Support to Preparation of Programmatic Country Forest Notes

CHALLENGE:

Investment in forest management was always traditionally driven by conservation and sustainable forest management objectives. Most lending operations on forests focused on solutions within the forest sector itself. This inward paradigm changed over the recent years especially after the introduction of REDD+, which started to systematically analyze the drivers of deforestation outside the forest sector.  Additionally, the development world increasingly recognized that forests provided concrete and valuable services for other sectors. Although REDD+ initially provided new financial resources for client countries and opened engagement in many new countries, forest operations are still either underrepresented or their full operational potential has not yet been explored to tackle the underlying issues that plague the forest sector.

Therefore, CFNs will allow going deeper into the key issues in the forestry sector in a coordinated manner over time to fill knowledge gaps. The primary goal is to increase the understanding of the strategic value of forests in the Strategic Country Diagnostic (SCD) and Country Partnership Framework (CPF) process; in countries where this goal is achieved, the Country notes will help to shape a more programmatic approach to forests over time.

APPROACH:

The program supports an integrated development model that advances socioeconomic opportunities and needs without jeopardizing the health of forests, based on four features: country-owned program, appropriate mix of financial instruments, cohesive financial architecture, and long-term engagement. Activities will involve the following:

• Analyze the threats to forests in individual countries or regions and the opportunities for socioeconomic growth in the forest sector.
• Inform the SCDs and CPFs and then work towards a more programmatic engagement and explore how to tap into the full range of instruments available to address the underlying challenges.
• Provide strategic inputs into the development of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

The CFNs are meant to be ‘living documents’, in that they will be reviewed and updated regularly to reflect additional data, a changing portfolio and the evolving dialogue and engagement with the relevant counterparts. The notes will act as a template to think through the complex issues, initially internally within the Bank, but over time, in coordination with partners and clients in the country as well.  The CFN process will involve critical assessment, preparation and annual implementation of action plans to address gaps and deep dives into the solutions needed for Forest Smart Investments.

A total of 7 countries has been selected to deliver on Country Notes based on (i) priorities of the Bank and its partners, forest size and opportunities on the ground and (ii) demand coming from the country units, clients and WB management. Selected countries are: Colombia, Mexico, Ethiopia, DRC, Indonesia, Nepal and Vietnam and possibly Liberia. Other countries have already expressed interest for the next round, including Brazil, Honduras, Lao PDR, Mozambique and Turkey.

RESULTS:

From Feb 2017- Jan 2019, this activity supported Country Forest Notes (CFN) produced for Nepal, Liberia, Mozambique, DRC, Mexico, Indonesia, Colombia, and Ethiopia.  As a result of this activity, the World Bank`s engagement on forests is integrated across sectors, accessing new and innovative finance in an integrated manner. The key outcomes from the CFNs supported by this activity are summarized below:  

Colombia: 

• Provided an upstream analysis of threats to forests and opportunities for socioeconomic growth 
• Served as an input to policy dialogue at 2017 Spring Meetings and with key forest-sector donors at the COP22 to infrom government, Bank, and donor strategy in the forest sector.  
• Donors utilizing the CFN and other inputs to define their forest investment strategy in Colombia.  
• Informed the Bank’s programmatic approach on forests, including the preparation of the Sustainable Low-Carbon Development in Orinoquia Region Project (BioCF ISFL, including its Emission Reductions Program), the Orinoquia Sustainable Integrated Landscape Project (GEF), and the GEF7 FOLUR Sustainable Supply Chains in Deforestation Hotspots.  It also informed more strategic ASAs to identify IPF and IFC entry points.  
• CFN led to a client request for a follow-on study “Support to Forest Economy”, which informed Colombia’s Green Growth policy, specifically the pillar on promoting Colombia’s forest economy. The GG policy was formally adopted by the GoC in June 2018. This ASA developed three knowledge products: 1) A Business Plan for Sustainable Forest Management and Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP) in the Southern Pacific region (Cauca and Nariño), 2) A Business Plan focusing on the altillanura savannah area of the Orinoquia region, with a view of improving local communities and private sector investors productive practices options, which provided an opportunity to explore IFC interest in developing forest business in this region (who peer-reviewed the product and identified areas for continued due diligence to explore a potential investment), 3) An analysis of financial instruments that reviewed financing and incentive requirements necessary to support the successful development of commercial forestry and sustainable forest management activities. The structure of a national forest service to promote a competitive development of the forest sector that could be supported by the World Bank, was also explored. This knowledge product is supporting ongoing dialogue with the government. 

DRC: 

• CFN is beginning the dialogue again with the CMU since the previous WBG engagement came to a standstill in 2015.  The CFN is promoting dialogue to begin a new phase of engagement 
• The note is clearly reflecting the status of forests, the role of these for national economic development, livelihoods, provision of ecosystem services, climate change mitigation and adaptation and  the main challenges and opportunities present in DRC in regards to promote for forest smart development 
• The note highlights that agriculture, artisanal wood production, fuel wood and charcoal for energy production and mining are the main direct drivers of deforestation 
• Emphasizes on the Maï-Ndombe Emission Reductions Program which is a first step in implementing the country’s national REDD+ strategy. 

Ethiopia: 

• Built on analytical studies prepared for the REDD+ readiness program, Forest sector reviews, Forest Public-Pirvate Dialogue, and the preparation of forest chapters of the Country’s Growth and Transformation Plan 2 (GTP-2) and technical discussions.  
• CFN has been used directly and indirectly in forest policy and investment dialogue involving the government and other partners including donors including in the formulation and issuance of the new “Forest Development, Conservation and Utilization Proclamation”.  These have been used as inputs in the new forest laws and regulations.  
• The note presents a forward looking business case beyond the current investment portfolio and assesses key investment needs and potential interventions.  The Bank is advancing analysis and dialogue on critical land use and forest challenges including links to poverty, equity, sustainability and governance.  It is also building opportunities to integrate climate-smart approaches into sectoral dialogue and entry points with key ministries.   
• The key operations being influenced through this dialogue and analyses include: The Resilient Landscape and Livelihood Project (RLLP); the Oromia Forested Landscape Program (USD$68m); and dialogue between the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Association, the Forest Sector Transformation Unit, and other partners on meaningful engagement of private sector.   
• CFN has identified weak cross-sectoral policy and investment coordination as a key challenge 
• The OFLP program is therefore opening channels and coordination platforms across administrative tiers in the regional state of Oromia involving agriculture, livestock, energy, land use planning and civil society engagement.  
• CFN has positioned the Bank to leverage investment money through the operations mentioned including USD$119m for RLLP, and USD$19m from the Norwegian Government; and additional financing of USD$15m expected from Canadian government.  A GCF proposal for USD$183m has been submitted.   

Indonesia: 

•  Provided opportunities to identify forest-smart investment, TA and policy options, and supported discussion with the GOI team especially on further development of jurisdictional programs in East Kalimantan and Jambi, preparation of Social Forestry project, and identification of mangrove forests as a priority area for engagement.   

Liberia:  

• The note is supporting the ongoing IDA engagement in Liberia on forests (Liberia forest sector project) 
• Identified data and information needs that have led to an LSMS survey, a review of the FDA’s staffing, and other analytical studies including the Forest Sector Public Expenditure Review 
• Informed a high-level policy brief to the new government that was shared with HE the President in early 2018. 

Mexico: 

• The CFN utilized inputs from recently-conducted analytical work, helping to integrate and consolidate this work 
• CFN assessed opportunities to strengthen community forest enterprises, foster competitiveness in the forest sector, promote inter-institutional coordination to tackle perverse incentives (e.g., in the agriculture and livestock sectors) that lead to deforestation and degradation, and facilitate more inclusive forest landscapes, in which vulnerable populations are included in efforts to halt deforestation and degradation and implement integrated landscape management. 
• This work has shaped the design of the new IBRD/ISFL Strengthening Entrepreneurship in Productive Forest Landscapes Project (2018 – 2023) and helped advance the Bank’s dialogue on forests with Government counterparts and donors. 
• CFN has informed strategic instruments, such as the Country Partnership Framework, Policy Note on Sustainable Landscapes (a joint Agriculture and ENR GP exercise), Country Policy and Institutional Assessment, as well as a forest sector policy note. In addition, the Country Forest Note is also being used to inform an ISFL BioCarbon Fund Emissions Reduction Program that is in the initial design and preparation phase. 

Mozambique:   

• The process of preparing the note has influenced the existing blended finance program in Mozambique which includes FIP, FCPF, ILFM, MozBio, SUSTENTA and Zambezia ILMP.  
• The note is forming the basis of discussions with the government to consolidate a strategic vision for the future of the forest sector 

Nepal:   

• The note has been used to formulate the FIP Investment Plan for Nepal. The resulting FIP project will have IDA co-financing of $50mn out of a total of $95mn. 
• The data and statistics in the note have also been used to provide input to the SCD and CPF 
• The note is promoting dialogue on involving other sectors such as transport and hydropower in improving the forest clearance policy of Nepal 

BIC analysis:  The Bank Information Center has also published its review of a few of the CFNs – Liberia, Mozambique, Nepal and Indonesia.  The conclusion of the analysis is that CFNs have proved to be a useful exercise, aligning with the Forest Action Plan 2016-21, addressing cross-cutting issues, summarizing key policy challenges and opportunities, and integrating across sectors. 

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Last Updated : 06-16-2024

Knowledge management for nature-based infrastructure

CHALLENGE

Natural systems provided communities with many important services, including protection from natural hazards, and the provision of key resources like water and energy.  Natural systems also provide additional benefits: for instance, mangroves intended for coastal protection also provide fisheries, timber, non-timber forest products, tourism revenue, and act as a significant carbon sink.  But too often engineers and project designers overlook the potential of integrating nature-based infrastructure along with built infrastructure because of factors such as a lack of training or knowledge, legal and regulatory obstacles, or funders’ unfamiliarity with nature-based infrastructure. As a result, “gray” or “hard’ infrastructure solutions have dominated the efforts to reducing and managing disaster risk. However, the demand for nature-based solutions has increased over the years as a way of better managing exposure to natural hazards and climate change, while simultaneously building the resilience of vulnerable communities in a sustainable manner.

This activity will establish a knowledge management system that explores the link between nature-based infrastructure and the risk of natural disasters and the management of water systems. 

APPROACH

In its first phase, this activity will undertake a comprehensive stocktaking of experiences with nature-based infrastructure in order to identify opportunities and obstacles to its broader use, and develop a strategy for promoting these techniques. This strategy will then be implemented to promote wider use of nature-based infrastructure in World Bank operations for forests and disaster risk reduction. Finally, a program will be developed to support the incorporation of nature-based infrastructure into World Bank operations, including funding to support assessment and implementation of nature-based solutions along with grey infrastructure, and mentoring by a core group of experts.

RESULTS

This activity is ongoing. Findings will be shared on this page when they become available. 

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Last Updated : 06-16-2024

Catalyzing Gender-Forests Actions

CHALLENGE

Taking gender into consideration in relation to forests matters because how, why and where men and women access, use and manage forests differs. These differences matter for the design of policies, institutional arrangements and interventions aimed at supporting sustainable forest landscapes. Persistent gender gaps remain across all regions in: access to services, access to markets and value-addition activities, land and tree tenure, voice and agency, and hiring labor. In addition to these, gender differences in the capacity for addressing climate change has been recognized as an issue that affects not only productivity but widens existing gender gaps in many places. But the challenges and appropriate solutions are not the same everywhere, which is why gender analysis to identify critical gender gaps at the project inception stage is so important. 

APPROACH

PROFOR’s program on Catalyzing Gender-Forests Actions aims to see that every PROFOR activity has clear gender-related objectives and actions identified and implemented. By sharing knowledge of practices that are generating gender-responsive forest projects, programs and investments, the goal is to influence and see improved project and program design and implementation of gender ‘best practices’ across the WBG and with its clients and partners, leading to projects that are more inclusive and able to measure improved equity impacts.

The underlying theory of change of this work is that through greater awareness of the relative lack of targeted gender efforts in many forests projects and programs, and a better understanding of the kinds of actions that could be, and are being, successfully undertaken in some, that project teams will include gender-targeted investments and actions in their plans from the outset, starting at the design stage.

OUTPUTS

• Working Paper: Taking Action on Gender Gaps in Forest Landscapes examines the types of gender inequalities that exist in forest landscapes, and the gender considerations or actions that many countries are taking to address these gaps. It reviews and synthesizes a wide range of World Bank and partner projects and forest sector investments in different regions.
• A brief, entitled ‘Enhancing Effectiveness of Forest Landscape Programs through Gender-Responsive Actions’ is part of a series of briefs on lessons for gender-responsive landscape restoration, shared at the Global Landscapes Forum meeting held in Nairobi in August, 2018. Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) aims to achieve ecological integrity and enhance human well-being in deforested or degraded landscapes. Evidence shows that addressing gender equality and women’s rights is critical for addressing this dual objective. The World Bank, CIFOR, WOCAN, RRI, IUCN, WRI, FAO, ViAgroforestry and other partners representing civil society, multilateral organizations, researchers and private sector actors have joined together to highlight a number of useful lessons and recommendations rooted in their diverse experiences and expertise – all working in different ways to enhance the gender-responsiveness of forest landscape restoration efforts.
• A brief, entitled ‘Gender in Forest Landscape Projects: Actions and Indicators’ succinctly shares practical suggestions as to potential gender-responsive activities and actions, and indicators to measure progress towards gender outcomes, that WBG clients/ project teams can potentially include in their forest landscape projects, programs and investments.
• A guidance note entitled ‘Gender and Forest Landscapes: Enhancing Development Impacts of Projects and Programs’. It provides suggestions for developers and leaders of forests projects and programs to enhance participation by, benefits to, and empowerment of women and other potential beneficiaries with limited voice and agency. The guide identifies potential gender-responsive activities and actions that can be included throughout the project cycle.
• Key resources for project designers, researchers, development practitioners and others with an interest in understanding the issues related to, and links between, forests and gender, including: 1) An annotated bibliography of gender and forests literature (broadly defined to include landscapes with forests and agroforestry); 2) A guide that describes a range of tools and approaches freely available for the study and analysis of issues related to forest-gender/poverty issues.
• A Gender focused Portfolio Review of Forest Projects for the Environment and Natural Resources Program on Forests of the Wold Bank, which analyzes the forest portfolio for the past 5 years (FY11-16), identifying projects that include gender-related dimensions related to analyses, actions, and indicators for monitoring and evaluating progress towards gender-related outcomes. A brief is also available on the portfolio review.

Incorporating gender in PROFOR-supported tools and frameworks

• PROFOR Forest-Poverty toolkit – these tools are used in a participatory manner with communities and local governments to better understand: (i) forest resource uses and forest product value chains; (ii) sustainable natural resource-based livelihood opportunities; and (iii) enabling conditions and constraints for natural resource enterprise development.  In the Philippines, a PROFOR-supported initiative collected sex- and wealth-disaggregated information using the toolkit to inform local and national forest policies and practices aimed at climate resilience.  In Cambodia, the toolkit is being used in an options assessment of ‘forest-smart’ investments for sustainable livelihoods and forest landscapes.
• Forest Governance tool - this participatory governance assessment approach aims at putting practical approaches into the hands of practitioners, policy makers, and decision makers and enable them to systematically consider and address the wide range of governance issues involved in sustainable forest landscape management. This tool is being broadened in scope to include gender issues and tested in several countries, including Mexico and Liberia.
• ROAM - PROFOR assisted IUCN in incorporating gender in the Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM) approach. It now includes social and cultural aspects of forest landscape restoration (gender, culture, youth). Applications in Malawi, Brazil, and Rwanda have resulted in new gender-responsive restoration guidelines, and it soon will be implemented in Mozambique and Burundi.
• Country Forest Notes – These Notes aim to assess forests’ contribution to poverty and economic development, and analyze current and potential underlying drivers of deforestation in order to promote sustainable development at transformational scale.  They identify the potential for ‘forest-smart’ investments and help to streamline and coordinate WBG engagement in the forest and other sectors critical to sustainable forest management and forest-smart development goals (agriculture, energy, mining, etc). Originally envisioned to focus on the why, what and how questions and opportunities around livelihoods, poverty reduction and forest interventions, gender dimensions (the ‘who’) are also now being incorporated for many countries, including Vietnam, Liberia, Mexico, Zambia and Nepal.
• PRIME – A new framework aimed at identifying investments, policies, projects, and strategies key to sustainable poverty reduction in diverse forest landscapes highlights five key areas – Productivity, Rights, Investments, Markets, and Ecosystem services, or PRIME. Gender considerations play a role in all five, and thus are highlighted as a cross-cutting and critical area to consider within this investment framework. Forest project designers, governments and others can apply it to enhance the role of forest landscapes in poverty alleviation in a more equitable and sustainable manner.

A global exchange of gender-forests information

Just how are forest landscape projects and initiatives addressing gender-related challenges and opportunities? A recent global event was a good place to pose this question to a diverse range of forest agency staff and others working on climate change and forest landscape management challenges. A joint Forest Investment Program (FIP) and Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) Knowledge together some 150 participants from over 40 countries in Luang Prabang, Lao PDR on Sept 28, 2017 in conjunction with FIP and FCPF pilot country and country participant reporting and planning meetings. This event focused on knowledge sharing and joint learning on a wide range of topics such as engaging private sector in landscape programs, small and medium-sized forest enterprise financing for sustainable forest management, successes and challenges in combating illegal logging, communicating on REDD+, and gender.

• A detailed summary of the gender session and many other shared gender-forests resources from the Laos meeting can be found here

Results

• The gender-forests briefs informed the design and implementation of REDD+ gender-action plans in Cameroon, Ghana, Guatemala, Mexico, and Uganda, and these countries are inspiring other FCPF and FIP country partners (e.g., Côte d’Ivoire, Lao PDR) to also develop gender-action plans/road maps to increase the involvement of, and benefits to, women and other less empowered peoples from forest-related investments, projects, programs, and policies. 
• For a new Forest Investment Project in Benin, eight project-specific gender gaps and actions/activities were identified and included in the PAD.
• In Côte d’Ivoire, a gender analysis informed the design of the DGM, which included several gender gaps, activities, and indicators (i.e., gender tagged) in the PAD based on the TA provided by this program.
• PROFOR gender knowledge products have influenced FIP/CIF/FCPF/REDD+ Investment Plans/Forest projects in Côte d’Ivoire, Mexico, Uganda, Ghana, and Cameroon.

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Last Updated : 06-15-2024