Forests and Adjacent Lands Management Project

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The specific global objectives of the Forests and Adjacent Lands Management (GEF) Project for Benin are: (1) to increase and enhance the carbon storage capacity by enriching degraded gazetted forests and planting trees in forest adjacent lands, (2) to enhance protection of biological diversity within sustainable multiple-use production forests and explore suitable areas and/or species for ecotourism, (3) to prevent land and water degradation in forests and adjacent lands, (4) to preserve genetic diversity within forest species that are collected by rural populations for medicinal and consumptive uses, (5) to improve the use and efficiency of traditional energy by developing and implementing a national fuel-wood master plan, (6) to develop a communication and education strategy in rural and urban areas to raise awareness on integrated ecosystem approaches and also to reduce national demand for forest-based resources, (7) to develop innovative monitoring and evaluation methods and systems for future use by local communities and national authorities demonstrating changes in ecosystem management patterns. The Project has four main components: Component strengthens the institutional and technical capacity of the forestry administration, the private operators and nongovernmental organizations intervening in the Project. Component 2 ensures viable long term management of forest resources through contractual participatory management plans of the various natural forest types. Component 3 pilots an approach to promoting production and utilization of wood fuel from the sustainably managed forests; Component 4 ensures proper project management and coordination mechanisms.