Support to the sustainable management of the forest resources

This new support is the logical follow-up to the actions of the 2nd Indicative Cooperation Programme in the management of natural resources, particularly forestry. With the contribution to the Forest Sector Support Programme (FSSP), the Ministry for Environment, Green Economy and Climate Change (MEGECC) has been able to mainly develop tools for planning, steering and monitoring its action and now has its sectoral policy document, a three-year action plan and a programme budget by objectives.

Building on the achievements of the FSSP and the second forest inventory, the new support will enable a better knowledge, preservation and sustainable management of timber and non-timber forest resources by and for the benefit of the populations. It will complement MEGECC's efforts in the implementation of its sectoral policy and in particular its budget programmes 1 “sustainable management of forest and wildlife resources”, 3 “local governance and sustainable development”, 4 “green economy and climate change”, as well as its “steering and support” programme.

The programme, implemented under national execution, will be able to rely in particular on the good production capacities that MEGECC has been able to develop under the FSSP. On the other hand, it is envisaged that there will be more substantial support in some of the MEGECC's regional directorates for the extension and better management of the forest development projects that supply the big urban centres with wood energy. The programme will also support the transfer of competences to local authorities and will enable the defence and management of their conservation areas. Actions to protect and sustainably manage the resource will be complemented by reforestation actions. Finally, support is also provided for the non-timber forest products sector and, in particular, for the many associations that derive significant income from it.

In addition to these field actions, the programme will continue to support the strengthening of MEGECC's capacities in terms of coordination, steering and implementation of its policy. Following the continuation of the support to the forest information system and the exploitation of the 2nd forest inventory, the programme will finally provide specific support to the functioning of the MEGECC's monitoring and evaluation system.