Agriculture Rural Development and Forestry

This study examines forest ownership in the ECE region. Based on data on 35 countries and the first to include all forest ownership categories this study investigates the changing nature and patterns of forest ownership the ways in which governance and social structures influence forest owners and users as well as forest management. Within the limits of data availability and harmonization the publication provides an overview of and a new baseline for understanding the diversity and dynamics of forest ownership in the ECE region.

Considering the critical role of forests in housing biodiversity providing a source of livelihood for millions of people in our region and combating catastrophic consequences of climate change there is an important question that merits attention.

The issue of forest ownership has recently been receiving growing attention in research and policy for several reasons. On the one side there is increasing awareness that for a number of unsolved current issues in forest policy and management the behaviour of the owners is a crucial factor. This is true for the policy aim in many countries to utilize better the sustained yield of wood from the forests as raw material for the forest-based industries. The values and goals of forest owners are similarly relevant when it comes to biodiversity conservation particularly in integrated conservation concepts that aim to combine timber production and nature conservation. Finally the challenges of the changing climate require a relatively fast reaction of the owners in adapting their forests to new climatic conditions.

Vanuatu is at a critical juncture in its development pathway: the country needs to dynamise and transform its rural economy by building on its small-scale and diversified farming system and leveraging traditional agro-ecological approaches. Expanding on the NGER this study has outlined upgrading trajectories in the cocoa and coconut sectors that amplify the competitive strengths of small-holder agriculture leverage agro-ecological practices and place emphasis on women’s roles and knowledge. These trajectories combine social welfare objectives (food security and nutrition and social inclusiveness including gender equality) environmental goals (protection of biodiversity and climate-change resilience) and economic objectives (increased income). They cater to both domestic and export market outlets. They show how trade can drive transformational systemic changes at the local and national level towards achieving inclusive sustainable development beyond aggregate welfare gains.

The goal of this report is to assess the social inclusiveness and pro-poor sustainability of efforts to upgrade expand and diversify the cocoa and coconut sectors in Vanuatu. Specifically the analysis screens trade upgrading and diversification policies in the two sectors for their potential to either benefit or negatively impact the goals and targets embedded in the country’s NSDP. Called “Vanuatu 2030: The People’s Plan” it is the country’s highest-level policy framework. It provides an inescapable normative benchmark for assessing the legitimacy of trade policy options. The Plan charts a holistic development path that strikes a balance between the social environmental and economic pillars of sustainable development. Tailoring the 2030 Agenda to Vanuatu’s context the Plan re-assesses material wealth objectives through Melanesian values of respect harmony unity and forgiveness and brings to the forefront of policy discourse intangible values and communal assets.