USAID Perspectives:
- The Africa Forum Project has been effective in mobilizing the interest and capabilities of the U.S. forestry and natural resources university community.
- USAID has seen some successes in the U.S. agriculture university sector, but the forestry/natural resources sector remains a “poor cousin” to agriculture. This is particularly true with broad public policy issues, e.g., timber concessions, land use issues, and forest products pricing policy. These public policies may affect environmental impacts, equity aspects, and economic development.
- More work needs to be done by the universities to integrate efforts with USAID, the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP), and other entities.
- The Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE) is still operational. It is now decentralized, and is run by John Flynn in Kinshasa. It is likely that there will be increased funding and interest in the CBFP, since it is a presidential, and thus a political, issue. It is expected that the increased funding to the CBFP will be one-fourth new funding and about three-fourths redistributed funding from other programs.
- USAID has been reorganized since the Africa Forum Project first started. In this reorganization, the geographic bureaus lost about 90 percent of their technical expertise. For example, in the Africa Bureau most of the technical staff have moved into the Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade (EGAT) Bureau. EGAT is a global bureau, that is, it provides technical expertise to all of the geographic bureaus. Most of the funding that supported the technical staff also moved from the Africa Bureau to the EGAT Bureau. Carl Gallegos has remained as one of the few natural resources technical staff in the Africa Bureau. He conducts the environmental audits of all proposed USAID projects in Africa. The EGAT Bureau is divided into specific offices based on technical area: Agriculture, Trade, Education, Natural Resources Management, and Environmental Science. Then, the offices are broken into subject area teams. For example, in the Office of Natural Resources Management, which is headed by David Hess, there are the following teams: Land Management Team (headed by Jeff Brokaw), Biodiversity Team (headed by Cynthia Gill), Water Team (headed by Allan Hurdus), and the Forestry Team (headed by C. J. Rushin-Bell).
- The Association Liaison Office for University Cooperation in Development (ALO) funds linkage programs with universities, and they could be brought into the partnership with the National Association of Professional Forestry Schools and Colleges (NAPFSC).
- The most direct route for NAPFSC to follow for continued cooperation with the Africa Forum Project, and to move the proposed Natural Resources Partnership for Africa (NRPA) forward, is to connect through the EGAT Bureau, specifically with the subject area teams in the Office of Natural Resources Management, with a copy over to the Africa Bureau. There is also a possible linkage with the Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resources and Environmental Management Collaborative Research Support Program (SANREM CRSP).
- Probably the best course of action would be for NAPFSC to prepare a five-page proposal for the next phase of the NRPA and send it to the USAID Global Development Alliance (GDA) Secretariat, with a copy to USAID ALO (Scott Bode will provide NAPFSC with details about who to contact within ALO). Any connections NAPFSC has with industry should be incorporated into the proposal.
NAPFSC Interests:
- For the most part, NAPFSC universities are interested in enhancing international programs.
- The Africa Forum has resulted in the concept of NRPA, in which NAPFSC and the National Association of University Fisheries and Wildlife Programs (NAUFWP) would provide support for labs, computer systems, and faculty/staff/students to cooperate on African projects on an as-needed basis.
- NAPFSC also wishes to engage in capacity-building of regional “hub” universities in Africa for forestry and natural resources programs. Universities with established programs in forestry and natural resources, in stable countries with the interest and capability to serve as regional centers, should be identified first, and then engaged.
- Phase I of the NRPA Project would involve the administrative development within NAPFSC itself, and Phase II would involve a reconnaissance trip to Africa and the selection of candidate universities.
- Any proposal to USAID must detail the competitive advantages of the American universities, and focus on public policy issues, e.g., illegal logging, bushmeat crisis, etc. Private sector partnerships such as forest industry, and partnerships with other development entities like the World Bank, are also helpful. It is also important to focus on the strengths that NAPFSC institutions can bring to resolving these public policy issues, e.g., research, education, capacity-building, etc.
- Policy development and capacity-building for key African agency personnel relate to the long-term sustainability of natural resources. Development work undertaken by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) often focuses on short-term, crisis-oriented strategies, not long-term policy development. This feature of NAPFSC involvement should be highlighted.
- The Society of American Foresters (SAF) is a partner in the Congo Basin Forest Partnership, which is now receiving about $15 million per year. The SAF would be a logical partner for NAPFSC, since most NAPFSC leaders are also SAF members. The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), has an office in Cameroon, is led by American David Kaimowitz, and is also a possible partner. Ajaga Nji, with the University of Dshang in Cameroon, also should be contacted for recommendations for possible partner universities in Africa.
- NAPFSC will engage the SAF at the upcoming national convention in Buffalo, New York, to discuss the possibility of partnering on a proposal to the CBFP, and NAPFSC will also develop a proposal to be submitted to the GDA Secretariat, possibly including other partners.
- Bob Karr, current chair of the NAPFSC International Committee, will prepare a brief outlining key issues such as illegal logging and/or bushmeat use, and request an endorsement from the NAPFSC administration and the SAF.
Participants at the Africa Post-Forum for Forestry and Natural Resources Issues:
Jon Anderson - USAID
Scott Bode - USAID
Michael Jacobson - Pennsylvania State University
James Johnson - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Robert Karr - Mississippi State University
William Shaw - University of Arizona