Forest Resources Management Project (FRMP)
In the past, communities in Sri Lanka were largely excluded from forest management and a major function of the State Forestry Administration was to prevent illegal logging and encroachment of forests. With the revision of the National Forest policy, a more integrated approach for forest management has been introduced. The project assisted in the implementation of participatory sustainable forest management of a spatially demarcated Permanent Forest Estate. Overall objective was to increase forest protection while at the same time enhancing the access of local communities to forests to create employment and development.
Our contribution:
- Operationalisation of National Forest policy towards multi-stakeholder involvement, decentralization of forestry services.
- Development of Integrated Forest Resource Management Plans (IFRMP).
- Planning and implementation of forest resource inventories, database development and establishment, capacity building regarding the application of GPS, GIS MIS and IT technology; development of an Environmental Information and Management System for identification of biodiversity conservation priorities and for progress monitoring.
- Buffer zone development and enhancement of forest diversity; participatory identification and demarcation of forest boundaries; data collection and development of maps of forest types; improvement of tenure rights to help re-establish tree cover on shifting cultivated forestlands; introduction of agro forestry techniques. assessment of opportunities for forest certification.
- Technical assistance to maximize the value of existing commercial woodlots; rehabilitation and management of degraded plantations and facilitation of private sector investments; forest seed and stand improvement.
- Improvement of technical knowledge of all partners towards better forest conservation and management practices; institutional development, curricula development for conservation forestry, commercial forestry and social forestry; development of training programmes regarding resource assessment and planning, PA management, co-management, forestry research, monitoring, etc., training of trainers.
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