The Political Economy Of Forest Use And Management

Study conducted at Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling districts of West Bengal, India.

"Recent developments in the political, social, environmental and economic dimensions of forest management in Papua New Guinea (PNG) are described. Subjects discussed include: (1) the landowner-government relationship in West New Britain; (2) a social history of the Hawaiian Local Forest Area, East Sepik Province; (3) the landowners' dilemma in the Buhem-Mongi Timber Rights Purchase (TRP) Area; (4) analysis of the failure of a logging project; (5) the commercial intervention of a Malaysian logging company in New Ireland Province; (6) logging in the Madang North Coast TRP; (7) the historical development of the Gogol Woodchip Project; (8) the prospects for logging on Muyow, Milne Bay Province; (9) export statistics of PNG; (10) the regulation of PNG's timber industry; (11) small-scale community-based forestry and biodiversity conservation; (12) the politics of large-scale timber consumption in Japan; (13) the economics of sustainable development in PNG; (14) biophysical parameters for the sustainable utilization of PNG's forests; (15) conservation and appropriate resource management strategies in PNG; (16) incentives for rain forest conservation in PNG; and (17) a comparison of nature conservation in Irian Jaya (Indonesia) and PNG."--pub. desc.

This country case study, part of the Operations Evaluation Department (OED) A Review of the 1991 World Bank Forest Strategy and Its Implementation, evaluates World Bank operations in Cameroon for their consistency with the strategy. The strategic aspects of those operations are judged here on their relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, institutional development, and sustainability. The fundamental objective of the forest policy reform in Cameroon was to establish a transparent, equitable, and sustainable management system for forest resources. The outcome of the reform process was limited, for four reasons. First, the government of Cameroon lacked genuine commitment and the capacity to carry out the reform. Second, key actors in the reform process (particularly foreign logging companies and the parliament) chose to oppose it. Third, partners such as the World Bank failed to devise an implementation strategy compatible with the underlying dynamics of political and socioeconomic changes in Cameroon. Finally, while Cameroon's forest policy is well codified in documents, it is poorly implemented. Although the reforms have led to increased tax revenues and increased the share of GDP attributable to the forest sector, the structural underpinnings of the sector have been little affected. Government agencies in the sector continue to be weak. The international logging companies that dominate the sector continue to have a free hand in the development and use of the forest resources of Cameroon. Local communities were left out of the reform process, despite the declared objective to include them in forest resource management. Overall, the interventions of the Bank inside and outside the forest sector in Cameroon were relevant to its strategic objectives, but they were neither efficacious nor efficient. Because of weak institutional development, the achievements are unlikely to be sustained. The Bank should focus its future reform efforts in Cameroon on the collection and dissemination of relevant and reliable information, working with a larger set of stakeholders, and using more Cameroonian expertise to gain local perspective and build capacity. The success of such an approach hinges on government commitment and the cooperation of other donor countries, including those with timber interests in Cameroon.

Published in 1998. An International monograph publishing series covering new research into the ‘green’ issues such as government, corporate and public responses to environmental hazards, the economics of green policies and the effectiveness of environmental protection programmes.

The social dynamics of deforestation and of forest protection are the ongoing interactions amongst social actors and processes that determine the use and management of forests. Based on a vast amount of research and detailed case-studies in Brazil, Central America, Nepal and Tanzania as well as several papers dealing with wider themes and regions, this book argues that most current discussions of increased rates of deforestation and perceived accompanying environmental crises are overly simplistic. Institutional reforms and policy measures that have been undertaken in developing countries usually failed to protect either the forests or people's livelihoods. Technical solutions to deforestation are only one element in what are essentially political questions. The central issue is not how to halt deforestation but rather how to manage forest areas and natural resources in order to meet social goals on a more equitable and sustainable basis. Conventional wisdom that attributes deforestation primarily to peasant ignorance and population growth is questioned as are other single factor explanations such as market and policy failures.