Reflecting on a year of remarkable achievements by our dedicated staff and committed partners, I present the RECOFTC annual report for fiscal year 2021-2022.
At the start of the fiscal year, the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow produced key commitments to protect forests and the communities that depend on them. We must maintain the momentum, ensuring that forests and communities are at the heart of climate action and open climate finance to those who need it most.
Fortunately, community forestry is already a proven nature-based solution being used. Under current targets, the area of community forests in Southeast Asia could reach 30 million hectares by 2030. We have dedicated time and resources to see our government partners make these commitments. This has been a long term endeavor and financial, technical, political and commercial support will be needed to ensure that community forestry continues to play its part in creating climate-resilient green economies.
In this report, you will read about RECOFTC’s work through the innovative Partnership for Forestry and Fisheries Communities in Cambodia. It shows what is possible when communities have secure rights to manage and benefit from local forests.
We also share insights from our research on the recognition of customary tenure rights of communities that depend on forests in the Mekong region. We hope to provide a deeper understanding of how laws and customs affect indigenous women’s rights to access and manage forest resources.
We describe how hundreds of Thailand’s community forests are using a digital map and database to share information about their products and services with potential customers and the wider public.
And we show how production-driven partnerships between communities and the private sector can improve livelihoods and economic development while restoring forest landscapes.
As RECOFTC’s successful gender leadership program WAVES closed its first phase, we feature how women leaders continue to advocate for equality and lead gender-equitable programs in their communities and institutions.
We then explain how the Explore research network supports academics and their institutions to receive grants and produce impactful applied research on forest landscape governance.
And we recount how RECOFTC and its partners convened Asia-Pacific experts to assess the implications of COP26 for the region’s climate, people and forests.
Finally, we offer a preview of some of RECOFTC’s anticipated highlights for the year ahead.
These stories highlight the importance of networks that enable communities to share knowledge, engage with policymakers and advocate for their rights. Sustaining networks and community forestry need greater investments so that forest communities are able to reach their full potential.
As we move forward, we remain committed to our vision: a world where empowered local people are effectively and equitably engaged in the sustainable management of forest landscapes. Together with our donors and partners, we create lasting positive change.