Framework for forest resource management in Sub-Saharan Africa

The new Framework for Forest Resources Management in Sub-Saharan Africa represents contribution of the Africa Region into the Bank's forest sector strategy paper, operational policy, and business strategy, which were approved by the Board in October 2002. This document notes that deforestation is the single largest contributor to environmental and land use change in the Africa, and that forest degradation presents serious threats to the livelihoods of the rural poor. It also notes and analyzes the causes of the decline in Bank attention to and funding of the forest sector in the past decade. Based on these analyses the 'Framework' outlines the principles and the approaches with which the Bank can help enhance the contribution of forests to Africa's economic growth and environmental sustainability. Finally it proposes an operational strategy to launch in earnest new Bank lending and non-lending support in the field of forests, and outlines how to integrate forest and environmental concerns into the region's overall priorities and programs.