In the 1970s, it became apparent in the Asian-Pacific region that centralised control of the government was inadequate and forestry policies of the time were focusing on natural resource extraction. Therefore, the scale of deforestation was rapidly increasing. Further, the decline in the livelihoods of millions of people dependent on forests was progressing. Thus, the Center for People and Forests (RECOFT) was established in 1987 by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the Government of Switzerland and Kasetsart University (Thailand) to research and address those issues. Currently, the RECOFTC is an autonomous international organisation that operates within Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Viet Nam. The Center for People and Forests acts as a regional hub for training and research on Community Forestry. It encourages the engagement of local people in sustainable forest landscapes management and stewardship. The Guiding Principles for the RECOFTC include clear and strong rights; meaningful engagement between key stakeholders; good governance; and a fair share of benefits for local people.

IFSA’s Engagement

IFSA is very proud to have RECOFTC as a partner due to its proactiveness and dedication to the youth engagement. First of all, being an organisation that heavily involves research, RECOFTC provides a vast range of online education programs on Climate Change, Forest Carbon, REDD+, Land Use and other critical topics. Similar to IFSA’s online learning programs on our website, all of RECOFTFS programs can be found in the open-access area on the RECOFTC website. Moreover, the number of those courses will expand, and some of them will include certificates for the applicants. Also, regular workshops and seminars organised by RECOFTC often consider fully funded participation of IFSA students. Hence, follow our Open Calls to get involved.

Lastly, soon, RECOFTC will develop internship opportunities for IFSA members, so students from the Asian-Pacific region will be able to get engaged in real-life projects. Currently, the partnership is getting formalised.

Noor Mauliddina  is the Head of RECOFTC Sub-Commission