The EU Tropical Forestry Sourcebook
A publication entitled "The EU Tropical Forestry Sourcebook" has recently been published by the Overseas Development Institute in an initiative supported by the European Commission. It reviews aid provided by the EU and its Member States to tropical forests and the relevant practical effects. Tropical forests have been high on the agenda of the European Community since the UN conference Environment and Development in 1992 and the subsequent EC Tropical Forest Regulation (1995) and the Protocol on Sustainable Management of Forests in the revised Lomé IV Convention (1995). The book covers the breadth of EU experience in donor support to tropical forests, assesses the totality of its comparative advantage in this sector, and identifies key trends and issues for the future. The chapters in the book examine each Directorate-General of the Commission and each EU Member State with tropical forestry interests. In each case, the choices made about aid to tropical forestry in terms of policies, themes, geographical areas and types of project are traced, together with an analysis of aid delivery mechanisms. One chapter provides an overview of aid policies in terms of effectiveness and also examines future trends. The overall aim of the book is to offer a better understanding of what is being achieved by the EU in the field of tropical forestry and how capacity can be further improved in the future. It offers important insights into current EU priorities and activities in this sector for developing partner countries.