Building on a 2008 study on forest financing, the Advisory Group on Finance (AGF) of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) has released a 2012 report that analyzes gaps in and opportunities for forest-related financing, identifies barriers to financing, and assesses the implications of the new and emerging forest-related financing initiatives related to the Rio Conventions.
June 2012: The Advisory Group on Finance (AGF) of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) has released a study on forest-related financing, as requested by Member States at the ninth Session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF 9) in 2011, expanding on and updating previous work by the AGF from 2008.
The report furthers existing work by the CPF’s AGF, by, inter alia: providing an analysis of the gaps in and opportunities for forest-related financing addressing climate change, biological diversity, sustainable land and forest management, land degradation and desertification and financial resources associated with the Forest Law Enforcement and Governance process; assessing the implications of the new and emerging forest-related financing initiatives related to the Rio Conventions; and identifying barriers for access to financing. The report contains six chapters on: forest financing flows; existing, new and emerging forest-related financing mechanisms and initiatives; needs and gaps in forest financing; barriers to sustainable financing for forests; successful country examples and initiatives; and strengthening financing for forests.
Key findings of the study include that: the global need for funding for sustainable forest management (SFM) is estimated to be between US$ 70 and US$ 160 billion per year; most countries are unable to raise adequate public funds for the forest sector, and reinvestment of revenues in forest management has been minimal; disbursements of official development assistance (ODA) increased by an average of 125% between the periods 2002-2004 and 2008-2010, largely due to financing related to REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, as well as conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of carbon stocks); and no single solution can address the need for forest financing, and a mixture of measures should be undertaken at all levels simultaneously. The study also identifies obstacles to the mobilization of forest finance, including: inadequate enabling conditions; insufficient capacities; donor and investor concerns about governance; insecure tenure; illegal activities; problems associated with eligibility; and complex procedures to access to external resources.
The CPF is an informal, voluntary arrangement among 14 international organizations and secretariats with substantial programmes on forests that collaborate to find ways of improving forest management and conservation and the production and trade of forest products. [Publication: 2012 Study on Forest Financing] [CPF Website]