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1. ODA BULTUM UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF NATURAL RESOURSE
AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
DEPARTMENT :FORESTRY 4tH YEAR
POWER POINT FOR FOREST POLICY AND LAW
PREPARED BY: IBSA ABDELLA (LLB)
YEAR:2023/2016

2. Chapter 1
THE BASICS OF FOREST POLICY AND LEGISLATION
 The issue of resource management is getting momentum
both at international and national levels.
 the impact of unwise utilization is resulting in negative
consequences
 such as degradation of Forest resources, soils and wildlife.
Therefore, it is important to deal with :
 the relationship of human beings with the resources
 sustainable management
 Forests are important resources in human life.
 They serve as sources of:
construction materials, raw materials for industries engaged
in processing of timber and non-timber products, etc
 and provide services that can be either cultural/traditional
or ecological like amelioration of the microclimate

3. Definition of Forest
 “A living community of trees and associated plants and
animals – (Shrivastava (1997).”
 An association of plants and animals in which trees are
dominant (Hummel,1984) .
 All components of the forest ecosystem; they also include
woodlots and trees in rural environments (FAO,1996).
 The legal definition: an area of land proclaimed to be a
forest under a forest law

4. The potential of Forest in Ethiopia (Edwards, et al, 1999).
 Afroalpine and subafroalpine vegetation (at the tops and slopes
of the highest mountains in the country above 3200 m. a. s. l.)
 Dry evergreen montane forest and montane grassland (in the
southern and eastern parts of the country
 Moist evergreen forest (south-western parts of the country)
 Riparian and swamp vegetation
 Evergreen scrub (form a mosaic on the plateau slopes)
 Combretum-terminalia (Broad-leaved deciduous) woodland
 Acacia-commiphora (small-leaved deciduous) woodland
 Desert and semi-desert scrubland (in the driest parts of the
 Lowland semi-evergreen forest (in Gambella)
 Farm forests (in the different parts throughout the country

5. Classification of Ethiopian Forests by Ethiopian Forestry
Action ProgrammeEFAP (1994):
 Natural high forests
 Woodlands
 Bush lands
 Plantations (including industrial plantations, peri-urban
plantations, community plantations, and
catchment/protection plantations) and
 Trees on farms
Historical decline of forest
storical sources indicate that about 42 million ha
or the equivalent of some 35% of Ethiopia’s land
area might once have been covered with forest.
With the inclusion of savannah woodlands, the
estimation automatically rises to some 66% of the
country.
In the early 1950’s the forests that remained
covered 19 million ha or 16% of the land area.
In the early 1980’s the forest cover was reported
at 3.6%.
In 1989 the forest cover was estimated at only
2.7%. Some 5 million woodlands were remaining,
giving a total forest and woodland area of about
7%

6.  The current vegetation cover of the country includes:
 Natural high forest – 2.3 million ha
 Woodland – 5 million ha
 Bush land – 20 million ha
 Plantations – 0.2 million ha
 Farm forests (trees on farms)– data not available
 The continuing reduction in the forest cover shows lack of sustainable
management measures.
 With time the increase in population coupled with the
dynamic and unsatisfied nature of human need with the little
management measures while using the forest can be the
implication that can be generalized from the trend of
continuous reduction in forest cover.
 The forests have been exposed to prolonged severe and
heavy deforestation, due to pressures from human and
livestock population like clearing land for cultivation, over-
cutting for harvesting fuel and construction wood as well as
dangerous forest fires that resulted in scattered patches here
and there.

7.  Forests potential as sources of fuel and
construction wood, water, forage, raw
material for forest industries, non-wood
forest products such as bamboo, natural gum
and other products like spices, bush meat,
honey, wildlife, recreation and aesthetic
values, is so great that whatever is done with
them affects the well being of every one of
the greater than sixty million people who live
in the country.

8.  How is it possible for such a large number of
people to use such a widely dispersed and
valuable resource? How do the people of
Ethiopia decide what to do with their forests?
Is there any sort of pattern/model to its use
and to the decisions of what the Ethiopian
people have to make? If there is, how can it
be put into effect or practice? And how it is
maintained?
 The above questions lead us toward the
relation between forest and human beings
and the science of forestry

9.  In the history of mankind the destruction of
forests and shortage of wood led to the
realization of their importance and thus the
concept of forestry came into existence
 For the purpose of this course, you use the
definition given by Hummel (1984):
 forestry is defined as the management and use
for human benefit of the natural resources that
occur on or in association with forest lands and
other lands managed wholly or in part for similar
purposes.
 . It can be defined as the theory and practice of
all that constitutes the creation, conservation and
scientific management of forests and utilization
of their resources.

10.  The concern of policy in forest resources are:
 managing the forest land,
 protection of forests,
 planting and felling trees,
 building roads and extracting timber,
 marketing the forest products,
 carrying out research

11.  Public policies
 The ultimate goal of public policy is welfare of the society. A country’s
agricultural policy, economic policy, foreign policy or its policy of any
type means the way in which a government uses its institutional legal
means to carry out its programs and activities aimed at achieving its
chosen objectives.
 All national policies aim at benefiting the society at large in democratic
governance systems
 By their very nature, policies are pervasive throughout society: when
acted upon, their substance has commanding effects on the very
essence of citizen’s lives and aspirations.
 They are the mechanisms by which the society tries to promote a more
positive human condition, including attempts to thwart the trauma of
poverty, to promote education, to curtail use of harmful pollutants, to
ensure equal opportunity, and to instil a sense of national safety.
 What are policies? How can they be described? What characteristics give
them meaning and importance?

12.  The meaning of the term policy is elusive because it is
used in many different ways.
 For example, policy is often used as a label for a particular
field of government activity – economic policy, foreign
policy, and environmental policy.
 It is a particular collection of laws and programs (agency
policy, legislative policy) to apply a specific government
decision.
 Without legislation policies remain simple guidelines.
 legislation is legal mechanisms
 Legislation consists of a number of laws enacted by the
legislative authorities

13. Worrel (1970), Hummel (1984) and FAO
(1987), defined forest policy as:
 An overall plan which specifies certain principles regarding
the use of societies' forest recourses,
 A document or guideline which demonstrate a definite
course, or method of action from among alternatives, and
in the light of a given condition,
 A legal design to manage and administer forest resource
to satisfy societies need
 A legal frame work which is designed to over come
national problem

14. The different definitions available (Worrel, 1970; FAO, 1987;
Hummel, 1984; Webster’s dictionary) can be summarized as:
 A definite Course of action adopted for the sake of having a
suitable end or expediency ( suitability)
 An agreed upon idea, or pattern registered in a document.
 A definite course or method of actions selected from among
various other alternatives
 A course of action or settled account adopted and persuaded by
government, rulers, etc
 A plan of action, statement of aims and ideas especially prepared
by government, political party, and private company, etc.
 An Art, doctrine or opinion, practical wisdom referring to
government.
 Matters of interest to the state: methods of managing them.
 The way in which government uses its institutional and legal
means to carry out its program of activities aimed at achieving
its chosen objectives

15. Category of forest in natural Resources
 Natural resources can be divided into two broad classes:
A. flow, renewable resources eg forest
B. stock, non-renewable resources.
Importance of Forest Policy and Legislation :
 Helps for the existence of forest resources
 Helps for sustainable utilization of forest resources
 signifies importance of forests to other land uses
 provides the proper and important orientation for the choice and
execution of government activities

16. The Forest resource activities affected by policy may be
categorized as:
 Conservation, protection, administration, management and
utilization of Forest resources,
 Environmental protection and
 Forest resource industries and marketing of Forest resource
products.
Without a clearly defined policy:
 Greater risks of inconsistency or contradiction and illogical
variations in work programs from year to year
 Greater risks of resource drain
 greater misunderstandings, misinterpretations,
 conflicts and an environment of uncertainty

17.  Helps in decision-making at the highest governmental
levels
 Provides a guide for the subunits of the government
institution
 Helps in resource allocation by planning and
budgeting offices.
Forest Policy has a wider impacts on :
◦Rural community development,
◦Agricultural activities/programs,
◦Soil and water conservation,
◦environmental contamination,
◦ the establishment of and the uses of Aesthetic or
recreation area,

18. To put the objectives specifically, at the end of this
chapter you should be able to:
 Describe components of the policy environment
 Explain how each of the components of the policy
environment affects policy formulation and
implementation/execution
 Analyse factors that affect the decision-making process
in formulation and execution of Forest resource policy
 Explain why policy is dynamic

19.  it is true that everything in this universe
functions in an interrelated way.
 Similarly, a country's Forest resource policy is
best understood as a system of interrelated
elements.
 The elements are not only the components of a
Forest resource policy,
 but also its environment like the case of a human
being and the surrounding.

20. Elements of A policy system
 The statement of objectives- i.e., the policy statements which indicate
the ends which people desire, and "actions" which they direct towards
those ends.
 The body of "legislation" - policy is usually expressed and implemented
through various legal mechanisms known as legislations,
 such as Charter, Proclamation, and subsidiary laws, which includes
procedures such as legal notice, rules, regulations, guidelines, etc.
 The structure and administration of a government
institution/organization - the implementing component of the policy
and legislation.
 The planning, budgeting and execution of programmes of the
governmental organization.

21. These elements form a logical and coherent chain.
If these elements are not interrelated to one another, there will be
problem in :
 determination of objectives,
 in the formulation of legislation,
 in the structuring of the organization,
 in the preparation and execution of its work programs and
budgets
 in clarifying the role of the private sector in relation to
government policy
An understanding of policy as a system is useful either in
formulating a new policy or in evaluating and revising an existing
one..Forest Policy and Law.doc
 Choosing any element of the system as a starting point causes
no problem since following the cyclical pattern assures that all
the elements will be drawn into the analysis
 Policy should be evaluated frequently to determine whether or
not it should be maintained, amended or eliminated.

22.  Policy system must be kept under constant surveillance.
 To be able to evaluate policy implementation in time for
alternative or corrective action
 Evaluation is possible only if the goals of a policy are
clearly set out.
 The lack of a clear goal, or goals, is a severe constraint on
an objective analysis of government policies
 Both individually and in their interrelations with all the
other elements of the system.
 An evaluation of the objectives of an existing policy
requires that they be examined in the light of the
influences and criteria of the policy environment, to see if
they are being achieved and if they should be continued,
modified or dropped

23.  the formulation and execution of forest policy, all decisions
regarding the individual elements must take place within what may
be called a forest policy environment.
The influences or criteria of policy : Technical and political
Technical components of Policy
a. Ecological factors
 The objectives and programs of a forest policy must be physically
and biologically attainable
 Climate, soils, distribution of tree species and forest types, growth
rates, regenerative capacity, among others, must be considered in
defining and executing a policy
b. Economic factors
 The relative importance of Forest resource in the national economy of
a country will have an influence on its forest policy, through:
 Employment
 Stimulating the development of rural communities

24. c. State of knowledge
 the required knowledge, research findings and experience are
available to permit carrying out the policy
d. Operational or administrative practicability of the objectives
 Objectives of a policy must be operationally and
administratively achievable.
 How can this be ensured?
 The objectives must be tested against the organizational
ability (people, material, equipment, funds)
 A proposed objective, which cannot be practically
achieved, is best not included in a policy

25.  The political system needs to be conducive
 of such a component in the policy environment involve policies in other
related sectors, legislation, government priorities and commitments,
social and cultural influences, and policies of other private sectors.
a. Policies in other related sectors
 Policy can not be formulated in isolation
 but should be part and in harmony with overall government policy
 especially those dependents on the use of land and other Forest
resources.
 Policy must be consistent with the objectives and programs of other
governmental policies
b. Legislation
 policy formulation and execution must be in compliance with the
constitutional framework of the country and existing national laws and
regulations.

26. If policy decisions conflict with current legislation, there are two courses open:
 Modify the policy decision to comply with existing laws and regulations, or
 Take steps to modify prevailing legislation so that forest policy decision may be
acceptable.
The interpretation of the constitution and of existing and proposed legislation by the
judicial branch of a government may also have an influence on policy.
c. Government priorities and commitments
A government will always have objectives of varying importance and priority in its
overall national policy
 Favour certain regions of the country
 Establish human settlements on its forest lands
 Provide jobs for unemployed
 Enhance the security of its national frontiers in forest areas or
 Adherence of a government to international treaties may impose certain.
d. Social and cultural influences
 Customs and tradition
 The type of ownership
 The rural structure – e.g. pattern of settlement

27. The participants in the determination and execution of policy may be categorized as:
1.Government authorities: An active and powerful parliamentary institution with
lawmaking and funding functions
2.Interest groups: consist of persons especially concerned with conservation or
ecology, of professional organizations
3.Political parties: may express opinions and exert pressure regarding policy issues.
4.Mass media: News papers, magazines, radio and television are the principal means
of mass communication
5.Technical and financial institutions: This may be by providing expert advice and
information to a receptive government , financial assistance dependent upon the
acceptance of recommended policy
6.Advisory units: expressing opinions and making recommendations on issues of
government policies

28.  A policy, is an expression of a number of
decisions that were taken based on the
existing environment at the time the policy
was formulated
 but the policy environment is a mutable,
dynamic set of influences and criteria.
 Policy formulation and implementation can be
considered as an incremental process
whereby policy is added to, revised and
evolved over time.