“Every human being should love his environment. It is the only way to find a meaning to one’s life.” Naba Kougri, TREE AID beneficiary, Burkina Faso

Forest Connect Project

Small and medium forest enterprises (SMFEs) are critical to the poor. They generate local wealth, help to secure local resources and environmental accountability, promote local creativity and help to preserve indigenous cultures and market niches. But while the number of SMFEs starting up in least developed countries is high, keeping them going sustainably is a major challenge. They face problems such as too much bureaucracy, unstable policies and regulations, insecure land rights, lack of bargaining power, insufficient business knowledge and difficulties accessing credit, market information and technology.

Many SMFEs work together in associations to reduce transaction costs, adapt to new market opportunities and shape the policy environment in their favour. But in many developing countries, support structures for such forest associations either do not exist or fail to reach those who need help most.

Objectives
The central aim of this project is to connect SMFEs to:

national forest programmes (empowering SMFEs to be heard by policy makers);

emerging markets (by supporting existing SMFE associations) and;
service providers (strengthening their capacity to provide training and finance).

Project outputs

The development of functional and stable information services and support networks for SMFEs in ten countries – testing and adapting models for connecting SMFEs to national forest programmes, markets and service providers.
The development of an information ‘toolkit' based on practical experience that guides national forest programmes on how to set up an SMFE information service / support network to support the economic, social and environmental sustainability of SMFEs.
Testing, applying and revising the toolkit in partner countries and national forest programme facility countries to maximise the worldwide potential of such information services and support networks for SMFEs.

Forest Connect Burkina Faso
The Forest Connect project in Burkina Faso is being implemented by TREE AID with financing from the FAO. In its first year the project focused on undertaking a diagnostic study of SMFEs in the non-timber forest product sector in order to increase the understanding of and the visibility of the SMFEs in Burkina Faso. To download the results of the diagnostic study go to the section "SMFEs in Burkina". To see planned Forest Connect Burkina activities for the current year, click on the workplan below.

For more information visit:
FAO Forest Connect website

IIED Forest Connect Website

Forest Connect International Networking site

To find out more about the planning and strategy behind Forest Connect read the Forest Connect Concept Note and the Forest Connect Burkina Faso Work Plan Year 2.

Daignostic Study on Small and Medium Forest Enterprises in Burkina Faso, May 2008

The diagnostic study undertaken by Tree Aid in 2008 examines the current status of small and medium forest enterprises in Burkina Faso and proposes a typology to characterise them. Based on a survey of 169 SMFEs and SMFE associations the study analyses the policies that affect SMFE performance, how SMFEs are able to access financing and markets and the links between different groups of SMFEs to form associations.

Download the English version of the report here
Go to the French page to download the French version

Resources

Developing a toolkit for facilitation of support for small forest enterprises - Workshop report, July 2008

Supporting Small Forest Enterprises: a cross-sectoral review of best practice – Duncan Macqueen 2008 - available following this link.

Building entrepreneurial capacity and marketing skill for pro-poor tree product enterprises in the West African Sahel

Village Tree Enterprise in Burkina Faso – supporting development of small enterprises based on non-wood forest products – T. Hill, Y. Ouedraogo and L. Conditamde 2007

Connecting small enterprises in ways that enhance the lives of forest-dependent people – Duncan Macqueen 2007

Rapport sue les besoins en informations des petites et moyennes entreprises forestières

Répertoire des services d'appui aux enterprises forestières

Forest Connect Sites

FAO Forest Connect

IIED Forest Connect

Forest Connect International Networking site

Forest Connect China

Forest Connect Laos

Forest Connect Mali

Forest Connect Mozambique

Forest Connect Guyana

Forest Connect Nepal

Burkina Faso related sites

Ministries and government structures

MECV - Ministry for the Environment