| Partnerships to Success in Sustainable Forest Management |
The term “model forest” was first used in 1991, to describe an innovative program launched by the Government of Canada to develop broad-based partnerships within large forested landscapes that translate sustainable forest management (SFM) policies into practice. Each site was intended to be a “model” from which others could learn in order to advance toward SFM. When the model forest approach was proposed as an international initiative by Canada at UNCED, it resonated with people and institutions from a variety of cultures, political affiliations and values. It was innovative, practical, and do-able. And, in 1992, it was also ahead of its time. Model forests are unique in several ways: in terms of the comprehensiveness and flexibility of their approach, scale of operation, the breadth of their partnerships, the level of policy they aim to affect, and the importance placed upon networking at all levels. Following a period of program development and pilot project selection, the International Model Forest Network Secretariat (IMFNS) was established at the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in 1995. Its goal was to support the development of a global network of model forests that would: - Foster an international exchange of ideas on the concept of SFM
- Facilitate international cooperation in the application of SFM at the field-level
- Use these concepts and applications to support ongoing international discussion on the principles, criteria and policies related to SFM
Other founding partners include Foreign Affairs Canada ( FAC), Natural Resources Canada – Canadian Forest Service (NRCan-CFS), and the Canadian International Development Agency ( CIDA). A decade later, the Network has grown to 40 model forest sites in 19 countries across 5 continents, and represents a global community of practice on virtually every aspect of SFM. With an aggregate partnership base totaling nearly 1 000, the Network also represents a powerful and cost-effective tool for sharing knowledge and innovation.
Partnerships to Success
Voluntary partnerships and participatory processes are at the heart of the model forest approach. The assumption behind it is that local communities, and locally-based stakeholders, can and should be part of the problem solving process — and among the beneficiaries of a sustainably managed landscape. While building partnerships is not new, model forests have been instrumental in bringing together highly diverse and often opposing interests. The glue that holds a model forest together comes from a need to find solutions to shared problems, to frame a common vision of SFM, and a shared belief that moving in this direction can meet stakeholders' needs. This invariably takes time, dedication, and resources, but we know from experience that there are no short-cuts. Further, because model forests are directly relevant to National Forest Programs and strategies, they address some of the most important policy objectives identified by the international forest policy community. In other words, model forests have been active policy implementation vehicles. And, while many contributions have been made to traditional forest science through the model forest program, perhaps their most important on-going contribution lies elsewhere. Not in traditional bio-physical sciences, but rather in the social science of sustainability: how people and communities manage themselves in relation to their physical environment has been one of the most difficult and neglected areas of sustainable management. Model forests, through their partnerships, address this head-on.
Rooted in a common approach
Because the specific conditions out of which SFM must be developed can be highly varied from one site or region to another, the model forest approach was designed to be flexible. Nevertheless, all model forests share six defining attributes that give the program coherence and provide the basis for networking: - An inclusive and dynamic partnership in which those with an interest in their area’s natural resources agree on a process for defining SFM in locally relevant terms and work collaboratively to achieve them
- A commitment to sustainable forest management
- A landscape large enough in size to represent an area’s diverse forest uses and values
- A governance structure that is representative, participative, transparent and accountable
- A program of activities reflective of partner needs and values
- A commitment to knowledge-sharing and networking
While individual model forests work toward a shared vision of SFM for their area, the IMFN adds value to individual site-level work by facilitating knowledge-sharing (networking) among and between model forests. The idea is to share with others the strengths of and lessons learned by one site to accelerate innovations across the Network. Over the years, and as an ongoing objective, the IMFNS has facilitated this knowledge exchange. Issues of governance, forest science, economic development, payment for environmental services, aboriginal involvement, conflict management, policy/practice interface, resource mobilization, strategic planning and many others have been supported. For the most part, these exchanges have been peer-to-peer, practical and cost-effective.
Relevance at the local level
The success of the IMFN confirms that inclusive partnerships, operating at a landscape level, are essential to mobilizing resources and for making effective, lasting progress on SFM. In addition, model forests have been able to access an impressive range of resources — resources like money, data sets, political support, points of view, traditional and contemporary science — that, in most instances, would not otherwise have been available. In this and other respects, the IMFN is making a unique and valuable contribution to the realization of tangible, practical and durable solutions to SFM at the local level. Although each model forest is unique and their achievements varied, over the past year the IMFN Secretariat has collected the lessons learned in each model forest in order to present a snapshot of the model forest experience, including where and how model forests are registering impacts, how they work and what they do, and how they interact to learn from one another. We have grouped these experiences into six areas — each of which begins with inclusive partnerships operating at a landscape scale. These themes are: - Collaborative governance structures
- Sustainable economic development
- Forest science and best practices
- Conservation and protection
- Knowledge generation, capacity-building and networking
- Leveraging resources
Model forests are now a proven concept and approach for SFM. With 10 years of building and learning now behind us, we look forward to making maximum use of what has been built over the next decade. Our success will lie in ensuring that individual achievements in areas such as governance, sustainable economic opportunity, and conservation and protection are made available efficiently, effectively and productively to others so that we can continue to accelerate learning and innovation across the Network and make tangible progress in support of SFM. Successful partnerships are the key.
**I’d like to order a copy of the IMFNS 10-Year Anniversary Publication “Partnerships to Success in Sustainable Forest Management.”
О Секретариате Международной сети модельных лесов 2006-06-05
Russian version (PDF)
Partnerships to Success in Sustainable Forest Management (PDF) 2005-11-12
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