Resources

Key documents

• VERIFOR Briefing Paper 7 - New Technologies in support of Improved Forest Governance: factors influencing success (PDF, 226kb)

Also on this site

• Case Study: Brazil

The application of innovative technology opens up new possibilities for regulatory control in the forest sector. The introduction of such technologies is gradually taking place as countries recognise the potential benefits and develop the necessary capacity.

Innovations being introduced include remotely sensed data taken from satellites and high altitude aircraft to produce images of forested landscapes and internet-based technologies (including on-line and integrated databases that are accessible to users over the telecommunication system). These can be accompanied withinto geographical information systems and combined with other types of geographical information (e.g. topographic maps) to build up a comprehensive analysis of forest cover and, over a period of time, land-use change (of which deforestation is clearly a major interest).

VERIFOR is examining new technologies from a governance perspective, to see how they can be supported by institutional arrangements that strengthen public accountability and transparency, and allow for independent action.

Key considerations
- see resources for full details

• Technological advance by itself will not bring about improved forest sector governance. The key is to ensure broad appreciation of the improvements made possible by the introduction of new technologies and the uptake of these technologies in the strategies and plans of the forest sector.
• A legal framework is needed that recognises the use of new technologies for law enforcement and allows for the conduct of public administration procedures on-line.
• The introduction of forest control technologies must be integrated with similar technologies throughout the wider government structure (e.g. land tenure, judiciary, tax and revenue).
• The potential of the internet to make information about timber harvesting control and verification available in a clear and transparent way offers a significant increment to the quality of governance.
• Integrated database technologies have the potential to enhance decentralized forest governance systems.
• The myth that rural communities are reluctant to use modern technologies and the internet has already been broken, as is evident by their enthusiastic use of mobile phones and SMS-messages.