This study is part of a project on “Strengthening management and use of forest ecosystems for sustainable development in Africa”, which is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and implemented by the African Forest Forum (AFF). The overall goal of the project is “to generate and share knowledge and information through partnerships in ways that provide inputs into policy and decision-making options and capacity building, for improved forest management that better addresses poverty eradication and environmental protection in Africa”. One of the key project objectives is to identify and promote opportunities for protecting and sustainably managing the forest resource base of the continent as well as the supply of its ecosystem’ goods and services. The consultancy assignment of which this report is part of is titled: “Assessment of forest planning and management in different forest types in selected African countries”. The purpose of the study is to evaluate ways for improving forest planning and forest management in selected countries in Anglophone and Lusophone Africa with the aim to enhance the supply of forest ecosystem goods and services. This particular report covers only some select countries from Anglophone and Lusophone Africa. The specific objectives of the study are: On forest planning: a) Evaluate the planning processes found in forest types in the selected countries and; b) Evaluate the adequacy of the plans in terms of accuracy/reliability and adequacy of information used, tools /techniques/models used for planning and for moving the forest to a desired future structure, adequacy of knowledge and skills for their development, sensitivity to gender considerations, inclusiveness of related sectors, constraints in planning and ways to contain them. On forest management: c) Evaluate institutions implementing forest management; d) Assess human, financial and physical resources available for forest management; (e) Assess the extent of compliance to plans by implementing institutions, constraints experienced and how to overcome them and; f) Evaluate the state of management of the forest types in the selected African countries. A total of 28 Anglophone and Lusophone countries were covered in this study. Field work was conducted in selected forests in Angola, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The methodology involved two aspects: (1) literature review to source secondary information and data; (2) field work. Both aspects were guided by a checklist of guiding questions that were derived to cover the details necessary to fulfil the objectives of the study. Data and information from literature review and field work was summarized into tables and charts.

The vulnerability of rural households to climate change in Africa is caused by exposure to climate variability and extreme weather events and by a combination of social, economic and environmental factors that interact with climate change. There is growing evidence that climate change is affecting forests resources in Africa. The effect on the forest resource is mainly as a result of vulnerable communities adapting to climate change through the use and in some cases over use of the forestry goods and services. Since the Kyoto Protocol and several COP Agreements, the role of forestry and trees in a landscape in general in addressing climate change through mitigation and adaptation has gathered pace. This was initially through the promotion of conservation of forests and woodlands as a means of reducing emissions especially carbon dioxide. However, there is increasing understanding that there is an intrinsic link between people and the forest landscape as forests go beyond safety net in addressing the livelihoods of communities in proximity as well as ecosystem services including climate change. The appreciation of forest-based interventions to address climate change adaptation and mitigation has gained attraction; and has been identified by the IPCC including trees in a multifunctional landscape. As a result, a number of donor funded development programme and projects were initiated in Africa response of climate change.

Contemporary development trajectories over the years have continued to advance human well-being through phenomenal growth and wealth, never witnessed before in human history. With these advances have emerged environmental impacts that continuously threaten the planet earth. Forests have suffered the most in the course of human development through deforestation for raw material, shelter, infrastructure and food to feed the ever-increasing human population. From all indications, the planet is gradually moving toward exceeding its boundaries. Several initiatives have emerged to address the challenges that have emanated from the global development trajectories. For example, the last two decades have witnessed such initiatives as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and several international forestry and climate processes. Agreements on the post 2015-development agenda, also known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been adopted. In all of these, the concept of green economy continues to feature as an approach that can result in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. The forest sector remains crucial to the attainment of the objectives of green economy. This study investigates the forest sector potential for green economy growth, as well as some aspects of Land Use Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) in Anglophone West African countries of Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone using a combination of desk work and field studies. Observed drivers of LULUCF in the study area include population growth, agriculture, infrastructure development, uncontrolled and illegal logging. The study also identified some key elements within the forestry sector that contribute to green economy and LULUCF that leave minimal negative impacts on the ecological and social systems, as well as pathways that can enhance green economic growth. They include intensification of crop and livestock agriculture, adoption and strengthening of agroforestry practices, improvements in energy efficiency, improving efficiency in wood harvesting and processing, sustainable harvesting of other forest products, domestication of the supply of non-wood forest products, diversification of livelihood options, reforestation and afforestation initiatives and activities, as well as improved regulation of allocation of land for settlements and infrastructure. Innovative approaches proffered to manage forests for contribution to green economy include: adoption and strengthening of community based forest management, advancing the practice of agroforestry, promotion of sustainable biotrade, promotion of carbon offset markets, adoption of payment for forest environmental services, as well as promotion of forest-based tourism, landscaping and beautification, in addition to adoption of reduced impact logging, and forest certification. Recommendations are made for improving institutional and regulatory frameworks to facilitate forestry sector contribution to green growth. The key elements of these are improving forest governance and policy re-orientation, reviewing of extant forest laws, adoption of new forestry technologies and training, proper staffing of forestry institutions and agencies, building networks and collaborations with stakeholders, and cross-sectoral engagement. There is also the need to ensure forestry input into national planning. Practicing sustainable forest management in order to secure the full range of forests’ economic, social and environmental contributions is germane to success.

The sustainable business model (SBM) concept requires enterprises to integrate sustainability aspects in their planning and operations. Although 60% of the global working population make their living in the informal sector mostly in low-and middle income countries, the potential for SBMs has rarely been analyzed for this category. This study explores the SBMs of informal charcoal-producing enterprises in coastal Kenya. It describes key business-model components: value proposition, value creation and delivery, and economic value capture. Impact and dependency on sustainability-related indicators were also studied. Data were obtained through individual interviews, focus-group discussions, and workshops for charcoal producers and other relevant stakeholders. Findings demonstrated that charcoal enterprises, despite their informal status, adopt elaborate business models. The incomes positively affect several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by reducing, if not eradicating, poverty and supporting basic livelihood needs. Examples of negative impacts on some SDG include the activity’s contribution to forest degradation. Feedback impacts, where SDG status influence the informal enterprises’ opportunities were also identified. The SBM model contributes to the development of a balanced sustainability transition of the charcoal sector. We suggest further analyses of the role of informal enterprises in the bioenergy sector for sustainable development and how their SBMs could be improved.

Forest resources are of prime importance to the people and economy of Uganda owing to the range of ecological, economic, social and cultural products and services they provide for a multitude of stakeholders. However, forests in the country have declined from 4.9 million hectares in 1990 to an estimated 2.08 million hectares in 2015, although there was a marked increase in the area of planted forests since the early 2000s. Traditionally, forest management in Uganda has been the preserve of government with the private sector predominantly engaged in secondary production and trade in forest products, particularly timber. However, over the past decade, there has been increased participation of the private sector in primary forest production. The national forest policy envisages the private sector to play a central role in managing forests on private land, developing and managing commercial forest plantations, and developing and managing forest products processing industries. This country report is the result of a study conducted in 2015 and 2016 aimed at identifying and promoting public private partnership (PPP) approaches for forest compatible sustainable livelihoods development with the view to strengthen understanding of the key actors in both primary and secondary forestry production in Uganda. The study was conducted through desk review of extant literature, key informant interviews, and field surveys in selected districts across the country. It involved mapping of key actors in primary and secondary forest production and ascertaining information relating to key products and production, employment, policies and regulations, gender issues, marketing and trade, contribution of private forest sector activities, linkages among actors and the scope of public private partnerships in Uganda’s forest sector. Findings of the study indicate that there are multiple actors in the sector with the private sector playing an increasingly dominant role in both primary and secondary forest production as government focuses on creating an enabling environment. A variety of tree species are managed in natural forests but P. caribaea and E. grandis are the major species managed in plantations. The planted forest estate approached 90,000ha with an estimated 7 million cubic metres of growing stock. Secondary forest production involved production of various forest products ranging from fuelwood to non-timber forest products. While the primary production sector exhibited appreciable performance, the secondary sector was curtailed by limited supply of round wood. Vertical and horizontal linkages were generally weak with relationships being more informal than formal but emerging players seemed to be pursuing strategies for vertical integration while a section of players in the primary sector made efforts to integrate horizontally. However collaborative arrangements between the public and private sectors have been successfully implemented with appreciable achievements and there is potential for further collaboration for the benefit of the forestry sector. This will help consolidate the achievements so far made, particularly contributions of the private forestry sector such as advocacy, employment generation, social services and value addition to forest produce.

The global advancement and investments in biofuels production, consumption and trade are widely regarded as offering environmentally-sustainable solutions to reducing harmful greenhouse gases (GHG), poverty reduction, food and energy security, rural development and employment in developing countries. However, biofuels may also lead to food insecurity, environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity habitat, human displacement; land use and land cover change in situations where policy and institutional frameworks are poor. It is against this background that the AFF instituted this study to investigate and understand the biofuels industry in the selected countries of southern Africa namely: Madagascar, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, its interplay within the nexus food-fuel-fibre (3Fs), as influenced by the existing policy and institutional frameworks. Specifically, this study sought to address the following key result areas:

The global advancement and investments in biofuels production, consumption and trade are widely regarded as offering environmentally-sustainable solutions to reducing harmful greenhouse gases (GHG), poverty reduction, food and energy security, rural development and employment in developing countries. However, biofuels may also lead to food insecurity, environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity habitat, human displacement; land use and land cover change in situations where policy and institutional frameworks are poor. It is against this background that the AFF instituted this study to investigate and understand the biofuels industry in the selected countries of southern Africa namely: Madagascar, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, its interplay within the nexus food-fuel-fibre (3Fs), as influenced by the existing policy and institutional frameworks. Specifically, this study sought to address the following key result areas: