This study was presented during the conference “Production and Carbon Dynamics in Sustainable Agricultural and Forest Systems in Africa” held in September, 2010.

1. New Forests for New Generations
Olle Forshed, International Conservation, WWF-Sweden
ABSTRACT
The pressure on the world’s forests has never been as high as now. Traditional products like timber and fire wood
is still taken out from the forests at an alarming speed, often in a destructive and unsustainable way. Forest land is
also needed for production of commercial commodities like for example: bio energy, palm oil, sugar, soya and
beef, which often leads to conversion of large forest ecosystem into plantations. These pressures can often lead to
severe complications for people living in and of the (former) forest. On top of this intact ecosystem services, such
as clean water, become more and more important as the worlds population increase. The forest is also now seen
as one of the key factors when combating climate change. At the same time people are traditionally living in many
of these forested areas and rely on the forest for food and well being. It seems sometimes like the forest is the
solution for everything and a never ending source and maybe that can be true?
However it is not easy for smallholders and others living in these “new” forests. The challenge of multifunctional
forests surely demands a new approach and a new generation of forest management thinking. We must see the
new forest landscapes as multifunctional and realise they are important productive units as well as home for
people and other creatures. WWF-Sweden runs a program under the Forest Initiative umbrella that deals with
many of these questions, especially poverty reduction and sustainability issues in the context of multi-functionality.
The program focuses on how the private sector and their activities can help in creating a new generation of forest
management for a new generation of people.

2. •Forest certification used for a long time by NGO’s
•Tool for Sustainable Forest Management

3. • Today large areas are certified
• FSC ~135 million ha in 81 countries
Proof that it actually works for:
• Biodiversity - nature conservation
• Economically viable
• Social beneficially
• Today several other commodities
follows in round table discussions

4. But how is certification working for
people in the south living close the forests,
like:
small scale farmers, forest dwellers
Are they affected in someway?
Is certification helping poor people
dealing with there natural resource?
Is certification reducing poverty?

5. Easy to forget the
people living in and of
the forests
Important with today's forest situation, where the
forests seems as the overall global solution:
• Timber
• Pulp paper
• Plantation crops
• Ecosystem services
• Bioenergy
• Tourism
• Biodiversity
• Carbon sequestration

6. Maybe certification can be a tool for
not forgetting these people?
Maybe also a tool for making their
situation even better and
reducing poverty?
And a tool for small scale farmers to
work with companies for more
equal sharing of benefits

7. WWF and the Forest Initiative cooperates about these issues
within the program:
Poverty alleviation and responsible forest
management within the frame of the Private
sector 2010 - 2011
• Other participants: FSC, and the private sector; such as
certification companies and several forest companies
• The program is divided into three major modules

8. Module 1:
Tools for responsible purchase
of forest products
National risk assessments for Controlled wood
• Peru
• Ghana
• Bulgaria
Methods for timber tracing
• Lacey act (USA)
• Due Diligence (EU)

9. A project together with several of the major
plantation companies
How to establish large Fast wood plantations in a “good” way?
Looking at:
• Landscape planning
• Social conflicts
• Biodiversity conflicts
• Ecosystem services
• Appropriate management systems
Module 2
New Generation Plantation project

10. Module 3
Access to certification for small forest holders and
communities
• How to adapt the forest certification process for small forest holders’
• Poverty reduction and forest certification – how to integrate

11. Olle Forshed Conservation Officer
International Conservation WWF-Sweden
Ulriksdals Castle
SE-170 81 Solna
Olle.forshed@wwf.se
+46 (0)8 624 74 00
+46 (0)8 546 575 06 (Direct)
www.wwf.se
www.skogsinitiativet.se
Thanks' for
listening