Strengthening collective innovation capacity of forest stakeholders in

Strengthening collective innovation capacity of forest stakeholders in research and development: The role of IUFRO By Michael Kleine Coordinator, IUFRO Special Programme for Developing Countries IUFRO Headquarters, Vienna, Austria International Workshop on Small-holder Timber Production World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya 29 November to 1 December 2004

Sustainable development of forests – a major challenge • Forces outside of the forestry sector • Global and regional policies • Market opportunities and support policies for agricultural production • Unresolved land tenure issues • Decentralisation of government and poor law enforcement • Involvement of many stakeholders

Multi-stakeholder innovation – a “new” focus • Many stakeholders decide how forests are managed • Joint recognition of the issues • Extensive debate and search for solutions • Joint learning • Definition of collective action in policy and forest management

Multi-stakeholder innovation – some examples • Forest concessions under community management in the Mayan Biosphere Reserve (MBR) in Peten, Guatemala • African Network for Agroforestry Education (ANAFE) • Consortium for Scaling up Options for increasing Farm Productivity (COSOFAP)

Multi-stakeholder innovation – capacities needed • To interact with policy levels • To efficiently manage and share information • To participate in social processes through effective communication • To facilitate mutual learning processes

Enhancing stakeholder innovation capacity What can IUFRO do?

What is IUFRO? · IUFRO is the global network forest science cooperation; · IUFRO unites more than 15, 000 scientists in about 700 Member Organizations in over 110 countries; · IUFRO is non-profit and non-governmental, voluntary and non-discriminatory; · Founded in 1892, IUFRO has a long history of international forest science cooperation.

IUFRO’s Vision is … · of science-based sustainable management of the world’s forest resources for economic, environmental and social benefits. IUFRO's Mission is … · to promote the coordination of and the international cooperation in scientific studies embracing the whole field of research related to forests and trees.

IUFRO’s objectives are attained through … • generating knowledge by means of science and research cooperation in a global network; • providing access to and disseminating scientific knowledge; • assisting scientists and institutions to strengthen their research capacity.

IUFRO’s structure for cooperation: • Divisions D 1 Silviculture D 2 Physiology and Genetics D 3 Forest Operations Inventory, Growth, Yield, Quantitative and D 4 Management Sciences D 5 Forest Products Social, Economic, Information and Policy D 6 Sciences D 7 Forest Health D 8 Forest Environment

IUFRO’s structure for cooperation: • Task Forces - In addition to Divisions, Task Forces are established on temporary basis for interdisciplinary cooperation in inter-divisional forest research fields Task Force D 1 D 2 Task Force Task Force D 3 D 4 D 5 D 6 D 7 D 8

IUFRO’s structure for cooperation: • Task Forces TF Environmental Change TF Mountain Development TF Gene Resources TF Water and Forests TF Science/Policy Interface TF Public Relations TF Carbon Sequestration Information Technology and the Forest Sector Forest Biotechnology TF TF

IUFRO’s structure for cooperation: • Special Programmes and Projects - Established to carry out activities in support of global and regional science cooperation - Located at the IUFRO Headquarters IUFRO Secretariat SPDC Silva. Voc WFSE

Multi-stakeholder innovation – capacities needed • To interact with policy levels • To efficiently manage and share information • To participate in social processes through effective communication • To facilitate mutual learning processes

Enhancing stakeholder innovation capacity – contribution by IUFRO Forest Policy IUFRO – CPF Member IUFRO Task Force on Science-Policy Interface IUFRO SPDC Training Course on “Role of scientists in national forest programmes”

Enhancing stakeholder innovation capacity – contribution by IUFRO Information Management Global Forest Information Service (GFIS) • Internet gateway to forest information resources from around the world • Enhance access to and provision of quality forest-related information • Initiative of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) • Main Partners: CABI, CIFOR, FAO and IUFRO

GFIS in Africa • 5 GFIS Service Centres established – Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal and Zimbabwe – Computer hard- and software – Training of staff • Regional mandate to develop GFIS partnerships • Focus on grey literature and other off- and online resources • EC-funded Project 20002004 (1 million EUR) www. gfis. net

Enhancing stakeholder innovation capacity – contribution by IUFRO PR and Communication IUFRO Task Force on PR in Forest Science IUFRO SPDC Training Course on “Communicating forest research: Making science work for policy and management”

IUFRO-SPDC

Enhancing stakeholder innovation capacity – contribution by IUFRO Mutual learning processes • Working towards common understanding of complex problems • Developing innovative solutions • Integrating research, development actions and policy measures

Enhancing stakeholder innovation capacity – contribution by IUFRO EC-Project Application • Familiarisation with mutual learning and selection of pilot cases; “Implementation agencies are familiarised with mutual learning and 2 mutual learning platforms are selected as pilot cases for each region”. • Capacity building for Facilitators and Promoters; “Educational, training and research institutions are able to effectively facilitate mutual learning processes amongst forest stakeholders. ” • Set up six mutual learning platforms as pilot cases; “National level mutual learning platforms are implemented as pilot cases in Africa, Asia-Pacific and in Latin America. ” • Establish additional mutual learning platforms; “Proposals to establish additional mutual learning platforms in Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America are developed and submitted to relevant funding agencies. ” • Dissemination; “Communication among partners and dissemination of results is achieved through traditional instruments and state-of-the-art information technology tools”.

Project Partners • ICRA International Centre for development oriented Research in Agriculture • IUFRO International Union of Forest Research Organizations • ETFRN European Tropical Forest Research Network • FAO Food and Agriculture Organization • FORNESSA Forestry Research Network of Sub. Saharan Africa • APAFRI Asia-Pacific Association of Forestry Research Institutions • CATIE Tropical Agriculture Research and Higher Education Centre

CONCLUSIONS · IUFRO can contribute in many ways to enhancing innovation capacity of forest stakeholders · Main players in this endeavour are IUFRO’s member organisations, supported by the IUFRO service units · Coordination and mobilisation of resources · Initiatives in support of small-holder timber production may benefit from IUFRO activities