Resources

Key documents

• VERIFOR project leaflet (PDF, 462kb)

VERIFOR is an international, multi-year, research and advisory project led by the UK Overseas Development Institute, in partnership with three with regional research institutions:

• For Africa, CIFOR, in Cameroon;
• For Asia, RECOFTC, in Thailand and
• For Latin America, CATIE, in Costa Rica.

The project draws on the experience of researchers from a variety of backgrounds and specialisms within the forest sector. More information on the organisations that form VERIFOR and the researchers working on the project is available on the Partners and Team page.

Who funds VERIFOR and what are they funding?
VERIFOR is supported by funds from the European Union Tropical Forest Budget Line, and from the Governments of the Netherlands and Germany. The project started in 2003, and is funded until 2010. Through the dissemination of research findings, VERIFOR will contribute to the EU FLEGT Action Plan by helping the EU's southern partner countries verify that their timber has been legally harvested. To this end, work on the project is being carried out in two distinct phases:

• Phase One was primarily a research phase, and consisted of a review of existing verification systems in the forest sector and elsewhere. The learning from these reviews has been key in developing a set of 'Principles in Forest Verification' discussed elsewhere on this site. The results of research in phase one will also soon be edited together into a full-length book.
• During Phase Two, the advisory phase, VERIFOR is aiming to build a dialogue amongst interested parties in tropical countries, with the aim of designing verification systems that are well attuned to country realities and enjoy broad national ownership. This phase will conclude with a second conference, in early 2009, to share experiences internationally.

More information on VERIFOR funding and the sequencing of activities can be found in the Funding and Timeline page.

What has the project produced so far?
Since the inception of the project, the VERIFOR team have been working hard to research various aspects of verification systems, and publish their findings. To find out about and download VERIFOR outputs so far, please visit the Full list of Outputs page.