmental objectives, and the interaction of PES with broader forest sector and ‘extra-sectoral’ policies.

The emergence of new financing mechanisms associated with the rise of carbon markets brings potential for increased investment in forestry. This paper explores the implications of these mechanisms for community forestry and suggests ways in which such finance may contribute to the pro-poor outcomes of community forestry. The paper also provides an opportunity for those working on the design of carbon financing mechanisms to draw on the experience of community forestry in structuring appropriate benefit systems. The main focus of the discussion is on 'Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation'(REDD).

Investment in reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) in developing countries relies on the ability to guarantee effective maintenance of forest cover over long timeframes, while also avoiding negative social and environmental repercussions. Given the complex and often unpredictable drivers of deforestation in developing countries, risk reduction is therefore of paramount importance. This paper looks at how REDD transaction mechanisms between buyers and sellers might be established and the implications that risk reduction mechanisms might have for different stakeholders in developing countries. It focuses on the likely implications for the interests and welfare of the forest-dependent poor.

Increasing concerns about climate change are fuelling growth in the market for carbon offsets. Carbon offsets are purchased by individuals and organisations from schemes that claim to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere. This paper explores how emerging standards covering the voluntary carbon markets can address multiple aims of carbon offsetting and sustainable development and how they might be best designed to bring benefits for developing countries.

There is much to be said for accommodating avoided deforestation within the incentives system of the UNFCCC, including the CDM.  Deforestation is a major source of carbon emissions, possibly accounting for 20-25% of total anthropogenic emissions of GHGs, and arguably, therefore, one of the main causes of global environmental change.

The volume of private finance flowing through the voluntary carbon market has increased significantly over recent years, with an eight-fold rise from around five million to 43 million dollars between 2004 and 2005 alone. A significant proportion of these funds is destined for the developing world. What is likely to happen to all this money? Will it be used to the benefit of the developing world, providing new opportunities for growth and poverty reduction, or will it be used to satisfy commercial and industrial interests in the north, to the detriment of southern interests?

This paper argues that forestry coverage is limited within most Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers. There is also little exploration of the links between poverty reduction strategies and sector processes, such as national forest programmes. It is therefore unlikely that forestry issues will appear high on the national political agenda, which is now much influenced by the poverty reduction debate. This may affect budgetary allocations to the sector, and reduce the opportunities for cross-sectoral coordination. The contribution that forestry can make to poverty reduction has to be better understood and then communicated effectively in national policy circles. Sustainable forest management can probably play only a minor role in a growth-orientated, nationally accountable poverty reduction strategy. Yet through tenurial reform forests have the potential to provide significant, long lasting benefits for the rural poor.

In South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique there are a plethora of policy statements, approaches and initiatives that are seeking to commercialise tourism and forestry assets, while simultaneously incorporating some element of community involvement. Despite important differences, similar overall assumptions concerning the role of the private sector, communities and government are reflected in these policy approaches.