Eligibility and prioritization criteria for country partnership with the Facility

Eligibility

Only developing countries ranked as low and medium according to the UN Human Development are eligible for Facility partnership.

Furthermore, a minimum requirement (see criteria below) is that the Concept Note contains clear information on:

  • The potential of forestry for poverty alleviation in the country;
  • Current support from donors to the forestry sector in general and to the nfp process in particular;
  • Actual and desired stakeholder participation in the nfp process;
  • How the expected Facility support relates to the overall nfp-process in the country.

Criteria to prioritize countries for Facility partnership

  •  Relevance of the forestry sector as a contributor to:
    • the livelihood of the poorest in the rural population;
    • the economic development of the country;
    • the protection of the country's environment; and
    • functions of global interest, such as biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation.
  • Countries with a highly relevant forestry sector, and/or experiencing high threats to their forest resources (e.g. due to inappropriate shifting cultivation, illegal logging), will be given priority. 
  • Degree of commitment to the national forest programme process at a high level in the country's political structure, including prevailing conditions of public governance and openness to participatory approaches, which determine the feasibility of the envisaged Facility partnership. Priority will be given to a higher degree of feasibility. 
  • Quality of the partnership with the Facility: Priority will be given to countries with a clear strategy for their national forest programme process, and a sensible vision of the proposed Facility support as a complement to the external and internal support to the process that is available from other sources. 
  • Expected impact of the proposed partnership with the Facility. Priority will be given to countries where this partnership is likely to have the highest added value in supporting:
    • integration of national forest programmes into poverty reduction strategies, and other broad inter-sectoral processes;
    • development of a consensus on how to address issues relevant to forests and trees at the national level; and
    • commitments made at the international level being translated into national forest policy and planning.