| Background The
working group “Trees and Forests in Development Cooperation”
invites interested professionals to participate in a international
workshop on “forests, landscape and governance – the roles of local
communities, development projects, the state and other stakeholders”.
This working group regularly organises workshops and disseminates
information on the important contribution which trees and forests can
make to sustainable rural development. The group focuses on the
synergies between diversified sustainable forest management and poverty
alleviation.
This workshop is part of a workshop series to be
held
on this topic. A 2-day workshop on forest governance will take place in
Interlaken, Switzerland, in Octobre/ November 2008 (announcement will
be
posted soon). The findings from the workshop in Bhutan will be fed into the Interlaken workshop. Overall goals and sub-topics
The main goals of the 5-day
workshop will be the
sharing of practical experiences on forest governance, and acquiring
new knowledge on specific sub-topics in the domain of forest
governance; e.g. promoting an enabling institutional
framework
(incl. tenure and user rights), addressing the gap between existing
forest policies and legal framework and their effective implementation
in the field, and developing appropriate capacity and tools,
multi-actor and multi-functional management and benefit sharing. How can forest-related development projects
practically contribute to these issues? The
interest in these issues is particularly relevant in the context of a
changing environment, in which forests will not only be considered for
supplying forest products, but also services from which local people
can benefit (disaster risk mitigation, watershed management,
biodiversity management, carbon sequestration,
adaptation to climate change, etc.). A
thematic input on some of the above topics will be provided, with
specific attention to the promotion of appropriate changes in attitude
and responsibility as well as capacity building.
Methodology
Two days will be devoted to
the thematic input,
including group work, presentations by forest governance experts in the
plenary, and a one-day field visit to a local project.
The
remaining
two days will provide sufficient time for the presentation and sharing
of participants’ experiences and for group discussions. An Open
Space day will be
at the core of the exchange. There will
also be
a Peer
Assist session to
give you the possibility to discuss
challenges you are facing in your work with other participants. Open
market sessions will be organised with material from the participants. Special emphasis will be put on good reporting
with lessons learned, and on specific and relevant recommendations.
Date and venue The 5-day
workshop will take place from September 3-7, 2008. Participants should
arrive in Bhutan at latest on September 2, 2008. Common travel to the
venue will be organised. Departure flights should not leave before
September 9. The workshop will be
held in Punakha, in
the western region of Bhutan. The area around Punakha has many examples
of initiatives aimed at promoting Participatory Forest Management,
incuding the potential marketing of ecological services by communities,
within a context of institutional reform and decentralisation. Participants
The
workshop
is open to all interested professionals. This includes staff of SDC and
other
coordination offices, practitioners of local NGOs, NGO networks,
development
programmes and projects, Government institutions, research and
extension
institutions, etc. People from developing and transition countries are
especially
welcome to participate. To foster a dynamic and productive exchange, a
balanced
composition of the participants in terms of
professional backgrounds and countries of origin will be
sought. The
workshop is open to a maximum of 35 participants. A minimum of 20
participants
are required.
Costs The
workshop sponsor will cover the workshop fees, including materials, lunch/dinner, and travel
from and to the
airport and during the excursion.
International
flight and visa costs, accommodation, breakfast, and other expenses
have to be
covered by the participants/ their institution.
Eight
travel grants are available for those from institutions not disposing
of
special budgets for participating in such an event; they will be given
under a
competitive scheme. Participants interested in obtaining a grant must submit their
request with their
pre-registration. Organisation The
workshop is being organised and facilitated by Helvetas, on behalf of
the permanent
working group on “Trees and Forests in Development Cooperation”. Working language
The working language will be
English, with some translations into/from
French and Spanish, if necessary.
Pre-registration
Please
complete the attached pre-registration form and send it by email or fax
as soon
as possible, but not after February
29, 2008 to:
Sponsor
The
workshop is sponsored by SDC’s Division of Natural Resources and
Environment.
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