From exclusion to ownership? challenges and opportunities in advancing forest tenure reform

In 2002, Forest Trends reported that in recent decades governments had begun to reduce their legal ownership and control of the world’s forests. This document evaluates whether this forest tenure transition continued in the 2002–2008 period, and assesses the implications of statutory forest tenure change for forest people, governments, and the global community. The report is based on the monitoring of governments’ data on formal and legal tenure by the Rights and Resources Initiative. The authors find that the transition did continue in the 2002–2008 period. The area of state ownership declined and there were corresponding increases in the area owned by communities and indigenous peoples. Progress is however slow. Some of the main problems faced include:

action on human, civil, political, and gender rights is also necessary to improve wellbeing but progress on this front is slow
the area of industrial concessions still greatly exceeds the area of forest designated for use by, or owned by, communities and indigenous peoples
industrial claims on forest lands are increasing sharply, for biofuels production among other reasons
some governments are performing poorly in carrying out the reform process
statutory reforms do not always result in more secure tenure.

The report recommends specific roles that groups of stakeholders can play in advancing reforms. These include the following:

governments can create and publicly disseminate strategies for implementing tenure reforms and establish, strengthen, and support independent judicial arbitration systems
multilateral agencies and private sector entities investing in REDD (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) strategies and carbon markets may become sources for complementary funding for accelerated reforms
forest-dependent peoples can self-organise and get involved in debating the pros and cons of REDD arrangements
industries making investments on forest lands should take advantage of the opportunity to demonstrate support for and compliance with free and informed consent provisions
forest management certifying bodies can take on board tenure and rights in their standards and consider certifying small and medium forest enterprises that are alternatives to the industrial model
environmental NGOs can promote the creation of pro-poor systems of payments for ecosystem services.