January 2016: The Program on Forests (PROFOR) has issued an update on the activities it funded during 2015 across a wide range of countries, contexts and forest-related issues, including studies in Burkina Faso, El Salvador, Honduras and Lao PDR, a report on the political economy of decision-making in forestry, and a report on the principle of fair, prior and informed consent (FPIC).

On the value of forests in the context of climate change, PROFOR-financed studies in Burkina Faso, Honduras and Lao PDR, and found that forests play an invaluable role in building communities’ resilience to unpredictable climatic conditions. A study in El Salvador and Honduras highlighted on-the-ground factors that are key to carrying out adaptation-based mitigation at the landscape level. A report on the political economy of decision-making in forestry aimed to address social, economic and political challenges that could derail a technically sound project. A report on predictive proxy indicators for forests intended to facilitate the measurement and forecasting of long-term impacts for on-going projects. A Toolkit of Forest Control and Supervision was developed to provide practical guidance for situations where solutions based on information and communication technologies prove too complicated or costly.

Promoting a people-centered approach to forest management, a new sourcebook on national socio-economic surveys in forestry aimed to provide a stronger foundation for determining the benefits that forests provide and their role in alleviating poverty. A report on FPIC brought together case studies of collaborative arrangements between forest communities and corporations. A roadmap for a national biodiversity offset scheme in Liberia examined the sometimes unavoidable trade-offs that may occur between conservation and development efforts.

PROFOR is a multi-donor partnership led by the World Bank to generate and share knowledge in support of the vision ‘Sustaining forests for all.’ [PFOFOR Update, including links to reports]