 Capacity building is at the heart of the work of the Livelihoods and Forestry Programme (LFP) and improvement of governance within the forestry sector is a key. LFP’s engagement is at multiple levels - with community groups, service providers and policy makers. This ensures LFP is able to promote and support good governance practices and contribute to the development of policies and systems that are in tune with the field realities.
LFP's support for strengthening governance entails facilitation, capacity building and influence towards the following: - Inclusive institutions and strengthened agency of poor and excluded people.
- Participatory decision-making processes and multi-stakeholder mechanisms.
- Equitable decisions and their implementation.
- Transparent, responsive and accountable systems and practices.
- Efficient and effective programming.
- Rule of law (through the development and implementation of strategies and systems.)
LFP supports Forest User Groups (FUGs), and other livelihood related groups and networks, to improve their governance by providing capacity-building support through animation or social mobilisation programmes. Community Facilitators work to ensure groups are inclusive, the views of the poor and excluded are taken into account, and that their voices are heard in decision-making. Similarly, they ensure that the programmes and resource allocation of the groups are responsive to the present and future needs of members, particularly poor and excluded groups and individuals. In addition, LFP works with government and non-government service providers for the development of structures, systems, mechanisms and processes for good governance. It ensures the institutionalisation of good practices through its involvement in national level policy processes and decisions. LFP, with other donors and civil society groups, has supported the Ministry and the Department of Forests in the development of systems, strategies and guidelines that form important elements of good governance. Some examples include Ministry’s Human Resource Development Policy 2003, Gender and Social Inclusion Strategy for the forestry sector 2006, and revised Community Forestry Guideline 2007 and 2009. Support for the strengthening of an inclusive monitoring system continues. These macro level initiatives are aimed at creating an enabling environment for good governance with wider and long-term impact throughout the forestry sector. For details of best practice see our Initiative sharing series. Impacts/achievements - 1877 local people trained and mentored to provide social and technical support to FUGs as Community Facilitators.
- 59,777 FUG members trained in basic forest management.
- Core staff from 42 NGO partners competent in running programmes for forest and community development, and many are earning new donor contracts as a result.
- 6300 district Forest office and Soil Conservation office staff trained locally in 2008/9.
- About 20% of FUGs now support and mentor other less capable FUGs in preparing forest inventories, operation plans and constitutions.
- Institutional policy, strategy and systems developed of both government and NGO partners at different levels.
- Improved FUG operation with regular meetings, increased participation, better record keeping, more transparency, greater sensitivity to poor and social inclusion issues, and regular participatory reflection and learning.
- Establishment of Forestry Coordination Committees at village, district and national levels.
- Greater stakeholder coordination at district level, resulting in increased cooperation and effectiveness and more downward accountability.
- FUGs find that the improved communication and transparency between everyone who is trying to help them makes it easier raise issues and put forward their views.
- District Forest Offices have become more participatory, work more closely with NGOs and other local government offices and work to make decision-making more collaborative.
- NGO partners maintained political neutrality whilst carrying out their work due to their exposure to Safe and Effective Development in Conflict.
- 81,192 households from more than 1800 FUGs have been involved in small-scale infrastructure development activities– including school and community buildings, irrigation canals, landslide control, improved cooking stoves, alternative energy, conservation ponds and electrification.
- Of a total of NRs 139mil (£1.2m) expenditure, FUGs have spent 27% on pro-poor revolving funds and 40% on community development projects such as health post renovation, maternal health emergencies, toilet construction and trail improvement.
- FUGs successfully leveraged about NRs 34mil (£283,000) during 2008/9 from external sources (other than LFP) for wider community development initiatives.
- As the capacity of local people develops through being FUG members or local community facilitators they become able to also use their skills in other aspects of local development.
- All district level government partners and NGOs collect and analyse information according to who really benefits. Allocating budget in this way helps effectively reach the poorest.
Challenges - Achieving the right balance for programme implementation between state and civil society in the continued fluid political and complex institutional context.
- Working effectively through a multi-stakeholder approach in the absence of elected local government.
- Supporting the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation in its efforts to adapt to state restructuring and its implications for sectoral restructuring.
- Supporting the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation to strengthen co-ordination and harmonisation to promote:
- more consistent Government policies
- more consultative processes for formulating national level policy based on field realities
- effective policy implementation.
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