ETFRN NEWS 35: Innovative Financing Mechanisms for Conservation and Sustainable Forest Management

The official launch of the "Small Grants Programme for Operations to Promote Tropical Forests" (SGP PTF) was made through the Regional Inception Workshop in early December 2001 in Los Banos, Philippines. Funded by the European Commission (EC) the SGP PTF is managed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the Executing Agency, the SEAMO Regional Centre for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).

The overall operation is for five years with EC contribution via the Tropical Forest Budget Line of 15,132,500 Euros. Operations will take place initially in four countries (Pakistan, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand) with the possible expansion to other countries in South and South East Asia when conditions are propitious.

The SGP PTF will complement the existing Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP) and related financing instruments to benefit poor and underprivileged forest user groups by pursuing the following key objectives: (a) act as catalyst to promote and demonstrate community-based management and resource-use in tropical forests; (b) draw lessons from local experience and support the spread of successful community-level strategies and innovations; (c) build grassroots level capacity to tackle problems that are contributing to forest destruction and degradation through partnerships and networks.

The principal thrust of the SGP PTF will be the execution by civil society organizations at country level of small (20,000 – 200,000 Euros) forest related projects. The programme will benefit from the experience acquired both by the GEF SGP and by EC forestry programmes in the region. The community focus of the SGP PTF will be further enhanced through extensive networking and collaboration to draw on the expertise of a number of institutions in the region with rich experience in community-based tropical forestry.