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current assignments
FRR is currently responsible for the management or implementation of a range of projects. These include:
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Africa (regional)
Africa: Study of the Origin of Timber in Public Financed Contracts
FRR's long involvement in the forest sector throughout the Africa Region meant that we were ideally placed to undertake a study on behalf of the World Bank on domestic procurement of legal timber in nine African countries (Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo-Brazaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Mozambique and Tanzania). A sound understanding of the political, institutional and cultural environment throughout Africa were essential as the timber industry is amongst the most powerful political lobbyist in many countries where forestry is a major part of the economy. Information collection therefore required considerable sensitivity.
Ghana
Forest Sector Development Project Phase II
DFID
A national forest sector reform programme.
This is to be achieved by:
- Developing an effective and efficient Forestry Commission operating at the interface between the Ministry of Lands and Forestry and decentralised regions, districts, parks and protected areas
- Developing appropriately resourced and ìcustomer-focusedî outlying offices
- Developing and operationalising a sector wide information system
- Providing valid and reliable economic data to assist policy development and support commercial business decisions
- Developing understanding of the current status of timber resources in the high forest zone and establishing procedures to control exploitation and increase the value of timber extracted
- Supporting the Forestry Commission to manage forest resources in accordance with sustainable forest management principles
- Supporting the Forestry Commission to provide forest owners, fringe communities and the private sector with an effective client focused service
Ghana
Ghana Lands and Forestry Support Facility
FRR Ltd is providing management support to the Ghana Lands and Forest Policy Support Facility (GLFPSF) for the Ministry of Lands and Forests and the Boards of the Forestry and Lands Commissions. The Facility commissions activities which aim to strengthen the supply-side for evidence based policy development, by:
- improving the quality and relevance of forest and land policies and legislation
- promoting better practice and regulation of the sector and improved translation of policy into practice
- ensuring greater coherence between these policies and broader GoG goals, such as those set out in the national Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS); and
- enabling government officials to take better decisions on operational and implementation matters within their remit and provide better advice and policy guidance to the Ministry
Studies have so far been commissioned into: policy coherence and harmonisation; resource conflicts and benefit sharing; legality of timber; policy aspects of wood waste management; government responsiveness to civil society; and wood waste utilisation. Important outputs of the Facility are improved transparency and consultation in policy-making, resulting not only from new analyses, but also from wider dissemination, better packaging and improved accessibility of existing information.
Ghana
Civil Society Support Facility
FRR is managing the Civil Society Support Facility in Ghana, which is a simple, quick-disbursing funding facility that extends small grants for initiatives that strengthen the capacity of civil society groups to participate in the forest policy process. It targets users of forest goods and services. Many of these are unused to the processes that a project such as this requires and to the concept of being supported to challenge the State and other stakeholders. Effective implementation of the project is therefore dependent on strong outreach and support to those the project wishes to empower. It is a model for the non-sectoral civil society Rights and Voice Initiative detailed below.
Ghana
Rights and Voice Initiative
FRR Ltd is part of a Consortium which is delivering the Ghana Rights and Voice Initiative. RAVI is part of DFID Ghana’s Civil Society Strategy and is targeted at enhancing citizen engagement with the state in relation to the respect, protection and fulfilment of civil, political economic, social and cultural rights. The project is working to strengthen the demand-side for policy development by strengthening the capacity of civil society organisations (CSOs) and encouraging their engagement with the state in relation to protection and fulfilment of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. Through strengthened CSOs, the project is reaching out to vulnerable groups who rely on government services for their well-being. RAVI is complementary to the Multi-Donor Budgetary Support Programme in Ghana as it builds demand for government responsiveness, transparency and accountability, creates and enabling environment for citizen involvement with the state, and will inform national policy, legislation and institutional reform processes on rights issues. FRR Ltd are managing the Monitoring and Evaluation Component of RAVI.
Ghana
Voluntary Partnership Agreements
In 2003 the European Commission adopted an Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) to attempt to address the problem of illegal logging and associated trade in illegal timber products which have serious economic, social and environmental impacts in many countries. The FLEGT Action Plan outlines a new approach to tackling illegal logging, linking efforts to strengthen good governance in developing countries with the incentives for good practice offered by the EU internal market. Core aspects of the Action Plan are support for improved governance in wood-producing countries and a licensing scheme to ensure only legal timber enters the EU.
A programme of informal consultations is underway to seek the views of potential partner countries and begin the process of forming voluntary FLEGT partnership agreements between those countries and the EU. FRR is currently assisting DFID to arrange a preliminary consultation process for a Voluntary Partnership Agreement between Ghana and the EU.
Ghana
Support to the Land Administration Project
The objective of the Land Administration Programme (LAP) is to stimulate economic development, reduce poverty and promote social stability by improving security of land tenure, simplifying the process for accessing land and making it fair, transparent and efficient, developing the land market and fostering prudent land management. This project will support the Customary Land Administration component of the LAP. The purpose of this component is to support the development of Customary Land Administrations in Ghana as effective and accountable local structures for administration of land. Particular attention will be paid to strengthening the capacity of CLAs to address the needs of diverse populations within their communities, and recognise the great range of customary tenure systems in different regions of Ghana.
The main objectives of the project are to:
- establish and/or strengthen Customary Land Administration (CLA) institutions in 50 pilot areas, in partnership with government land sector agencies;
- improve the quality and accessibility of land information at CLA level on land use and holdings, land transactions and availability, and associated financial and cadastral records
India
Himachal Pradesh Forest Sector Reform Project
DFID
Supporting the State Government of Himachal Pradesh to:
- Develop a multi-stakeholder forest sector policy and strategy.
- Strengthen government, especially Himachal Pradesh Forest Department (HPFD), and non-government institutions, to enable them to develop and implement the sector strategy, and provide integrated livelihood support mechanisms at the community level, working local Government and community based organisations.
- Develop a cost effective model for empowering and supporting the poorest forest-dependent women and men to strengthen their own livelihoods in ways which will include managing the forest resource in a sustainable manner, and increasing value-added from product collection.
- Disseminate project experience and lessons through workshops, reports, process documentation and learning materials, across both the state and region.
Liberia
Strengthening Forest Production Monitoring Capacity
To design, test and implement proposals to strengthen production monitoring and control procedures in Liberia. The project also involves assessing and upgrading skills of the Forest Development Authority staff in production control and monitoring and reporting procedures.
Malawi
Forest Plantations Initiative, Malawi
DFID
Supporting the Government of Malawi to increase the role of private sector expertise and investment in its pine plantations. The exercise will balance the need to:
- Realise an appropriate financial return for the Government of Malawi;
- Ensure continuing good forest management; and
- Consider the livelihoods of communities neighbouring the plantations.
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