An Introduction to
the What, Why and
How, of Forest
Governance
Assessments.
Nalin Kishor (Sr. NR Economist, PROFOR, The
World Bank)
ADVISORY BOARD MEETING 2013
WHAT IS FOREST GOVERNANCE? HOW IS IT
DIFFERENT FROM FOREST GOVERNMENT?
• Forest governance comprises processes, and institutions
(formal and informal) through which government agencies,
citizens and other groups articulate their interests, exercise
their legal rights, meet their obligations, and mediate their
differences. It is geared to the management of the
resources of the sector to sustain and improve the welfare
and quality of life for those whose livelihood depends on
the sector.
• Responsibility for fostering good forest governance lies
collectively with the Government + Relevant Stakeholders.
• With this responsibility comes the need to understand
forest governance better
WHAT IS A FOREST
GOVERNANCE ASSESSMENT?
• An assessment is an attempt to measure forest
governance.
• Assessments can be used to diagnose problems,
compare conditions, or monitor efforts to change.
• Assessments require a clear and detailed definition
of what is to be measured.
• Many recent assessments have used the FAO–
PROFOR Framework, a detailed definition of forest
governance developed by a diverse panel of experts
representing NGOs, development agencies, and
country-level practitioners.
FAO-PROFOR
Forest Governance Framework (“Framework”)
EXAMPLE: COMPONENTS IN PILLAR 1
OF THE FRAMEWORK
Pillar 1: Policy, legal, institutional and regulatory
frameworks
• 1.1 Forest-related policies and laws
• 1.2 Legal framework to support and protect land
tenure, ownership and use rights
• 1.3 Concordance of broader development policies
with forest policies
• 1.4 Institutional frameworks
• 1.5 Financial incentives, economic instruments and
benefit sharing
EXAMPLE: SUBCOMPONENTS IN PILLAR 1,
COMPONENT 1.1, Forest-Related Policies and Laws
• Existence and quality of policies, laws and
regulations governing forest use and management
• Clarity and coherence of policies, laws and
regulations governing forest use and management
• Extent to which forest-related laws and regulations
facilitate effective and efficient implementation and
avoid overreaching and unnecessary requirements
• Extent to which policies and laws support adaptive
forest management
• Consistency of forest laws with relevant international
commitments and obligations
PLANNING A FOREST GOVERNANCE
ASSESSMENT (1): SETTING YOUR OBJECTIVES
Our planning discussion draws on the PROFOR–FAO
publication, “Assessing Forest Governance: A
Practical Guide to Data Collection, Analysis, and
Use”. To begin, we will discuss the following:
• Identifying why you are doing an assessment. Your
answer to “why” forms the foundation of your
remaining work.
• Assessing the context in which you are working.
Context can affect when you decide to do an
assessment and what approach you take.
• Setting out your objectives in consideration of what
is practical to achieve.
Defining the “Why?”
Some examples of why people have done assessments:
•To diagnose problems, as a first step in developing
measures to improve. (Uganda case)
•To raise awareness, as an NGO might do as part of an
advocacy campaign. (Ecuador case)
•To monitoring impact of a new law or policy. (Liberia
case)
•To set a baseline for future monitoring. (Indonesia
case, for REDD+)
•To expand existing forest monitoring to cover
governance. (Tanzania case)
Considering context
Think about—
•Windows of opportunity: could upcoming events
affect the impact of an assessment?
•Risks: what might go wrong, such as misuse of
results, injury to reputations, etc.
•Other ongoing initiatives: to prevent duplication
and find synergies
•Widely known sector issues/key problems: to be
sure to measure relevant aspects of governance
•Stakeholders and political economy: to know who
to involve and how to make the assessment
more influential
Setting objectives
Develop a hierarchy of objectives, reflecting a theory of
change:
•Outputs: tangible items that will come from the
assessment (e.g., a report, reflecting views of diverse
stakeholders, on governance problems and priorities)
•Outcomes: key developments that will follow from the
outputs (e.g., consensus develops regarding problems
and priorities; planning and funding respond to this
consensus)
•Goals: the ultimate objectives that the assessment
will serve (e.g.: to coordinate and inspire donor
and country efforts to address illegal logging)
PLANNING AN ASSESSMENT (2):
ADDRESSING THE “HOW” QUESTION &
DEVELOPING A WORK PLAN
Six steps:
1. Identify the scope. Are you interested in
governance generally or just specific aspects?
What geographic areas will you cover? What’s the
social scope (e.g., special emphasis on particular
agencies or stakeholders)?
2. Identify the approach. Based on your capacities
and desired outputs, how do you expect to gather
data? Desk reviews? Expert consultations? Focus
groups? Surveys? Workshops?
Common data-gathering approaches
•Desk reviews: Analyze existing documents
•Expert analysis: Ask one or more experts to provide
knowledge and opinions
•Surveys: Collect new data from the public or affected
populations through questionnaires, structured
interviews, etc.
•Key informants: Hold structured or semi-structured
interviews with selected knowledgeable individuals
•Focus groups: Hold small structured discussions with
groups of key stakeholders
•Workshops: Convene a broad range of stakeholders
to share knowledge and insights
STEPS TO DEVELOP A WORK PLAN (CONTINUED)
3. Identify who will conduct the assessment. Who
will fund it? Who will do the field work? What will
the stakeholders’ roles be?
4. Consider timing. When will the assessment be
done? How long will it take? Do we expect to
repeat it periodically? For how long?
5. Create a budget.
6. Capture all of the above in a written plan.
WHERE WE WILL HEAD NEXT:
• Webinar 2 (19 February) will cover forest
governance data collection: planning it and
doing it.
• Webinar 3 (26 March) will cover analyzing
your data, making recommendations, and
getting your results out to the right audiences.
Also, we will talk about setting the stage for
any assessments that might follow.
For More Guidance:
The FAO–PROFOR Framework: Search on the
internet for “Framework for Assessing and
Monitoring Forest Governance”
The PROFOR–FAO Guide to Good Practices:
Search on the Internet for “Forest Governance
Data Collection and Analysis”
THE REFORM CHALLENGE
“And one should bear in mind that there is nothing more
difficult to execute, more dubious of success, nor more
dangerous to administer than to introduce a new order of
things; for he who introduces it has all those who profit from
the old order as his enemies, and he has only lukewarm
allies in all those who might profit from the new. This
lukewarmness partly stems from fear of their adversaries ...
and partly from the scepticism of men, who do not truly
believe in new things unless they have actually had personal
experience of them.”
(From Chapter VI of Niccoló Machiavelli, The Prince. Peter
Bondanella and Mark Musa, translators. (Oxford U. Press revised
edition, 1984, p.21).
THANKS FOR LISTENING
QUESTIONS?
Nalin Kishor, Ph. D
Sr. Natural Resources Economist
PROFOR Forests Team, GENDR
nkishor@worldbank.org
The World Bank
1818 H St., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433
' +1-202-473-8672
www.profor.info