Issues to be considered for Strengthening the AFP:
Development of Structure & Mechanism

by

Ministry of Forestry of Indonesia
Yogyakarta, 30 August 2004

Slide 1: Rationale

• Partners of AFP are governments, intergovernmental organizations, business, academia, and civil society.

• AFP has convened 3 meeting in Tokyo (November 2002), Yogyakarta (July 2003), and Kisarazu (November 2003).

• The objectives of AFP are focusing on countering illegal logging, preventing and fighting forest fire, and rehabilitating and reforesting degraded forest. 

Slide 2: Rationale

• Some partners are criticisms that AFP is too loose, no standardized procedures to become an active partner, unclear mechanism for goals implementation and decision making process, and lack of financial commitment

• An issue of permanent secretariat has also discussed by partners but there is still no clear decision made.

• This paper try to propose options to refine and operationalise the AFP goals and objective and the mechanisms for its implementations, as well as a background information for deliberating question on what are benefits of the AFP.

Slide 3: Options for Structure & Modality

• Comparative advantage of AFP a multi-stakeholder equal partnership; flexibility; and informality

• A need to expand the partnership to a broader international community.

• A need to establish a unit to communicate and facilitate permanently or similar to permanent secretariat

• The (slim) Secretariat is to cover duties optimally without working over-load and over-resources used, and to manage by two-equal-co-facilitators. 

Slide 4: Options for Structure & Modality

Role of partners of the AFP:

• All partners have equal right and obligation

• new incoming partner(s) will have to inform to the Secretariat prior to the next (regular) meeting.

• A Partner may withdraw from the AFP at any time by giving written notice to the Secretariat, to be announced during the next meeting.

• appoint one or more focal point(s) for one partner. The focal points will disseminate information obtained from the Secretariat and/or the AFP meeting.

Slide 5: Options for Structure & Modality

• Role and Tasks of Secretariat are:

• Facilitating membership arrangement;

• Assisting regular meeting of the AFP and other related meeting

• Facilitating work plan preparation, reviewing, and implementation;

• Facilitate funding sourcing, especially for seed funding;

• Managing daily activities of the AFP;

• Preparing statement and recommendations for regular meeting;

• Sharing of information and experiences on partners - respective national and bilateral initiatives;

• Formulating any collaborative measures which of in the interest of partners;

• Monitoring & evaluating the AFP progress of activities;

• etc.

Slide 6: Options for Structure & Modality

The (permanent) secretariat

• has to report to partners through regular meeting of AFP

• should be supported by the partners both technically and financially in its activity

• is communicated regularly and intensively with partners through their focal points

• Supported regular meeting of the AFP which convened at least once a year hosted by one (or more) partner in a country where the said partner(s) are located.

Slide 7: Activities and Geographic Scope

The scope of activities of the AFP

• National initiatives

• Bilateral and/or multilateral cooperation/initiatives

• Regional cooperation/initiatives

Three categories activities of the AFP

• Category 1: Low-key information sharing and dialogue;

• Category 2: Active, action-oriented information exchange;

• Category 3: Taking action together, commitment of resources, supported by information exchange

AFP has agreed to focus its objective on:

• Measures to combat illegal logging and its associated trade

• Prevention of forest fires

• Rehabilitation and reforestation of degraded forest

Slide 8: Activities and Geographic Scope

• Some work plans have been presented during the third meeting of AFP.

• Only few work plans have been implemented.

• Others are not fully implemented due to lack of financial support.

• NEED further discussion and clarification  a mechanism to refine, adopt, and implement the work plans

Slide 9: Activities and Geographic Scope

Work plan mechanism

• Simple without avoiding comprehensive assessment

• Assessed and reviewed by secretariat

• Approved at the regular meeting

• Preparation, review, consultation, and implementation are carried out by work plan proponent, the secretariat, and the regular meeting.

• The secretariat and/or the regular meeting have to be sure will have donor's candidate to sponsor its implementation.

 Slide 10: Funding

• The effective implementation will depend entirely on the availability of funds.

• Seriously consider an establishment of trust fund or (at least) in securing seed funding

• It can be generated from partners contribution as well as grant from donor(s).

• The Fund is daily accounted by the Secretariat.

Slide 11: Conclusion

As a cooperation forum, AFP is:

• able to provide direction and recommendation for partners to carry out concrete activities individually, bilaterally, or as a group.

• to perform its functions to coordinate, mobilize resources, and evaluate the progress

• expected to become a pressure group in addressing issues at national as well as international levels.

The most sensible option to activate the AFP is by formalizing the AFP mechanism and structure, including establishment a permanent secretariat and trust fund (and also seed funding).

Slide 12: Recommendation

• A (rough) draft of PARTNERS ANNOUNCEMENT or whatever has been structured as attached explaining options to refine and operationalise the AFP goals and objective and the mechanisms for its implementations.

• The draft need to be discussed during this workshop, and whenever possible the workshop has to assign specific partners to finalise the draft before it can be presenting and adopting at the 4^th Meeting of AFP.

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