There has been an increasing level
of land-based external
investments around large scale agricultural schemes or agri-businesses, biofuel developments and forest
plantations largely mediated through government-corporate arrangements that in many cases have
led to land and resource conflicts with local land users and rights holders.
The returns on investments (economically, socially and environmentally) have
been mixed. These evolutions also reflect a new narrative in at least some
donor countries and agencies towards trade and market solutions in development
aid that focus on the corporate sector itself driving change and delivering on
development.
Participatory Forest Management – PFM being an approach
adopted by Tanzanian legislation and policy is based on local forest and land
rights holders and managers that have significant potential to address forest
conservation, production and meet development goals without the risks
associated with conflict over land and resource tenure. But it has not been the
case with challenges related to commercial rights, benefit rights and facing difficulties
where there is no government or donor support. This support over the past
decade has provided the basic ‘enabling environment’ but there is now a need
for innovative approaches in order to scale up and further evolve, for
sustained investment to the local manager-producer entities,
based on sound business plans and negotiated agreements with the private sector
in processing and marketing. This is what we call ‘investing in locally
controlled forests – ILCF.
Currently, this initiative is very much supported by WWF and has been
promoting dialogue between local forest managers and others to promote enabling environment for the needed investments for viable forest enterprises that meet economic,
environmental and social development objectives.
