Most international attention in forestry has been given to improving the conditions for large-sca... more Most international attention in forestry has been given to improving the conditions for large-scale or micro-scale forestry, and much less to the 'messy middle' -which produces a high proportion of forest products and involves huge numbers of people. Ways need to be found by which small and medium-scale forestry enterprises (SMFEs) can better contribute to reducing poverty and improving the prospects for sustainability. IIED, with partners in Uganda, South Africa, India, Brazil, Guyana and China have been investigating these issues. Country diagnostics show that the SMFE sector is of major significance for livelihoods in these countries -the net effect of myriad small players represents a substantial part of local economies. Yet, these are largely invisible economies, and policy and programme developments almost completely ignore the SMFE sector. Raising the sector's visibility such that its impacts can be better assessed, and then going on to explore how the positive links to sustainability, livelihoods and poverty-reduction can be enhanced, is a major challenge to which this initiative seeks to rise.
Most international attention in forestry has been given to improving the conditions for large-sca... more Most international attention in forestry has been given to improving the conditions for large-scale or micro-scale forestry, and much less to the 'messy middle' -which produces a high proportion of forest products and involves huge numbers of people. Ways need to be found by which small and medium-scale forestry enterprises (SMFEs) can better contribute to reducing poverty and improving the prospects for sustainability. IIED, with partners in Uganda, South Africa, India, Brazil, Guyana and China have been investigating these issues. Country diagnostics show that the SMFE sector is of major significance for livelihoods in these countries -the net effect of myriad small players represents a substantial part of local economies. Yet, these are largely invisible economies, and policy and programme developments almost completely ignore the SMFE sector. Raising the sector's visibility such that its impacts can be better assessed, and then going on to explore how the positive links to sustainability, livelihoods and poverty-reduction can be enhanced, is a major challenge to which this initiative seeks to rise.
Uploads
Papers by Charles Tondo