General

Weak forest and land governance are important underlying drivers of deforestation and forest degradation of forests. Many local communities depend heavily on forests for their daily livelihoods. They are often disproportionally impacted by deforestation, while their contribution to ecological destruction and their access to possible benefits are often relatively limited. Trends in global markets and policies provide both risks and opportunities for positive change towards inclusive and sustainable governance of forested landscapes. The Forest and Land Governance (FLG) thematic programme aims to help civil society in the GLA landscapes to build their capacity to deal with and manage the risks of international initiatives around the sustainable management of forested landscapes while fully engaging in their development and sharing in the benefits these intend to produce. The work on this programme will be additional to the work at the country programme level. It aims to bring about change in some of the international policies (both public and private) that are most relevant to forest governance, the accessibility of decision making processes and the capacity and competencies of CSO partners to influence them. It also aims to link southern CSOs amongst each other, and to link Southern with Northern NGOs that work on advocacy and policy solutions, so they can learn from each other, share experiences and collaborate.

Objectives

If progress is to be made towards sustainable agriculture, food security and sustainable forest management, many actors should move in parallel, at many levels. The GLA programme aims to contribute to this by zooming in on the landscape level, particularly but not exclusively on the roles of local communities, and the local civil society organisations that aim to support forest communities. The Forest and Land Governance programme contributes to this effort by addressing the risks and opportunities that exist at international level for the landscape level programmes. The GLA focuses this FLG programme on the best opportunities for influencing the international context in which the landscape programmes are working, aiming at: A. International policies that support locally controlled and sustainable management of forested landscapes (MD, IUCN-NL, TBI) B. Diminished illegal logging (TBI, IUCN-NL) C. Certification of forestry, agro-forestry, commodities and landscapes to be effectively scaled up (TBI, IUCN-NL) D. Public and private financing that support inclusive and sustainable management of forested landscapes (IUCN-NL, TBI)

Other

International policies support locally controlled and sustainable management of forested landscapes: TBI and partners will concentrate on creating international enabling conditions for locally controlled forest and landscape management, i.e. reduce the barriers for communities and small businesses to participate in markets for timber and other forest products. We publish a guidance dicument on business engagement that respects formal and informal tenure arrangements and organise a meeting on that topic. Illegal logging diminished: TBI and CSOs will influence illegal logging policies and their implementation nationally through the designated structures for VPA negotiations and implementation, and internationally by influencing the position of EU and member states as negotiators on the European side. In 2017, Tropenbos will work mainly with west African partners to strengthen the role of CSOs in three VPAs (Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana) by monitoring the degree and effectiveness of civil society involvement in EU FLEGT Joint implementation committees in West Africa. This requires strengthening or creating platforms and fora and information sharing and networking in these networks; and by capacitating CSOs in organizational strengthening, participation in multi-stakeholder platforms, awareness creation and knowledge building on FLEGT-VPA and REDD+. We will link these actors with existing European forums on forest governance. At the European level, the strategy is to create the conditions for CSOS in the South to engage with forest governance decision making. Concretely, Tropenbos and its partners will monitor European level developments with the FLEGT action plan and respond to opportunities to influence it. We will start collaboration with European CSOs and monitor developments re EU deforestation action plan and FLEGT follow-up; involve southern partners in the development and presentation of evidence to influence the discussion. Certification of forestry, agro-forestry, commodities and landscapes effectively scaled up: The global PEFC forest management standard is in revision, which presents a window of opportunity for the inclusion of civil society views in a standard for the management of >400m ha of forests. In 2017, partner work in the countries (specifically Bolivia) will be supported by participation in the PEFC revision working group. The focus will be on the embodiment in the standard of tenure (VGGT), FPIC principles, and access to certification by locally controlled forest enterprises. Strengthening CSO capacities for international networking, case study development and …: We will develop these capacities through coaching, the provision of information about international processes and their potential role in it (mainly VPA-FLEGT, PEFC standard setting) and by contribute to international events related to forest and land governance with delegations of CSOs based on joint themes (e.g., FAO, EU FLEGT and Global Landscapes Forum events).

General

Support the design and implementation of assets that are nutritionally relevant to improve and diversify the livelihoods of vulnerable communities and households affected by climate change and land degradation

General

Extractive policies and practices on the environment and common goods have are producing a serious damage in the northwestern region of Honduras. 31% of the territory is concessioned (approximately 34,900 km2). During last 10 years, 548 natural resource concessions have been awarded at national level, of which 265 are located in this region. There are about 21 hydroelectric projects in indigenous peoples' territories, without social participation and prior consultation. As well as, the agro-industrial model of palm export has continued. The concessions have generated conflicts for the conservation of natural resources. The forced displacements that they entail for the peasant, indigenous and Afro-Honduran communities makes these projects enter into strong opposition to the the needs and rights in local communities, thus becoming in source of social and political conflict. In this context, the proposal is linked to the objectives and achievements of the EU funded regional project (ICD1016) since it will keep issues of defence of land rights on the public agenda. The project is also linked to the "Strategic Plan for integral ecology and food sovereignty" presented by the partner in 2020, inspired in "Laudato Si" and considering the impact of the pandemic in Honduras. The partner will develop strengthening initiatives for accompanied social movements and communities through the design and implementation of legal, protection and advocacy strategies. The expected changes include to increase the awareness on the importance of stronger institutions and the Rule of Law in Honduras to protect land rights defenders. The planned training and participatory research processes aim to empower the targeted communities and defenders.