ForInfo

Improving livelihoods through generation and ownership of forest Information by local people

Throughout the Mekong region, rural communities need clearer and more accurate information in order to access markets for forest products and services and to gain more value for their products. Payments for environmental services, including carbon mitigation, are increasingly available. However, as yet, most forest communities are unable to capture these markets or even to comprehend them.

"ForInfo: Livelihood Improvement Through Generation and Ownership of Forest Information by Local People in Products and Services Markets" trains local people to generate quality information about their forest resources, allowing them to better access markets for their products and services. This process gives them ownership over the information and allows them to play a more active role in improving the benefits they receive.

Ultimately, improving rural people's ability to generate and use information about forest resources can contribute to poverty reduction, the sustainability of forests, global efforts to mitigate climate change, and better abilities of communities to adapt to climate change.

With the help of the governments of Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Thailand, and Vietnam, the ForInfo project aims to:

• Establish best practices for generating information about forest resources
• Test best practices at pilot sites
• Develop mechanisms to share information and data throughout the region
• Assess the role of information management in local people's access to benefits
• Share field-tested methodologies throughout the Mekong region and beyond

Stories from the Field

• Improving Rights and Benefits for Teak Smallholders
• An innovative livelihood project uses teak as collateral in Laos
• Money Can Grow on Trees: Teak assets in Northern Laos
• “The Devil is in the details”: An innovative twist makes bamboo harvesting more profitable

Be sure to check out the ForInfo brochure for more details on the project's efforts to enhance livelihoods through improved market access:

Publications

ForInfo Factsheet: Teak Smallholder Plantations

April 2013

Smallholder teak plantations have been established at an increasing rate in Northern Lao PDR since the early 1980s. Revenues from teak can represent up to 50% of smallholders' annual cash income even though teak requires more than 20 years to reach commercially viable sizes.

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ForInfo Factsheet: Commercial Scale Community Bamboo Harvesting

April 2013

Shifting agriculture has created vast areas of secondary forest vegetation in the landscapes of Northern Lao PDR. This landscape is witness to repeated man-made forest fires. The fires occur annually and are the main reason for haze pollution during the dry season.

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ForInfo: Appropriate Forest Harvesting Technologies presentation

April 2013

A presentation given by Mr. Bernhard Mohns on the crucial role of selecting the most viable small harvesting technologies in supply-demand chain for timber.

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