Forestry Sector Master Plan

The Forestry Sector Master Plan (FSMP) 1995-2020 was prepared by the Forestry Planning Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and Forestry in 1995 to provide guidance to the forestry sector in sustainable management of forest resources of the country to assure provisioning of eco-system services to the Sri Lankan society. It had at its foundation the National Forest Policy 1995. The two documents focus mainly on:

• Participatory forest management
• Empowerment of the rural population for conservation
• Sustainable management of forests
• Increasing tree cover outside forests
• Agroforestry
• Bioenergy and
• Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs)

The FSMP was considered a comprehensive long-term development framework for the forestry sector’s optimal development covering the period 1995-2020. The plan provided a vision for the sector with the intention of guiding decision makers at national, regional, and local levels. While this provided a set of objectives, it is now outdated in regard to present realities such as climate change mitigation and adaptation, landscape level planning and management, forest restoration approach, etc.

Implementation of the 1995-2020 FSMP was successful to a certain extent. Based on it, many forestry related Investment Programs (IPs) were formulated and many actions successfully implemented.[1] Based on its guidelines, the Forest Ordinance was amended (the last in 2009[2]). Establishment of permanent forestry estate was initiated and is yet to be completed. Active involvement of local communities in forest management has drastically increased. However, some of the targets set in the FSMP could not be achieved due to various reasons.[3] Within this context the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Conservation decided in March 2021 to assign the Forest Department to prepare a new FSMP for 2021-2030.

The new Forestry Sector Master Plan would include Action Plans which would be presented as Investment Programs (IPs) to relevant donors and funding sources. Therefore, the term Investment Program is being used interchangeably when referring to FSMP Action Plans.

New Forestry Sector Master Plan (2021-2030)

Building on national policies; laws and regulations and international commitments and obligations to reflect new issues, as well as trends, the FSMP 2021-2030 is a macro level plan, identifying strategic directions for the implementation of policies, strategies, and Action Plans (APs) in the forestry sector in Sri Lanka, at both national and subnational level.

While the 2021-2030 FSMP would not replace operational planning, it will provide a framework and guidance for sectoral management as well as operational and financial planning for various stakeholders including government agencies, non-governmental organisations, academia, private sector and, international technical and financial partners. The 2021-2030 FSMP will therefore include a wide range of approaches to the process of planning, programming and implementation of forest activities in Sri Lanka. It comprises both the planning of forest sector Action Plans and the formulation/update of policies as well as their implementation, including monitoring and evaluation.

The 2021-2030 FSMP will include a multi-phased and programmatic approach with time-bound actions, budgets, and implementation mechanisms – that can be used in prioritising and coordinating projects/programs and development efforts. The purpose of the 2021-2030 FSMP is to establish a workable social and political framework for effective conservation, sound management and sustainable development of forests. The 2021-2030 FSMP links together strategic and operational planning and is specifically designed to increase effectiveness and efficiency in sustainable forest management at the landscape level. This is expected to balance increasing and competing demands for forest goods and services, leading potentially to increased commitments by both domestic and international financial sources.

FSMP – Action Plans (Investment Programs)

The Action Plans will include necessary details to guide their implementation throughout the 2021-2030 FSMP. For each, the following elements will be provided:

• International and national context;
• Lessons learned from the previous period and the current situation;
• Key issues and gaps, both traditional and new, that limit implementation;
• Global and regional good practices, approaches, methodologies applicable to Sri Lanka;
• The economic contribution of the Investment Programs;
• Vision and longer-term objectives (2021-2030), and five-year goals;
• Existing PLRs and recommendations for changes if needed;
• Stakeholder engagement principles;
• External potential partners/programs;
• Specific and measurable interventions for the Action Plans (incl. research and training priority programs to support implementation);
• Monitoring and Key Performance Indicators to track implementation;
• Costing and financing possibilities.

List of Focus Areas

2021-2030 FSMP Development Process

The development of the 2021-2030 FSMP is led by the Forest Department with technical and financial support from the World Bank via ESCAMP. The 2021-2030 FSMP is being developed during the period from July 2021 to June 2022, through a consultative multi-stakeholder phased approach:

• Phase 1: Prepare a roadmap for the 2021-2030 FSMP development (inception phase).
• Phase 2: Review existing PLRs and international commitments/obligations and the Forestry Sector Master Plan 1995-2020.
• Phase 3: Develop the Forestry Sector Master Plan 2021-2030, including Action Plans.

During the first phase, a literature review of best international forestry sector master plans and strategies^[4], as well as guidelines, reports to international bodies, national programs and strategies developed in Sri Lanka in the past 10 years^[5] was conducted and resulted in:

• A draft annotated Table of Content of the FSMP 2021-30;
• General best practices for the development of the FSMP 2021-30;
• An updated template for developing the IPs.

The end of the first phase was marked by an official national launch of the 2021-2030 FSMP development process on 9^th September 2021, during which the objectives, preliminary IPs but also the approach, process and timeline were discussed with more than 150 stakeholders.

Following the launch, the second phase started with an online survey shared with more than 800 stakeholders. The main objectives of the survey were to:

1. Identify key gaps and lessons of the FSMP 1995-2020;
2. Recommend lessons for the FSMP 2021-30;
3. Understand limitations of current governance and scenario for the forestry sector;
4. Identify priority interventions for the 2021-2030 FSMP.

During the second phase, international Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) ratified by Sri Lanka after 1995 that relate to the forestry sector were also reviewed with the objective of summarising key considerations to be integrated in the 2021-2030 FSMP. Similarly, a review and synthesis of information on key national level policies, laws and regulatory frameworks and instruments in the forestry sector in Sri Lanka, as well as other sectors relevant for a successful implementation of the 2021-2030 FSMP was undertaken.

The third phase started with the establishment by the Forest Department of 11 Technical Working Groups (TWGs – one per Focus Area) to guide the preparation of all Action Plans. TWGs meetings, including technical experts from various origins, are being organised to:

• Identify/confirm the main issues/gaps & strengths during the implementation of the FSMP 1995-2020 on the topic covered by the IP;
• Identify/confirm new approach to be adopted during the implementation of the FSMP 2021-30;
• Collect published data/articles/guidelines available on the topic covered by the IP in Sri Lanka;
• Identify specific interventions/activities (incl. research needs) aligned with the new approach;
• Define a vision (10 years) and goals (5 years) for the IP;
• Define implementation arrangements, roles and responsibilities.

During the third phase, results of the survey will also be incorporated into a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis and will be presented to stakeholders during a visioning workshop, to guide the development of a vision for the sector and arrive at goals, and objectives for the coming decade.

The final draft 2021-2030 FSMP will then made available for public comments for a period of 30 days. The final 2021-2030 FSMP is expected to be accepted for implementation in June 2022 during a national workshop.

[1] Forest Resource Management Project (FRMP), Participatory Forestry Project (PFP), and Upper Watershed Management Project (UWMP) are few of such programs.

[2] Forest (Amendment) Act No.65 of 2009.

[3] Reasons include financial constraints, lack of political interest, poor inter-agency linkages, conflicting mandates of various institutions and interest groups, lack of proper stakeholder engagement mechanism, etc.

[4] Forestry sector master plans and strategies of Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Viet Nam, Ghana and Kenya have been reviewed.

[5] Such as the NDCs, the NRIFAP, the NBSAP, the second national communication to the UNFCCC, the fifth national report to the CBD, the report of the land degradation neutrality (LDN) target setting programme and the LDN commitments)

Download Links :

2021-2030 FSMP Development Process.pdf

1995-2020 Forestry Sector Master Plan