PART II SELECTED CURRENT ISSUES IN THE FOREST SECTOR 117 forest administration retains control and gives a some cases these are supplemented from other share of the revenue it collects to communities or sources forest funds in africa are used for the local government. various purposes, including: forest industry Most of these schemes have been introduced development; monitoring of forest operations; recently, driven by specific pilot projects that were research, training and education; conservation; donor-funded and -managed. Thus, the purchase of equipment; and wildlife institutional capacity to sustain them is often management. More general funds have also lacking. Other problems noted in the reports been established to support revenue sharing include: identifying who should benefit from and self-financing forest administrations, as revenue sharing the lack of capacity in already noted communities to manage funds; obtaining funds Fifteen countries reported that they had at held at the central level; the lack of publi least one forest fund. However, most also awareness; and reporting, monitoring and indicated that these funds had done little to accountability. As with decentralization, it is still improve access to timely and adequate perhaps too early to tell whether cost- and benefit- amounts of public finance to support sharing arrangements will do much to improve operations. This finding was confirmed by a the financing of sustainable forest management. statistical analysis of trends in revenue collection and public expenditure on forestry, which showed that in countries without forest The third way in which countries have recently funds, roughly 52 percent of past increases in ed to improve the financing of sustainable the revenue collected were returned to the forest management is through forest funds forest administration in the form of higher These can be organized in many ways osenbaum and Lindsay, 2001)but they are generally raised through contributions from specific sources and are to be used only for specific purp Forest funds are often derived fees or levies in the forest sector, although in Forest funds in Africa are used for warious purposes, including forest industry development117 SECTOR FOREST THE IN ISSUES CURRENT SELECTED II PART a gives and control retains administration forest or communities to collects it revenue the of share .government local the introduced been have schemes these of Most were that projects pilot specific by driven, recently the, Thus. managed -and funded-donor often is them sustain to capacity institutional reports the in noted problems Other. lacking from benefit should who identifying: include in capacity of lack the; sharing revenue funds obtaining; funds manage to communities public of lack the; level central the at held and monitoring, reporting and; awareness still is it, decentralization with As. accountability improve to much do will arrangements sharing￾benefit and- cost whether tell to early too perhaps .management forest sustainable of financing the funds Forest recently have countries which in way third The sustainable of financing the improve to tried .funds forest through is management forest ways many in organized be can These are they but) 2001, Lindsay and Rosenbaum( from contributions through raised generally for only used be to are and sources specific .purposes specific special from derived often are funds Forest in although, sector forest the in levies or fees other from supplemented are these cases some for used are Africa in funds Forest. sources industry forest: including, purposes various ;operations forest of monitoring; development ;conservation; education and training, research wildlife and; equipment of purchase also have funds general More. management sharing revenue support to established been as, administrations forest financing-self and .noted already at had they that reported countries Fifteen also most, However. fund forest one least to little done had funds these that indicated adequate and timely to access improve support to finance public of amounts a by confirmed was finding This. operations revenue in trends of analysis statistical ,forestry on expenditure public and collection forest without countries in that showed which in increases past of percent 52 roughly, funds the to returned were collected revenue the higher of form the in administration forest for used are Africa in funds Forest forest including, purposes various development industry JENKIN. P/17996/FAO