IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

IUCN sees illegal logging and related challenges such as poverty and degraded forest landscapes, among others, as symptoms and results of weak forest governance that can only be effectively addressed through locally and nationally appropriate forest governance arrangements that enjoy the active participation and support of diverse stakeholder groups. Such governance arrangements achieved through multistakeholder reform processes are a necessary prerequisite for the successful implementation of agreed reforms and actions which aim to target specific problems and bring about sustainable forest management.  Equity, Transparency, Participation and Action should be the cornerstones of processes that underpin ‘good’ governance arrangements, and of all responses at all levels to illegal logging and other predatory forest practices.

To catalyze the implementation of forest governance reform processes that have been jointly prioritized by key government, industry and civil society actors and that are capable of achieving demonstrable impacts, IUCN employs a two-fold approach which includes:

• Implementing a tripartite approach which creates space for government, industry and civil society to find and implement solutions together
• Strengthening policy-practice linkages to ensure that forest laws and practices are informed by one another and are responsive

Based on this approach IUCN will support emerging and existing forest governance reform processes by:

1. Designing and facilitating multistakeholder (tripartite) consultation dialogues that are associated with Forest Governance reform processes where we specifically have a mandate to do so from government and enjoy the general support of some of the different elements of civil society.
2. Providing information and advice
3. Facilitating capacity building
4. Identifying and implementing specific pilot actions