Measuring transparency in the forest sector
During the last 18 years, since the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environmental and Development, there has been increasing recognition that access to information on the environment, participation in the decision-making process, and public access to redress and remedy are all key pillars to sustainable development and effective public participation in environmental governance. In the forest sector, increased engagement in all three pillars of environmental governance by local forest-dependent communities should lead to an informed and open debate about the best use of forest resources and a re-examination of the value of forests, as a sustained resource.
Governance and transparency in the forest sector
The forest sector is a particularly interesting environment in which to discuss and understand issues of governance and the importance of transparency because of the way in which it brings together and engages a broad range of interests and actors.
According to CIFOR "Forest governance pertains to how decisions related to forests and forest-dependent people are made, who are responsible, how they wield, and how they are held accountable. It encompasses decision-making processes and institutions at local, national, regional and global level" (Bodegom et al. 2008).
Forest sector policy is an area of international debate and contestation, mainly because forests are a natural resource which have such huge universal importance and yet are managed, almost universally, as sovereign resources of producer states.
Corruption is an important aspect of forest governance, often practiced by urban-centred interest groups with contacts at the highest levels. In order to diminish corruption, pressure has to come from various sides.
Initiatives on forest governance and transparency
Making the Forest Sector Transparent is being implemented in the context of other efforts including international agreements, global initiatives, and governance assessments. A great deal of effort has gone into raising awareness among national governments of forest-rich countries, timber traders, the general public and the international community of the need for good forest management and transparency in the sector. Links to some of these initiatives can be found here.
However, too little of this prioritises directly working to strengthen civil society networks -- international, national and local NGOs and community groups -- so that they can identify issues from their perspectives and advocate effectively for change.
