jump to navigation search recoftc the center for people and forests type international non governmental organization industry community forestry capacity building founded 1987 headquarters bangkok thailand website www.recoftc.org recoftc the center for people and forests is an international not for profit organization that focuses on capacity building for community forestry in the asia pacific region . it advocates for the increased involvement of local communities living in and around forests some 450 million people in asia pacific in the equitable and ecologically sustainable management of forest landscapes . the regional community forestry training center for asia and the pacific recoftc opened in bangkok thailand in march 1987 with support from the united nations food and agriculture organization the government of switzerland through the asian development bank and thailand s kasetsart university . originally a regional training and research hub for community forestry recoftc now works on the ground through a network of strategic partnerships with governments ngos development organizations and local people throughout asia pacific and has worked in parts of africa . in 1999 a charter was developed with a proposal to turn recoftc into an international organization which was signed by seven countries all the mekong countries and switzerland . in 2000 the royal thai government rtg signed an agreement with recoftc that formally recognized the center as an autonomous international organization . training capacity building and other learning activities remain central to recoftc s work now complemented with on the ground projects policy work and strategic communications . in 2009 the organization adopted the new name recoftc the center for people and forests to reflect this broader scope of work . to strengthen its regional program recoftc established country program offices in cambodia indonesia thailand and vietnam in 2010 . these four countries have made a commitment to scale up community forestry and recoftc s enhanced on the ground presence is designed to help ensure their commitments develop into tangible results that contribute to national development goals and mdgs . contents 1 mission 2 thematic areas 3 capacity building 4 references 5 external links mission edit recoftc s mission is to enhance capacities at all levels to assist the people of the asia pacific region in developing community forestry and managing forest resources for optimum social economic and environmental benefits . 1 the mission is driven by three guiding principles clear and strong rights are essential if local people especially the poorest and most vulnerable are to actively engage in and benefit from forest management . recoftc works on strengthening local people s rights to access use and own forests through tenure policy and market reforms . good governance is necessary for the development and implementation of community friendly national forest policies programs and regulatory frameworks . recoftc promotes the rule of law transparency accountability and the meaningful participation of people in local decision making processes . a fair share of benefits for local people from forestry is needed to help reduce poverty and motivate active participation in forest governance and management . recoftc aims to increase and diversify sustainable income generation opportunities from forest management and to ensure that benefits are shared equitably . thematic areas edit the center s work is focused in four thematic areas expanding community forestry through frontline country programs recoftc works to secure rights for forest dependent communities to manage their forests . recoftc supported sites maintained in close partnership with communities nongovernment organizations ngos and all levels of government demonstrate good practices and develop key lessons which are shared nationally and internationally to accelerate the scaling up of community forestry and its impacts . people forests and climate change in the asia pacific region local people hold the key to forests fulfilling their potential for climate change mitigation and adaptation . community forestry is also an effective means of increasing communities resilience to the impacts of climate change . recoftc advocates for pro poor climate change strategies and policies working to ensure that all forestry stakeholders especially those at the grassroots level are prepared to meet the social economic and financial challenges that lie ahead . transforming forest conflict marginalized communities powerful commercial plantation developers corruption unclear land tenure laws stories of local people involved in conflicts over forest resources regularly fill the pages of the region s newspapers exposing the scale of damaging impacts . by analyzing and better understanding conflict dynamics this program promotes lasting solutions at both the policy and community levels . securing local livelihoods recoftc s livelihoods program seeks to realize the full potential of forest related resources . by analyzing the opportunities and constraints of local people s access to market based forest activities this program proposes solutions that are socially just . it helps to ensure that local people have the skills and knowledge to engage meaningfully in emerging opportunities such as payment for ecosystem services carbon markets certification schemes and non timber enterprises . the center s portfolio currently includes over 40 projects and services including large capacity building projects for redd regionally and for community forestry in cambodia . initiatives such as the regional conflict study the responsible asia forestry and trade raft program and redd net allow the center to share global trends and issues concerning people and forests with national and local stakeholders in local languages . in turn feedback from them and lessons learned are shared with global audiences at key international fora . the center continues to engage with policy makers through expert consortia like the forest stewardship council asia pacific forestry commission international union of forest research organizations iufro international tropical timber organization itto and the asean social forestry network asfn . capacity building edit since its inception in 1987 as a regional training institution for forestry the center has trained over ten thousand practitioners at all levels in community forestry . the center s capacity building program 2 consists of training courses learning activities and networks workshops and study tours . the program seeks to enhance skills in its four thematic areas listed above . during the current program cycle beginning in 2008 some 316 capacity building activities reaching more than 8 500 clients from 26 countries have contributed to recoftc s reputation as a leading regional knowledge hub for community forestry . references edit http www.recoftc.org basic page our vision recoftc training center http www.recoftc.org site training center external links edit recoftc website recoftc blog retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title recoftc the center for people and forests & oldid 638591967 categories international forestry organizationsnon profit organizations based in thailandorganizations based in bangkokorganizations established in 19871987 establishments in thailandforest governanceforestry in thailandhidden categories articles created via the article wizard navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this 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