INTERGOVERNMENTAL WORKING GROUP ON FORESTS (IWGF) REPORT
a) At the national level
1. The development of national forestry action programs and/or plans for the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests should take into account and integrate linkages between the forest sector and other sectors within a coherent policy framework. The development and implementation of such programs and/or plans should facilitate coordination and co-operation among all stakeholders involved.
2. Efforts should be made to integrate forests as a stable element and a valid option in land-use; this requires the implementation of policies for land allocation and for assessment, clarification and recognition of land ownership and tenure rights, including the traditional relationships between indigenous people and local communities with the forest in which they live.
3. Governments, the private sector and the public should be encouraged to recognize forests as a resource to be conserved, developed and enhanced. Such recognition requires a realistic and comprehensive assessment of their overall contribution, in the form of the tangible and intangible resources, goods and services, to sustainable development at the local and national levels.
4. Reliable methodologies and appropriate mechanisms should be developed to:
assess the contribution of forests, particularly the ecological and environmental, social and cultural aspects of their contribution;
take into account, in an appropriate manner, the services provided by forest resources, such as the protection of farmland, conserving and improving hydrological regimes, infrastructure, and the ecological and environmental services; and
take into account, in an appropriate manner, all values of forests and the effects on the forest sector of developments in other sectors, such as agriculture, energy, mining and urbanization.
5. Interventions that discourage the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests or result in cross-sectoral conflicts should be removed or reformed. Such interventions may include tax policies, concession policies, subsidy programs, etc.
6. In addition to the productive functions of the forest sector, the degradation and destruction of forest resources should be fully taken into account in national accounts.
7. The linkages between social programs, population policies and the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests should also be fully taken into account.
8. The analysis and monitoring of the impacts of exogenous factors on forest development and on patterns of forest product consumption are essential to the assessment of their effects on the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests.
9. The capacity of the forestry sector institutions to take into account the linkages with other sectors should be strengthened. Multidisciplinary teams, composed of economists, sociologists, political analysts, etc. should be established to enable them to assess the impacts of the policies of other sectors and to participate, on a regular basis, in multisectoral analyses of environmental impacts. Techniques for rapid analysis and application capacities should be developed. The policy research and development capacities of forest institutions should also be strengthened.