Growing Forest Partnerships briefing: Sustainable forestry - connecting local to global and vice versa

Growing Forest Partnerships is an initiative that helps develop and support networks of people and organisations at local, national and international levels towards the equitable and sustainable management of forestry resources.

As the world looks for a way to mitigate climate change, more and more money is being committed to forests. The figure now stands at US $4-8 billion under REDD+ (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation). Decisions about how funds are used are frequently made at the national or global level. And yet, it is the smallholders, local communities, indigenous peoples and civil society groups who manage or own a third of the world's forests. So how do you ensure that those funds are enhancing the ability of these groups to influence this decision making and ensure it is relevant locally?

This briefing considers the challenges and opportunities currently faced in getting these local voices heard. It explores the mechanisms already in existence, the difficulties of capacity and communication, and the way forward in taking the learning of those involved in Growing Forest Partnerships and beyond to the global level.