Small Grants Programme for Operations To Promote Tropical Forests (SGP-PTF)

This programme is built on recognising and supporting the involvement of local communities and organisations in protection and management of forests. Grants are provided to NGOs, community-based organisations (CBOs) and other non-profit organisations, associations, and networks registered in Pakistan, with preference given to organisations with capacity and experience in social mobilisation for natural resource management. Communication approaches also appear prominently among the other factors stressed in decision-making about whether and how to provide support: projects that focus on capacity building (both human and institutional) required for the long-term sustainable management of the forest, and those that facilitate interdependence by demonstrating good opportunities for collaboration and networking among multiple stakeholders are emphasised. Generally, there are 3 specific key objectives that SGP-PTF project activities are geared toward - those that:

• act as catalysts to promote and demonstrate community-based management and resource-use in tropical forests
• draw lessons from local experience and support the spread of successful community-level strategies and innovations
• build grassroots-level capacity to tackle problems that are contributing to forest destruction and degradation through partnerships and networks.

To determine these objectives, and to identfiy strategies for the grant-making process, a series of 4 provincial workshops were carried out in which inputs were sought from forest-dependent communities, local CBOs, NGOs, elected councilors, forest products merchants, academia, and government officials. These in-person, local workshops were followed by a national workshop, which was supplemented through field visits and several informal/semi-structured meetings with local stakeholders, NGOs, and forestry officials. Among the determinations was that the programme's 5-year vision entails "A vibrant network of NGOs/CBOs (effective as units and coherent as parts of the network) has been nurtured to take over the promotion of sustainable forest management...with little external support." One element thought to contribute to that vision is based on the belief that "Sustainable [forest] management entails interdependence as the management is multidimensional in nature....Thus an interface for dialogue amongst these multiple stakeholders has to be initiated and developed through the support of the PTF program..."

Environment, Economic Development.

According to organisers, Pakistan is a forest-deficient country with a meager natural forest cover of approximately 5.2% that amounts to 4.57 million hectares. Personnel associated with the project have stated that the forest cover in Pakistan must reach 5.6% within a decade, as forests are necessary to limit the damage of natural disasters. One official suggested that sufficient forest cover could lessen the damage caused by flash floods and torrential rains as experienced in Pakistan in early 2005. However, "The mountain forests of Pakistan have a complex tenure system that abounds with rights and concessions, spread in an in-equitable manner. This lack of equity is another barrier in addressing threats to the forests..."