Environment and Infrastructure Division
Topicsheet
Environmental communication
Context
Whatever the environmental problem
is, communication will always be at
least part of the solution. Breaking
down complex information about the
environment and its implications for
other sectors into easy-to-under-
stand elements and putting those on
the agenda is a prerequisite for
change and consensus building
geared towards sustainable develop-
ment in any society. A multitude of
international agreements and major
reports have emphasised the critical
role of communication and educa-
tion as a basic tool societies need to
confront the challenges of the future.
Prominent references can be found
in the Brundtland Report, the Agenda
21 and in many UNESCO, UNEP,
OECD-DAC and CSD reports.
commissioned by:
Section: Environment and management of natural resources
General Topic: Environmental policy and institutional development
Approach
What is environmental communication (EnvCom)?
GTZ defines EnvCom as the planned and strategic use of communication
processes and media products to support effective policymaking, public
participation and project implementation geared towards environmental sus-
tainability. It comprises instruments which are well established in non-formal
and formal environmental education, development communication, social
marketing, agricultural extension, mediation and conflict management and
other fields.
EnvCom is much more than disseminating information to people. EnvCom is not
“one-way”. It is participatory and “two-way”. Like the chain on a bicycle EnvCom
is the missing link between an environmental goal and the necessary socio-
political processes of policymaking and public participation. It is applied to sup-
port an environmental goal of a project and to integrate environmental aspects
into political strategy processes. EnvCom can be an instrument on its own, like
communication campaigns and education activities. But it works best in
combination with other measures like economic incentives, laws and regula-
tions. A systematic and goal-oriented communication strategy that takes into
account people’s perceptions can determine the success of a project.
Successful environmental communication planners need to know exactly:
Why you want to communicate: what is the real problem, what is the solution
you want to achieve? With whom you want to communicate: who are the
people at the heart of the problem? What is their knowledge, attitude and
behaviour? What you want to communicate: what is the message? How and
when can you get your message to the people you want to reach?
Activities and services
GTZ supports partner institutions in
EnvCom in more than 30 bilateral de-
velopment programmes and projects.
We cooperate with other implement-
ing agencies of German development
cooperation and international and na-
tional environmental and nature pro-
tection agencies, and build strategic
partnerships with the IUCN Commis-
sion for Education and Communica-
tion (CEC), the OECD Development
Assistance Committee (DAC) and the
World Bank Development Communi-
cation Division.
Thematic focus
< Communication strategies in dia-
logue processes for sustainable de-
velopment: we help partners to
employ EnvCom to render more ef-
fective policymaking and public
participation in Vietnam (Agenda
21), Peru (national strategy for sus-
tainable development) and Tunisia
(regional environmental plans).
< Environmental communication and
education in protected areas: we
integrate EnvCom into co-manage-
Imprint
For further information:
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische
Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH
Pilot Project Rioplus
Tulpenfeld 2
D- 53113 Bonn
Phone: +49 228 -98 533 -0
Fax: +49 228 -98 570 18
rioplus@gtz.de
www2.gtz.de/rioplus/index.html
ment approaches and apply Env-
Com in protected areas in Brazil,
Benin, Vietnam, Panama and in
other countries.
< Environmental communication and
education in supra-regional projects
is applied by GTZ and our partners
e.g. in the South American Chaco
and the Amazon basin.
< Environmental education, exhibi-
tions, PR events: GTZ shares its
experience with pupils at German
schools. And we organise environ-
mental information events and ex-
hibitions in cooperation with envi-
ronmental journals like GEO, with
UNESCO, IUCN and others.
< Environmental communication
training and capacity development:
we strengthen the abilities of peo-
ple, organisations and institutions
to integrate EnvCom effectively into
their strategies. We offer EnvCom,
negotiation and stakeholder dia-
logue training and workshops in
Germany and partner countries.
Published by:
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische
Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH
Department Environment and
Management of Natural Resources
PO Box 5180, 65726 Eschborn, Germany
Phone: +49 6196 79-1320
Fax: +49 6196 79-7123
umwelt-infrastruktur@gtz.de
www.gtz.de/umweltmanagement
Impacts
Environmental communication as a
driving force of environmental learn-
ing and decision-making processes
impacts on many levels.
Through EnvCom activities in GTZ
projects and programmes we help
individuals and organisations to gain
awareness of the environment and its
importance for other sectors but also
for poverty reduction and sustainable
development. In the EnvCom process
they acquire and exchange the knowl-
edge, values and skills to solve
present problems and prevent future
ones.
Worldwide, we help to build capaci-
ties, empower stakeholders and cre-
ate consensus for future-oriented and
environmentally sound decisions.
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Status: 12/2005

Governance of natural resources and the environment
Context
Environmental degradation and over-
exploitation of natural resources are
often due to the lack of clearly defined
property rights, open access situa-
tions or insufficient enforcement of
existing rules. These underlying insti-
tutional reasons need to be under-
stood before they can be changed.
To help bring about change towards
sustainability the governance of en-
vironmental and natural resources
management needs to be addressed.
Governance for us includes all the
rules and mechanisms of enforce-
ment that guide and coordinate peop-
commissioned by:
Topicsheet
Section: Environment and management of natural resources
General Topic: Environmental policy and institutional development
le’s behaviour. Governance is there-
fore not only what governments do.
Approach
On the basis of a thorough under-
standing of existing governance
structures GTZ provides policy advi-
sory services in the framework of
technical cooperation. Its purpose is
to support political reform. Technical
cooperation offers its advisory serv-
ices within this context, thus contrib-
uting to shaping frameworks for good
governance and social development.
Environment and Infrastructure Division
With the heavy reliance of developing
countries on their natural resources,
governance as the rules and mecha-
nisms that guide their use are of criti-
cal importance for achieving “good
governance” in a broader sense. Guid-
ing principles of German technical
co-operation are:
< respect for human rights
< the rule of law and legal certainty
< popular participation in the political
process
< creating a market-friendly, socially
oriented economic system
< the development orientation of state
action.
Services
The governance of natural resources
management and the environment is
a core of GTZ projects and pro-
grammes. Understanding the incen-
tives that drive people’s behaviour is
critical to achieving sustainability in a
variety of fields, including:
< decentralisation of environmental
and natural resources manage-
ment
< watershed management and
policies
< sustainable fisheries
< developing financing mechanisms
for environmental services
< global public goods and criteria for
successful implementation of inter-
national environmental regimes
Imprint
For further information & Published by:
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische
Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH
Department Environment and
Management of Natural Resources
PO Box 5180, 65726 Eschborn, Germany
Phone: +49 6196 79-1320
Fax: +49 6196 79-7123
umwelt-infrastruktur@gtz.de
www.gtz.de/umweltmanagement
< irrigation and domestic water
policies
< management of protected areas
< forest policy and management
< extractive industries.
GTZ offers services in natural re-
sources and environmental govern-
ance by supporting:
< policy analysis: Establish existing
governance situation and incentive
structure, help prioritise environ-
mental/resource management is-
sues.
< policy design: Define policy options
through dialogues with stakehold-
ers and support practical adapta-
tion and implementation.
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Status: 12/2005
< organisational development: As-
sist in setting up effective and effi-
cient environmental governance
structures facilitating compliance.
< capacity development: Foster
analytical, negotiation and commu-
nication skills of stakeholders; es-
tablish knowledge management
systems.
< impact monitoring: Support defin-
ing clear objectives and operational
indicators aiming at a monitoring
system that is reliable, meaningful
and efficient.
 Environment and Infrastructure Division

Topicsheet

OVERVIEW

Section: Environment and management of natural resources

Towards sustainable development

and poverty reduction
Ecological syndromes
call for action

“Spaceship Earth” suffers from eco- pollution far exceeds international

logical “syndromes” highly dangerous
to sustainable development and pov-
erty reduction. Examples are:
< deforestation, water scarcity, water
pollution, growing urbanisation and
air pollution and a strong and un-
sustainable link between economic
growth and increasing consump-
tion of natural resources and
< global climate change, loss of bio-
diversity, growing desertification.
Worldwide, these ecological devel-
opments have large-scale impacts on
people and development. 1.8 billion
people depend on forest resources
for their survival. In hilly areas, typical
Indian villagers cover 70% of their
needs from local natural resources.
Desertification confronts 1.2 billion
people in 110 countries, with two
thirds of the world’s agricultural areas
already affected. In many cities air
standards, causing respiratory dis-
eases. Natural disasters are occurring
more often and causing greater dam-
age, a symptom of accelerating cli-
mate degradation.
Environmental policy &
management of natural
resources: our experience
GTZ is involved in environment-relat-
ed projects in 39 countries. In 26 of
them, environment has high priority in
our programmes (12 in Latin America,
5 in Asia, 5 in sub-Saharan Africa and
4 in the Mediterranean). The following
key areas constitute the core of our
expertise:
< Environmental policy and institu-
tional development: reform and
decentralisation, strategies for sus-
tainable development, eco-finance
governance of natural resources,
communication and dispute resolu-
tion, environmental assessment and
regulation.
< Sustainable management of natu-
ral resources: management of for-
est resources, national forest pro-
grammes, protected areas, water-
shed management, forest certifica-
tion, payments for environmental
services.
< Implementation of international
environmental agreements: re-
duction of greenhouse gas emis-
sions and climate change adapta-

commissioned by:

tion, conservation of biological
diversity and biosafety, combating
desertification, international forest
policy, substitution of ozone-deplet-
ing substances, chemical safety.
< Urban-industrial environmental
management: municipal environ-
mental management, solid waste,
surveillance, waste water, clean
air, eco-efficiency in the business
sector.
< Regional, cross-border coopera-
tion: bio-corridors, tropical forests
in the Amazonian and Congo Ba-
sins and within ASEAN, interna-
tional watersheds in the Nile and
Mekong Basins, biological safety in
the African Union, combating de-
sertification in the Sahel and in
Central Asia.
More than 160 GTZ experts spe-
cialise in these areas and support
partners in more than 200 projects.
Mission and approach
The overall goal of our programmes is
sustainable development and poverty
reduction by reversing environmental
degradation trends. We know that
Imprint
For further information & published by:
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische
Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH
Department Environmental and
Management of Natural Resources
PO Box 5180, 65726 Eschborn, Germany
Phone: +49 6196 79-1320
Fax: +49 6196 79-7123
umwelt-infrastruktur@gtz.de
www.gtz.de/umweltmanagement
eco-systems and natural resources
are key to survival and development.
Our approaches aim to identify the
multiplicity of causes of degradation
and to introduce sustainable patterns
of resource use. We also aim to re-
duce the economic, social and eco-
logical consequences of degradation.
In our view, environmental policy is
both, a self-standing policy arena and
a task that needs to integrate all sec-
tors and decision-making processes.
Environmental policy outcomes need
to be economically viable, socially ac-
ceptable and geared towards devel-
opment and empowerment. At the
same time, sectoral policies need to
be ecologically sustainable.
Environmental policy needs to be
institutionalised with high visibility to
ensure that environmental problems,
resource degradation and risks are
recognised and brought to the politi-
cal agenda. At the same time, envi-
ronmental policy needs to involve
many other sectors, based on part-
nership and cooperation, because
environmental concerns need to be
integrated across sectors in order to
ensure implementation, prevention
and risk management.
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Photos: © GTZ
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Status: 12/2005
Our services:
Environmental
capacity development
Capacity development and strength-
ening people, organisations and
country systems is our business. As
advisors, we focus on 4 “disciplines”
of capacity development:
< Policy design concerning the
content and substance of environ-
mental strategies, programmes and
actions.
< Institutional development con-
cerning polity, regulatory frame-
work, administration, governance
and participation at different levels.
< Organisational development con-
cerning competencies of organisa-
tions, change management, coop-
eration and management.
< Process design concerning meth-
odologies and tools for participa-
tion, planning, strategy develop-
ment, negotiation, conflict manage-
ment, communication and decision
making over the policy cycle.
The following Topicsheets provide
more detailed information & examples.

Environmental policy and institutional development
Context
Policy and institutions matter in the
environment. Wrong environmental
policies and failing institutions ob-
struct development and lead to pol-
lution and the destruction of natural
resources. The current trends in en-
vironment and risks to the natural
resource base are a national and re-
gional threat, especially in develop-
ing countries. And yet again it is
mainly the poor who bear the brunt
of urban degradation and pollution,
health risks, rural and agricultural
vulnerability and water scarcity. But
even where environmental policies
are working well, economic growth
and soaring population growth often
cancel them out. In many countries
the natural resource base – on which
life depends – will be jeopardised for
future generations if current trends
continue.
commissioned by:
Environment and Infrastructure Division
Topicsheet
GENERAL TOPIC
Section: Environment and management of natural resources
Approach and
methodologies
GTZ strategy aims to ensure that the In pursuit of these goals, GTZ works
national policies and institutions ef- at all levels of society in partner coun-
fectively target environmental protec- tries and at regional and international
tion and sustainable management of levels. The challenge – regardless of
natural resources and contribute to fluctuations in the policy environment
sustainable development. – is to operate as a trailblazer and a
think tank, to strengthen environmen-
Environmental policy needs institu- tal policy capacities and to improve
tional reforms to succeed. They the action framework for the key play-
should be based on a set of princi- ers in environmental policy.
ples. Environmental policy needs to
facilitate a move…
< from governmental responsibility to
societal ownership
< from top-down decisions to co-op-
eration, negotiation and solution of
conflicts
< from a sectoral focus to a broad
ecological integration
< from a passive to a pro-active
search for consensus in environ-
mental protection.
Services

To develop capacities for effective
environmental protection policies,
GTZ offers services in key fields com-
bining consulting expertise with train-
ing and capacity development. These
include:
Strengthening environment institu-
tions. We strengthen capacities of
national environmental authorities and
organisations in setting clear policies
and developing realistic and effective
implementation strategies. Focus in
various countries is currently to de-
centralise environmental policy to the
regional and municipal levels. Infor-
mation, communication and environ-
mental public awareness are key
instruments in this.
Environmental planning. We consult
in developing adequate Environmen-
tal Impact Assessment (EIA) systems
and procedures and in upgrading
units responsible for the evaluation of
environmental assessment reports in
ministries. On a national policy level
Strategic Environmental Assessment
(SEA) is currently becoming an import-
ant instrument for our clients.
quality. We also assist in developing
overarching fiscal incentives for
environmental protection (Economic
Fiscal Reform) and integrating market
based approaches in environmental
policy.
Strategic planning and mainstream-
ing in environment. We accompany
strategy development processes over
time, be it in a ministry of environment
or between sector ministries develop-
ing integrated multi-sectoral actions
plans and programmes for environ-
ment. Here GTZ uses innovative strat-
egy planning instruments like Think-
Tools® and action-learning approach-
es to enhance teambuilding and co-
operation capacities.

Incentives for environmental pro-

tection. We advise in developing en-
vironmental legislation, norms and
standards for the major sectors like
solid waste, water resources, air

Imprint
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Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH Photos: © GTZ, Markus Nuding
Department Environment and Printed on 100% recycled paper
Management of Natural Resources
PO Box 5180, 65726 Eschborn, Germany
Phone: +49 6196 79-1320
Fax: +49 6196 79-7123
umwelt-infrastruktur@gtz.de
www.gtz.de/umweltmanagement Status: 12/2005

Forest certification
Context
The aim of forest certification is to
conserve forests and make their re-
sources accessible for human use.
Year after year, 12 to 15 million hec-
tares of forest disappear, an area
about three times the size of Switzer-
land. The destruction of tropical rain-
forests threatens the people who live
in them, biodiversity and the global
climate. The quest for quick profits by
timber firms and agricultural investors
drives deforestation, but there is an-
other way of doing things.
Each forest can be managed sus-
tainably to keep it functioning and al-
low profits to be made from its prod-
ucts at the same time. For this kind of
commissioned by:
Topicsheet
Programme office for social and ecological standards
General Topic: Sustainable management of natural resources
sustainable forestry, rules must be
followed to ensure that account is
taken of all stakeholders’ interests and
that no harm comes to the forest.
Forest certification is a process in
which timber merchants, environmen-
talists, inhabitants, etc. all agree on
the exact conditions for forest use. A
forestry enterprise operating to these
rules is awarded a certificate that
guarantees to its customers that sus-
tainable production methods were
followed. By raising demand, con-
sumers who choose these products
increase the incentive for responsible
forest use.
Since certification began in 1994
more than 200 million hectares of for-
est have been certified worldwide.
Many communities in developing
countries have had their forests certi-
fied, giving them access to new mar-
kets and safeguarding their resources
against logging companies.
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Activities
The GTZ supports the process of forest
certification internationally in selected
developing countries. We believe forest
certification to be a development-poli-
cy tool that enables the vision of sus-
tainable development to be put into
practice in the forestry sector.
The participatory development of
standards for sustainable forest man-
agement is central to our work. We
cooperate with the responsible insti-
tutions and other key players to en-
sure that the standards are imple-
mented at the forest enterprise level.
We document our experiences with
certification processes and dissemi-
nate the information.

Priority issues include:
< Setting up certification schemes
< certification and community forestry
< certification as an example of the
implementation of sustainable de-
velopment
< cooperation between various certi-
fication initiatives
< wider impacts of certification.
The Forest Certification Programme
supports those involved in certifica-
tion processes and helps them work
together. To this end we publish infor-
mation via the Internet and newslet-
ters, organise training and seminars
and contribute to the financing of re-
search work.
Impacts
Forest certification works because it
is an instrument where value added
mechanisms can take effect - efforts
in sustainable forestry yield a direct
payout to stakeholders. Certified for-
estry enterprises can market their
products better. Frequently, increased
efficiency already recoups certifica-
tion costs. Recent developments
show that certified enterprises find it
easier to obtain loans from banks, or
Imprint
For further information:
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische
Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH
Programme Office for Social and
Ecological Standards
PO Box 5180, 65726 Eschborn, Germany
Phone: +49 6196 79-4400
Fax: +49 6196 79-6132
forest_certification@gtz.de
http://www.gtz.de/forest_certification
more favourable terms from insur-
ance companies, because their bal-
ance sheets and professional plans
attest to their reliability. Finally, certifi-
cation helps the whole industry to
improve its image, and awarding a
sustainability certificate can be cru-
cial for social acceptance of forest
use in the first place.
Certification has a spread effect.
The impacts of forest certification take
effect at two levels. The changes are
felt directly in the forestry enterprises.
Functional impacts:
< A management plan and appropri-
ate harvesting methods raise the
enterprise‘s efficiency and turnover.
< The workers are equipped with
safety clothing and earn the statu-
tory minimum wage.
< The local population is involved in
decisions on its environment and
takes part in protective measures.
< The quality of the environment is
improved by prudent logging and
protected zones for rare flora and
fauna.
The anticipated impacts go far be-
yond this and have repercussions for
development policy in particular.
Published by:
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische
Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH
Environment and Infrastructure Division
PO Box 5180
65726 Eschborn
Germany
Phone: +49 6196 79-1320
Fax: +49 6196 79-7123
umwelt-infrastruktur@gtz.de
www.gtz.de/umweltmanagement
Chart below: Multiple impacts in all three
dimensions of sustainable development
Structural impacts:
< Setting up national certification
working groups that have to include
all stakeholders compels these to
enter into a dialogue on using the
forest as a resource and on the
concerns of the people who de-
pend on it for their livelihood.
< Stakeholders who wield different
degrees of influence meet on equal
terms.
< Weaker ones are given the chance
of political participation in an area
to which they had no prior access
due to crime and corruption.
< This makes for transparency in the
sector and strengthens institutions
committed to a policy of sustaina-
ble forestry.
< People who have seen that their
opinion counts in the certification
process are more prepared to stand
up for their interests on other issues
as well.
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Forests for people
Context
More than two billion people world-
wide depend on forests for food, land
to settle on, medicines, other domes-
tic needs and income. Forests regu-
late water cycles, store CO2, filter air
and provide settings for experiencing
nature. About 70% of all animal and
plant species inhabit forests, which
makes them extremely important bio-
diversity conservancies.
Every year 15 million hectares of
forest are destroyed for firewood,
slash-and-burn agriculture or mining.
Burning forests causes 20% of global
CO2 emissions – including all industry
and transport emissions!
Especially people in poor countries
use forest products mainly for sub-
sistence, but inefficiently and non-
sustainably. Officially they often have
access only to waste wood. The most
important timber products are exclu-
sively used by government institu-
tions (forestry ministries or national
commissioned by:
Environment and Infrastructure Division
Topicsheet
Section: Environment and management of natural resources
General Topic: Sustainable management of natural resources
forest administrations) through award- gramme (NFP), which has to be
ing concessions. Inadequate controls conceived and established by all
and legal insecurity impede compli- relevant stakeholders in a participa-
ance with sustainability criteria and tory process. NFPs contribute not
fair distribution of benefits. only to a sustainable forest man-
agement but also to a political de-
velopment towards decentralisa-
Approaches tion, security of rights and justice
and democracy. Objective indica-
Development cooperation focuses on tors for a socially and ecologically
improving possibilities for sustainable sound forest management and
use of forests and fair distribution of transparent marketing of forest
profits and user rights. Thus, develop- products are established by forest
ment needs conservation and regen- certification.
eration of forests and the stabilisation
of their ecological, economic and so-
cial services. GTZ uses the following
approaches to improve the benefits of
forests for people:
< Forest policy development con-
tributing to comprehensive, trans-
parent and socially adequate for-
estry regulations and programmes.
A central instrument of forest devel-
opment is the National Forest Pro-

< Capacity development in mediation
and conflict resolution between for-
est owners and users of forest
products as well as in land use con-
flicts. Forest services are tradition-
ally considered as free of charge – a
situation that contributes largely to
forest destruction.
< Training and capacity building in the
areas of forest and enterprise man-
agement, institutional set-up of
service-oriented structures and
partnerships. Training and advisory
services in natural forest manage-
ment, agroforestry techniques,
wood processing and marketing of
forest products.
Impacts
Through our projects we achieve posi-
tive impacts in various areas: Improved
policy framework, increasing partici-
pation and empowerment of local
communities and other relevant stake-
holders, reduced injustice and corrup-
tion in natural resource management
and more sustainable use and better
conservation of forest ecosystems. We
interlink systematically international
agreements and conventions, national
forest programmes, cross-sector ap-
proaches and technical management
of forests. By that we contribute to
the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs), especially to poverty reduc-
tion and conservation of natural re-
sources.
With increasingly sustainable forms
of forest management, prices for tim-
ber products will generate higher in-
comes for producers. The forest bene-
fit will be completed by payments for
environmental services as well as by
conserving biodiversity and the cul-
tural value of forests. In the long run
this perspective is assumed to create
further economic incentives. In the
short term it is important to establish
incentives by involving local people
and other stakeholders of the civil
society in decision making processes
to achieve fair distribution of benefits,
more efficient uses of forest products
and better marketing opportunities.
This will help forests to successfully
compete with other land use forms.

Project cases
< Communal wildlife management: www.gtz.de/de/weltweit/afrika/tansania/9595.htm
< Tropical forest research: www.gtz.de/toeb
< Communal forest management: www.wvs.ch/m/mandanten/159/download/05_5_madagaskar.qxd.pdf
< International forest policy: www.gtz.de/forest-policy
< Community forest management / income generation: www.chilebosquenativo.cl/
< Forest certification: www.gtz.de/de/themen/laendliche-entwicklung/natuerliche-ressourcen/5258.htm
< Ecotourism in forest regions: www.baletrek.com/about/about.htm
< Integrated forest fire management: www.ifmeg.com/experiences.html
< Information and knowledge management systems: www.gtz.de/dokumente/bib/05-0440.pdf
< Forestry in regional rural development: www.gov.east-timor.org/MAFF/ta200/TA231%20sr274.pdf

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Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH Photos: © GTZ
Department Environment and Printed on 100% recycled paper
Management of Natural Resources
PO Box 5180, 65726 Eschborn, Germany
Phone: +49 6196 79-1320
Fax: +49 6196 79-7123
umwelt-infrastruktur@gtz.de
www.gtz.de/umweltmanagement Status: 12/2005
 Environment and Infrastructure Division

Topicsheet

Section: Environment and management of natural resources

General Topic:
International environmental agreements and conventions

Forest policy

Context

Since the Rio Summit in 1992 global
regimes and international conven-
tions have become increasingly im-
portant. Donors and partner countries
are more and more orienting their
policies towards this global frame-
work. Particularly issues concerning
the environment and the use of natu-
ral resources have strong regional or
even global relevance: climate change,
biodiversity loss and the depletion of
forests affect the whole planet; illegal
logging can foster organised crime
and threatens the business of legally
operating companies, etc.
Sustainable forest management is
more than protecting the environ-
ment. It can contribute significantly to
reducing poverty and developing a
country. But sustainable development
often clashes with vested short-term
interests. Usually only few people
benefit from unsustainable resource
“mining”, while many weak and unor-
ganised stakeholder groups lose.
Development cooperation can help
by enhancing the political significance
of forests in policy shaping through
the support of government, civil soci-
ety and private stakeholders in their
efforts to protect forests and manage
them sustainably.
Major challenges lie in capacity
development oriented towards good
governance and institutional capacity,
forest valuation and financing mecha-
nisms, fostering intersectoral rela-
tions, supporting promising regional
and supraregional approaches and
shaping international forest policy to
enhance national implementation.
Thematic approaches,
methodologies
and instruments
GTZ supports more than 20 forest
policy oriented projects worldwide. We
are member of several international
expert groups, the NFP-Facility and
Programme for Forests (PROFOR).
We cooperate closely with other Ger-
man implementing agencies, like KfW,
DED, CIM and InWent, as well as
other donors, e.g. the Netherlands.
< National Forest Programmes
(NFPs): we support the develop-
ment and implementation of multi-
stakeholder processes, e.g. in
Cameroon, Vietnam, Nicaragua,
Honduras and Brazil. We link local
experiences with the national policy
dialogue and develop financing
strategies as elements of NFPs.

commissioned by:
< Regional cooperation in forest
policy: we support regional coop-
eration processes to
- exchange experiences and shape
international policies (e.g. the “Pu-
embo II” initiative in Latin America)
- harmonise policies and legal
frameworks, e.g. ACTO (Amazon
Cooperation Treaty Organization),
ASEAN (Association of Southeast
Asian Nations) and COMIFAC
(Central African Ministerial Con-
ference).
< International forest policies: we
support partners in national and re-
gional positioning vis-à-vis the Inter-
national Arrangement on Forests.
< Combating illegal logging through
FLEGT processes (Forest Law En-
forcement, Governance and Trade)
in countries (e.g. Cameroon) and
regions (e.g. Central Africa).
< Co-operation with the private
sector: we support partners in es-
tablishing public-private partner-
ships, e.g. through the develop-
ment of a code of “good business
practice” (Colombia), certification
schemes (Central Africa) and bene-
fit-sharing mechanisms.
< Forest management and income
generation from sustainable for-
estry: together with our partners
we identify income generation po-
tentials from forests for individuals,
Imprint
For further information:
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische
Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH
International Forest Policy Project/IWP
PO Box 5180
65726 Eschborn, Germany
Phone: +49 6196 79-1370
Fax: +49 6196 79-7333
Evy.Pfeil@gtz.de
www.gtz.de/forest-policy
communities and public adminis-
tration (e.g. in the Philippines and
Vietnam) and support them in their
efforts to sustainably manage natu-
ral forests.
< Development planning: we sup-
port the integration of forestry
issues in communal and sub-
national development planning
processes (e.g. in Colombia and
Madagascar).
Impacts
Higher political awareness: Partners
push forward forest-related topics on
the political agenda and ensure that
they get integrated into local, national
and regional development strategies.
Some of the severest problems, like il-
legal logging, are increasingly dealt with
at regional and international levels.
Increased coherence between
sector policies: Partner organisations
increasingly integrate the sometimes
diverging interests from other sectors
into the shaping of forest policies and
strategies and improve the coherence
with other sector policies and vice
versa.
Increased policy coherence at re-
gional level: Our support of regional
Published by:
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische
Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH
Environment and Infrastructure Division
PO Box 5180
65726 Eschborn, Germany
Phone: +49 6196 79-1320
Fax: +49 6196 79-7123
umwelt-infrastruktur@gtz.de
www.gtz.de/umweltmanagement
organisations facilitates the integra-
tion of member countries’ environ-
mental policies, e.g. Amazon and
Southeast Asia, and political solu-
tions for conflicts, e.g. in the Congo
Basin.
Increased participation in inter-
national policy processes: Partners
more successfully position them-
selves and actively negotiate forest-
related policies at international level.
Empowerment of civil society:
Civil society and private sector in-
creasingly participate in political deci-
sion-making. Outcomes often serve
as important inputs for regional and
international policy dialogue.
Higher income, lesser vulnerabil-
ity: Local populations identify and
develop sustainable sources of re-
venue from sustainable forestry.
1
Multistakeholder Dialogue
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