The document outlines the purpose and mission of The Forests Dialogue (TFD), which aims to reduce conflict in the forest sector through constructive dialogue among stakeholders. It highlights the importance of building trust, exploring challenges, and facilitating actions to improve sustainable forest management and livelihoods. Key lessons learned emphasize the need for neutrality, inclusion, and maintaining credibility in dialogue processes.

1. Doing Dialogue:
Using MSD processes as a tool to
reduce conflict in the forest sector
Gary Dunning
Executive Director
The Forests Dialogue
ISTF Conference
25 January
New Haven, USA

2. Overview
• Origins of The
Forests Dialogue
• Fundamentals of
Dialogue
• Doing Dialogue
• Key lessons
• Roundtable
Discussions
2/13

3. TFD – Born of conflict
• Culture of forestry
• Rio ‘92 Summit
• Sustainable Forest
Management & Forest
Certification
• The Seventh American
Forest Congress
• World Bank CEOs
Meeting
• Independent
international platform
and process 3/13

4. TFD’s evolving mission
PURPOSE: Better forests, improved
livelihoods. To contribute to sustainable
land and resource use, the conservation
and sustainable management of forests,
and improved livelihoods by helping people
engage and explore difficult issues, find
collaborative solutions, and make positive
changes.
MISSION: Dialoguing can bring change. To
pursue our purpose through constructive
dialogue processes among all key
stakeholders, based on mutual trust,
enhanced understanding and commitment
to change. Our dialogues are designed to
build relationships and to spur collaborative
action on the highest priority issues facing
the world’s forests. 4/13

5. TFD’s
Structure
• Steering
Committee
• Advisory
Groups
• Local
Partners
• Participants
network
• Secretariat
5/13

6. Key SFM Challenges
2000-2012
• SFM verification via forest
certification
• Coming together to fight illegal
logging
• Biodiversity conservation on
production forests
– Intensively managed planted
forests
– Genetically modified trees
• Forests for livelihoods
– Pro-poor commercial forestry
– Investing in locally controlled
forestry
• The role of forests in mitigating
climate change
• Implementing Free, Prior,
and Informed Consent 6/13

7. Global Partners
Recent Donors
7/13

8. What has dialogue
accomplished?
• Built trust and created a
network and resource for
leaders
• Provided a credible neutral
platform for all stakeholders,
but particularly marginalized
groups
• Catalyst for partnerships
• Promoted policy leadership
• Pushed for behavior change
• Developed a large body
of information 8/13

9. What dialogue does
not/cannot do
• Conferences
• Projects
• Bring funding
• Mediate or negotiate
• Solve problems for you
• Make change – but it
can catalyze, promote
and support change
9/13

10. Doing
Dialogue
The Phased Approach
1. ‘ENGAGE’: Identify key
issues, build trust, share
perspectives and
information.
2. ‘EXPLORE’: Seek
consensus about challenges
and opportunities to solve a
forest-related ‘fracture-line’.
3 ‘CHANGE’: Promote and
facilitate actions that lead to
solutions, with impact in
policy and on the ground.
10/13

11. Doing Dialogue
Typical steps
• Issue identification and
clarification
• Preparatory work and collation of
background papers
• Invitation of stakeholders
• Establishment of ground rules
• Sharing experience
• Exploration of views
• Analysis and constructive
argument
• Decisions and prioritization of
action steps or agreed
11/13
recommendations

12. Lessons and Reflections
• Don’t create a new organization
but find a neutral convenor
• Define consensus
• Language is key
• Inclusion takes cash
• Be independent
(however governments do not
like “independent” processes
• Keep it simple
• Stay with what you know
• Pick the right partners
• Define the process, but be
transparent, flexible and open
• Maintain credibility
– MOST important!! 12/13

13. Thanks!
TFD Documents and
Publications
Available electronically at:
www.theforestsdialogue.org
Follow us on Twitter: @forestsdialogue
Like us on Facebook: the forests dialogue
The Forests Dialogue Secretariat
Yale University
New Haven, CT, USA
+1 203 432 5966
tfd@yale.edu
www.theforestsdialogue.org