United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
The Sustainable Forest Products Global Alliance (Global Alliance)
The Sustainable Forest Products Global Alliance (Global Alliance) is a public/private sector partnership that works with businesses, public agencies, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to promote responsible forest resource management, reduce illegal logging, and improve the well-being of local communities. Launched in 2002 by USAID, Metafore, and WWF, the Global Alliance has been working to meet the challenges faced by producers and buyers of responsible forest products by developing and advancing a new model for forest conservation and community development in developing countries.
WWF's Global Forest & Trade Network has used funding from the Global Alliance to launch a new production-oriented FTN with members from three West and Central African countries, assisted a major logging company and plywood producer in South America to initiate steps to achieve certification and begin a trade relationship with a North American retailer, and worked with consumers in North America and Europe to support their suppliers in producer countries to work toward certification.
Responsible Asia Forestry and Trade (RAFT)
The Responsible Asia Forestry and Trade (RAFT) Program, funded by USAID’s Regional Development Mission for Asia, builds on the successes of the Global Development Alliance, a USAID-sponsored program in Indonesia, and applies lessons learned at a regional scale. RAFT influences the development and implementation of the public policies and corporate practices needed to improve forest management and bring transparency to the timber trade in Asia. RAFT is managed by The Nature Conservancy and implemented by a catalytic group of NGO partners. RAFT is authorized to work in 8 countries in the Asia Pacific region including: Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Thailand and Vietnam. For more information:www.responsibleasia.org.
The Global Development Alliance (GDA)
Through the Global Development Alliance (GDA) mechanism of the USAID, WWF/GFTN together with TNC work together to combat illegal logging and build market links to conserve Indonesia’s forests. The Alliance has enabled GFTN to provide technical assistance and market links to four forestry firms in Indonesia, managing over 640,000 hectares of forests, 2 teak-growing communities in Java and 17 trade participants (wood processing mills, factories and traders) around Indonesia.
Abroad, the Alliance have supported GFTN members and government agencies in Japan, China, Europe and North America to develop responsible procurement policies and their application to forest products imported directly orindirectly from Indonesia.
Additionally, GFTN produced and distributed an informational DVD about the GFTN called the Global Forest and Trade Network: Solutions for Committed Companies, established the www.forestandtradeasia.org website has been integrated into the GFTN website to expand the target audience and ensure ongoing maintenance of the site content beyond the life of this project.
