Asia Pacific Forestry Skills and Capacity Building Program
Program Background
The Asia-Pacific Forestry Skills and Capacity Building Program (the Program) commenced in 2007 to assist countries in the Asia-Pacific region increase their forest management expertise and improve carbon sequestration performance of their forests.
In early 2008 the Program became part of the International Forest Carbon Initiative (IFCI), one of Australia’s key climate change policies and programs. IFCI aims to demonstrate that reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) can be part of an equitable and effective international approach for mitigating climate change. Phase II of the Program supports the objectives and geographical focus of the IFCI.
Phase II of the Asia-Pacific Forestry Skills and Capacity Building Program
In support of IFCI, Phase II seeks to build regional capacity for delivering sustainable forest management in support of efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). Project activities funded through Phase II should address one or more of the following program objectives:
- improving capacity to provide practical support for sustainable forest management and improved forest governance, law enforcement and regulatory frameworks that assist efforts to REDD
- building the institutional and technical capacity needed to deliver sustainable forest management that supports REDD
- adaptive and effective program, partnership and knowledge management
To align with IFCI objectives, the priority countries for Phase II activities are Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. It is expected that project activities may deliver cross learning between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, or promote broader regional adoption of the knowledge or outputs from projects in these two countries.
Phase II is expected to fund three to five large, integrated projects across Indonesia and Papua New Guinea for a period of up to three years. Applicants may involve multiple partners in projects that address one or more program objectives.
The capacity building projects may include one or more of the activities outlined below, but are not limited to:
- improving sustainable forest management practices, through training and education in forest inventory (for estimating carbon as well as timber yields), design of silvicultural options, pest, disease and fire management and the restoration of degraded forests
- improvements in forest law enforcement and governance
- strengthening forest industry practices through reduced impact logging and certification
- projects to upscale and advance forest industry training leading to the improved uptake of training modules in standard operation procedures of forestry agencies and organisations
- support for capacity building in REDD demonstration activities, which could include strengthening of decision support systems regarding land use and land management options.
To assist in the design of Phase II of the Program a situation analysis of sustainable forest management and REDD requirements was completed. The Phase II Situation Analysis 
Word [1mb] provides further detail on the capacity building needs and activities that could be undertaken in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
Phase II of the Program will be delivered primarily as a merit-based competitive grants program. Applicants must submit an application which will be assessed against eligibility and selection criteria. Funds are limited and therefore meeting eligibility and selection criteria does not guarantee funding.
Applications for Phase II of the Asia-Pacific Forestry Skills and Capacity Building Program are now closed. It is expected that applicants will be informed of the outcomes of their respective proposals early in 2010.
All successful grantees will be required to enter into a Funding Agreement with the Commonwealth. The DAFF Funding Agreements describe the terms and conditions that apply to Commonwealth funding for this program. The final agreements will be based on the content of successful applications.
- Draft funding agreement—Australian version
PDF [941kb] - Draft funding agreement—non-Australian version PDF [943kb]
Phase I of the Asia-Pacific Forestry Skills and Capacity Building Program
Applications for Phase I of the Program closed in December 2007 with most projects completed by June 2009. A total of 15 projects, with a combined value of $2.1 million were funded.
The majority of funding in Phase I was awarded to initiatives for delivering hands-on training and training workshops aimed at improving skills and capacity in sustainable forest management and combating illegal logging.
Details on the Phase I projects funded:
The outcomes of Phase I of the program are discussed in the report, Making headway with sustainable forest management to help combat climate change.
Contact Us
The program manager can be contacted for further information:
- Email Forestry Skills
- Post
Program Management
Asia-Pacific Forestry Skills and Capacity Building Program
Forestry Branch
Climate Change Division
Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
GPO Box 858
CANBERRA ACT 2601 - Phone
+61 2 6272 5914 or
+61 2 6272 5677