Integrated land use planning and policy coordination a perennial challenge Rene Boot Tropenbos International Tropenbos International Tropenbos International (TBI) is a foundation created in 1988, registered in The Netherlands and governed by an international board TBI s mission is to improve tropical forest governance and management for the benefit of people, conservation and sustainable development. TBI s objective is to ensure that knowledge is used for developing better policies and better forest management practices. 1
Tropenbos International Vision Well-managed forests as components of productive landscapes can simultaneously contribute to poverty alleviation, the provision of ecosystem services to the local, national and global community and sustainable economic development. TBI s key themes 1. productive landscapes that deliver multiple goods and services while sustaining critical biodiversity and climate functions; 2. sustainable timber trade for domestic and international markets; 3. local governance and community management of forests as a condition for sustainable local economic activities and forest conservation; and 4. innovative financing mechanisms for sustainable forest management 2
TBI country programmes Integrated land use planning and policy coordination 3
The absence of integrated land use planning and policy integration and their consequences a few examples Indonesia: Governmental agencies use different maps when granting land use permits Suriname: Land use type M ha Conservation areas 2.2 Protection forests 2.7 Mining concessions 5.3 Logging concessions/ plantations 9.7 Oil palm concessions 3.0 Total area granted in permits 22.9 Total area available 19.9 Overlapping areas/ areas in conflict 3.02 Land use planning and inter-sectorial coordination - responsibility of District commissioner but overruled at national level when granting mining, logging and agricultural concessions Some more examples Ghana: New concessions for biofuel production in Northern Ghana have an impact on the country s food production as most of the grains in Ghana are produced in this region. Mining on forestlands - deforestation and pollution of water bodies critical for water security of neighbouring communities. Insufficient inter-sectorial policy coordination leads to confusion about the role of trees in the cocoa landscape. Vietnam: Conversion of agricultural lands to other land uses and encroachment by urbanization has an impact on the country s rice production 4
Some reasons for the absence of integrated land use planning and policy coordination Facilitators Perceived needs and positive attitudes Maintaining identity Maintaining prestige or power Group centred approach to problems Similar resources, goals and needs Common approaches and commitment Inhibitors Vested interests Perceived threats or competition Perceived loss of identity or position Lack of common language Different priorities and goals Poor historical relations Increasing claims on land and global challenges such as food security and climate change have created an urgency more than in the past for integrated approaches to land use planning and policy coordination 5
Initiatives and approaches to integrated land use planning and policy coordination - practical examples a. Government initiatives b. Approaches and tools Initiatives and approaches Government initiatives Suriname REDD+ agenda coordinated by office of the president Ghana cabinet level body responsible for agriculture, natural resources and finance Viet Nam - Conversion rice fields require approval Prime Minister 6
Approaches and Tools Ghana annual review environment and natural resources Indonesia HCV assessment Cameroon social and environmental impact assessments Ghana & Guyana Multi-stakeholder approaches Suriname - Geographic information systems National government: Coordinating laws, regulations and policies Lower level government : using approaches and tools to ensure integrated land use planning balancing multiple interests 7
High Conservation Value Assessment Assessing the social, cultural and environmental values of land (and in landscapes) used for productive activities natural forests, tree plantations and agricultural commodities such as palm oil Values and methodology in guidelines drawn up by the Indonesian HCV Consortium (Revised HCV Toolkit Indonesia) Consortium of revised HCV TOOLKIT INDONESIA 8
High Conservation Values HCV a voluntary activity for the establishment and management of palm oil plantations, tree plantations and natural forests managed for timber. Discussions on incorporating HCV assessments in national legislation are held but ministries have different views and a different sense of urgency High Conservation Values So far this instrument has been applied in a few cases but experience is growing (400.000 ha in all sectors) Consortium established the HCV Indonesian Network including government and private sector that brings together experiences on conducting HCV assessments, and the implementation and impact of recommendations 9
High Conservation Values What more needs to be done to make it an effective instrument Government wide adoption of land use planning instrument in national legislation Local level government takes responsibility for monitoring and evaluation of recommendations Capacity building of government agencies and private sector Research on the efficiency, effectiveness and impact of the instrument Conclusions - Integrative land use planning approaches are a prerequisite for sustainable development - Policy coordination and the governement wide use of spatial information is a must - National government plays key role in coordinating laws, regulations and policies for land and resource use - Lower level government and societal actors adopt approaches and tools for integrated land use balancing multiple interests, including those of local communities 10
Thanks for your attention Acknowledgement: Herman Savenije, Juanita Franco and Petrus Gunarso (Tropenbos International) 11