Opportunities and constraints for investing in forests and trees in landscapes

Finding suitable ways of investing in the small and medium forest enterprise sector by working in partnerships with local people, can better achieve sustainable and socially responsible impacts, as well as improving returns for investors. 'Soft' investment in support for institutional reform, tackling capacity and governance issues, will pave the way for the stronger and more sustainable investment potential of the sector.

This paper looks at where the opportunities lie for such investment, who might be the investor, and how they can best engage to improve conditions. It considers how the constrainst holding back the process can be overcome, and how each stakeholder can implement effective partnerships to achieve this objective.