CHALLENGE

Tunisia has elaborated a new strategy for sustainable forests and rangelands management for the period 2015-2024, of which finalization and dissemination has been supported by a previous PROFOR activity through the organization of regional workshops and the development of an economic valuation of forests and pastoral lands degradation.

The national strategy for the sustainable development of forest and rangelands aims to reconcile the conservation of forests and rangelands with socioeconomic development by promoting the involvement of community-based organizations and private owners in co-management of forests and rangelands. The strategy has four strategic objectives: (1) adapting the institutional and legal framework of the sector and capacity building; (2) optimizing the sector’s contribution to socioeconomic development; (3) maintaining and enhancing environmental functions and services of the sector’s resources; and (4) consolidating and improving the forest and rangelands’ capital.

This activity aims to help adapt the institutional and legal framework of the sector and build capacity through the identification of main institutional and legal barriers to forests management.

APPROACH

The activity will employ participatory processes, which involves different stakeholders at local, regional, and national levels. There are two main tasks:

Institutional and legal analysis of the forest sector: analysis of the forestry code and the institutional framework governing natural resources, and recommendations for improving the institutional and legal forest framework.

A multidisciplinary approach for better assessing key features of landscapes: integrated landscape management plans for select landscapes in Jendouba, Béja, Bizerte, Siliana, Sidi Bouzid, and Kasserine and recommendations for improving the collaboration between key stakeholders for the co-management of these landscape areas.

RESULTS

The analysis of the forestry code and the institutional framework governing natural resources was completed and disseminated through meetings and workshops with key stakeholder. Recommendations and options to strengthen the code and framework were identified and the government of Tunisia established a working group to evaluate the implications of each option and suggest the best option to be implemented.

The working group will aim at improve the organizational framework of the MARHP, namely by consolidating the Direction Général des Forêts, the Forest Exploitation Management Unit (Régie d’exploitation forestière) and Forest districts (Arrondissements forestiers) into one structure that will be supervised by six regional directorates, to ensure better coordination, complementarity, consistency and quality. Workshops will be held by May 2017 to better clarify provision of access to forests and rangelands by communities, and how to facilitate co-management of related resources through clear conventions between users and the government administration.

This work is helping to inform the World Bank Integrated Landscapes Management in Lagging Regions Project.