IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

IUCN and ITTO collaborated to host a series of technical workshops on FLR in various countries. Main objectives include increasing awareness and understanding about the main concepts of FLR; documenting the current status of FLR related activities in each country; receiving feedback on the ITTO Guidelines and the ITTO/ IUCN Manual on FLR; understanding the future needs for FLR implementation, and fostering the development of FLR project/ programme concepts. Workshops were held in Ghana, Mexico, Guyana, Guatemala, Cameroon, Philippines, India, Myanmar, and Côte d’Ivoire during 2006.

To learn more, click here.

One of the highlights of the Global Partnership on FLR’s activities recently has been organization of an International Forest Landscape Restoration Implementation Workshop that was held in Petrópolis, Brazil on April 4-8, 2005. Hosted by the governments of Brazil and the United Kingdom, more than 100 participants from 42 countries gathered at the workshop to consider the future of the world’s degraded forests. Discussions focused on key characteristics of FLR, good practices, effective knowledge exchange, increased political support and partnerships as well as successes and challenges of FLR implementation worldwide. One of the key outcomes of the workshop was the Petrópolis Challenge which is the commitment to: “ Restore forest landscapes to benefit people and nature and contribute to reversing the trends of forest loss and degradation”. . Next steps of the Global Partnership on FLR are to expand membership of the partnership and to develop a network of learning sites in which the FLR approach will be applied in an organized way to a joint learning programme.

For more information on the workshop on the partnership website, please click here.

Internationally, the progress in restoring degraded forest landscapes has been slow. The achievement of government objectives to restore degraded areas is at risk from a number of constraints relating to the lack of knowledge and experience, capacity to plan and act, and inadequate policy frameworks. Over the last two years IUCN has been working with the International Timber Trade Organisation (ITTO), Intercooperation, and the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) to encourage regional or country level initiatives in the area of forest restoration and secondary forest management by promoting greater understanding of the ITTO Guidelines on Restoration, Management and Rehabilitation of Degraded and Secondary Forests. These guidelines provide a framework to assist countries in the restoration and rehabilitation of their forests. Till date, IUCN, together with Intercooperation, has co-facilitated six regional workshops in Thailand, Peru, Gabon, Ghana, Venezuela and Indonesia to test these guidelines. Governments have recognised the need and urgency for forest landscape restoration to improve local livelihoods, reduce pressures on other forests and ensure that these areas contribute to biodiversity conservation and maintain ecological functions and services. Through regional workshops aimed at promoting an understanding of the ITTO Guidelines, participating countries have been able to share their existing knowledge and attitudes about forest restoration and provide a common basis for shared understanding of the concepts and definitions involved. At the 35th session of the ITTO Council in November 2003, it was decided to provide significant support to the global workshop on forest landscape restoration, being organized by the Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration (coordinated by the FCP), as well as to a number of other activities, including national ITTO consultations on FLR, in which the FCP is expected to play a significant role. To download ITTO guidelines for the restoration, management, and rehabilitation of degraded and secondary tropical forest (2003), click here.

This is a joint IUCN/WWF initiative to strengthen field and policy action on forest restoration.The goal of the Forests Reborn programme is to facilitate the promotion and implementation of forest restoration and rehabilitation as a tool for safeguarding livelihood security, protecting biodiversity and ameliorating lost or impaired forest ecosystem functions.The purpose of the programme is to ensure that the WWF and IUCN networks are equipped to promote and influence the effective mobilisation of private and public sector resources into socially and ecologically appropriate forest restoration initiatives.The Forests Reborn project uses forest restoration and rehabilitation as a tool for safeguarding livelihood security, protecting biodiversity, ameliorating lost or impaired forest ecosystem functions, and promoting socially and environmentally acceptable forest restoration. It works to ensure effective mobilisation of private and public sector resources into socially and ecologically appropriate forest restoration initiatives.

To know more about the IUCN/WWF International Workshop on Forest Restoration held in Segovia, Spain in July 2000, under the Forests Reborn Project, click here.

IUCN's statement at UNFF-2 highlighted the progress made in FLR, and how IUCN is working with partners on an approach that ensures forest landscapes have the necessary mix of forest goods and services to fulfill both conservation and development objectives.

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