30 June 2014, IISD news - In recognition of the important role of indigenous peoples,  local communities and smallholders in forest management, the Food and  Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) released two reports on strengthening  forest producer organizations.

The two publications, produced through the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF)  partnership with the International Institute for Environment and Development  (IIED) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), call for a  better policy environment and targeted capacity building to strengthen local  forest producers.

The first publication, 'Roadmap for Strengthening Forest and Farm Producer  Organizations,' discusses how to improve the well-being of smallholder forest  and farm producers while ensuring sustainability. In particular, the roadmap  seeks to address challenges such as the high cost of entry into markets, policy  bias that favor large producers, and a lack of legal recognition for  smallholders.

The publication presents key recommendations that suggest, inter  alia: increased involvement of producer organizations in forest policy  formulation; the provision of incentives for smallholders; the reform of  policies to create an appropriate enabling environment; and improved access to  financial services.

The second publication, 'Making Change Happen – What can governments do to  strengthen forest producer organizations,' recognizes the importance of forest  communities and small producers in sustaining local livelihoods and development,  noting that such groups own or manage about 30% of the world's forest.

The publication sets out four key conditions for the successful engagement  and participation of forest communities and smallholders, including: secure land  and use tenure; fair market access; availability of support services; and the  establishment of forest producer organizations (FPOs).

Source: http://forests-l.iisd.org/news/fao-fff-partners-build-support-for-local-forest-producers/