Responsible Forest Management and Sustainable Forest Product Supply Chains’ Training Course

INTERNATIONAL TRAINING ON RESPONSIBLE FOREST MANAGEMENT AND SUSTAINABLE FOREST PRODUCT SUPPLY CHAINS

COURSE BACKGROUND

The world’s forests face immense pressure from deforestation, poor management, and unsustainable supply chains, threatening their vital role for humanity. While awareness of these issues exists, many professionals lack a comprehensive understanding of the solutions available. There’s a critical need to bridge the gap between global forest challenges and effective interventions in governance, management, and sustainable supply chains.

ECAS Institute, through its ‘Excellence for Forests’ programme, is committed to fostering responsible forest management worldwide. We recognize that improving knowledge of good governance, sustainable practices, and market dynamics is essential for protecting forests. This course aims to empower diverse stakeholders, even in challenging regions, to drive positive change.

This training is designed to deepen participants’ knowledge of the pressures on forests and introduce key interventions. It will cover responsible forest management principles, sustainable supply chain features, market legality issues, and the role of voluntary standards and certification. By enhancing understanding and practical skills, ECAS seeks to contribute to healthier forests and more sustainable global forest product industries.

COURSE OBJECTIVES OF THE TRAINING

Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:

Develop awareness of the context that drives deforestation, poor forest management practices, and unsustainable supply chains.
Understand the features of good forest governance, responsible forest management, and sustainable forest product supply chains.
Grasp market and legality issues for responsibly produced forest products.
Identify methods for protecting high conservation values, biodiversity, water resources, and soils.
Explain social responsibility to indigenous peoples, local communities, and those employed in the forest sector.
Understand voluntary forestry standards, certification, and assessment/auditing as practical performance management tools.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

This course is designed to assist policy-makers, NGOs, forest managers, supply chain professionals, consultants, certification auditors, and graduates – including those working in the most challenging regions. Our courses are designed to improve knowledge and understanding of the pressures on the world’s forests, their vital importance for humanity and some of the forest governance, responsible forest management and sustainable forest products supply chains interventions that can help. The course will assist with:

Awareness of the context that drives deforestation, poor forest management practices and unsustainable supply chains.
Understanding the features of good forest governance, responsible forest management and sustainable forest product supply chains.
Market and legality issues for responsibly produced forest products.
Protecting high conservation values, biodiversity, water resources and soils.
Social responsibility to indigenous peoples, local communities and those employed in the forest sector.
Voluntary forestry standards, certification and assessment/auditing.

The course will help participants to achieve this by:

Looking at the global issues affecting forests and the latest developments in responsible forest management thinking.
Considering, in detail, the different components that make up responsible forest management.
Focusing on the role of voluntary forestry standards and certification as practical performance management tools for assessing responsible forest management.
Using a mixture of e-learning, residential training, site visits and peer-to-peer networking.

DURATION AND PROGRAM

This is a structured training course under the ‘Excellence for Forests’ programme, utilizing a blended learning approach. The program will combine e-learning components, residential training sessions, practical site visits, and peer-to-peer networking opportunities to provide a comprehensive and immersive learning experience. The detailed program schedule, including specific timings and locations for various learning components, will be communicated prior to the training commencement.

TARGET PARTICIPANTS

This course is designed for a wide range of stakeholders working in or interested in the forest sector, including:

Policy-makers
NGOs
Forest managers
Supply chain professionals
Consultants
Certification auditors
Graduates
Professionals from responsible forest management and academia. (Including those working in the most challenging regions.)

TRAINING MODULES

The course is structured around key components of responsible forest management and sustainable supply chains, providing a holistic understanding of effective interventions:

No	Module	Details
1.	Global Forest Context and Drivers of Unsustainability	This module sets the stage by exploring the overarching pressures on the world’s forests and the root causes of deforestation, poor management, and unsustainable supply chains. The vital importance of forests for humanity and the planet. Global trends in deforestation and forest degradation. Key drivers of unsustainable practices (e.g., agricultural expansion, illegal logging, weak governance). The concept of sustainable supply chains and their necessity.
2.	Principles of Good Forest Governance and Responsible Forest Management	This module delves into the fundamental features of effective governance and responsible practices required for sustainable forest management. Defining good forest governance (transparency, accountability, rule of law). Core principles of responsible forest management. Legal and regulatory frameworks for forestry. Stakeholder engagement and rights-based approaches in forest management.
3.	Environmental and Social Responsibility in Forests	This module focuses on the crucial aspects of protecting environmental values and upholding social responsibilities within forest management. Identifying and protecting High Conservation Values (HCVs). Strategies for biodiversity conservation in managed forests. Best practices for protecting water resources and soils. Social responsibility to indigenous peoples, local communities, and forest workers (e.g., land rights, traditional knowledge, worker safety).
4.	Sustainable Forest Product Supply Chains and Legality	This module examines the journey of forest products from source to market, with a focus on ensuring legality, sustainability, and responsible sourcing. Understanding forest product supply chain dynamics. Illegal logging and its impacts. Due diligence and risk assessment in supply chains. Market demands and consumer awareness for responsibly produced forest products.
5.	Voluntary Forestry Standards, Certification, and Assessment	This module explores the role of voluntary standards and certification systems as practical tools for assessing and promoting responsible forest management and sustainable supply chains. Introduction to major voluntary forestry standards and certification schemes (e.g., FSC, PEFC). The process of forest certification and chain of custody certification. The role of certification auditors and assessment methodologies. Benefits and challenges of voluntary standards as performance management tools

TRAINING STYLE

The modules will be taught through PowerPoint presentations, and lectures and will include a case study/field visit, breakout sessions, case studies and other interactive discussion components.

The course will also include a few guest speakers, both in person and via Zoom and other online learning platforms for overseas speakers. This provides useful real-world insights alongside the more theoretical aspects of the course.

The conference faculty shall consist of experienced decision makers, as well as practitioners and representatives from established educational and research institutions active around climate change, engineering and international development. Throughout the course, theoretical presentation of concepts will be moderated and more group discussions and plenary engagements will be optimized. PowerPoint presentations will be made by facilitators and resource persons, to highlight key concepts before embarking on group work.

GENERAL NOTES

Training manuals and additional reference materials are provided to the participants.
Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be issued with a certificate.
We can also do this as a tailor-made course to meet organization-wide needs. Contact us to find out more: info@ecasiafrica.org.
Payment should be sent to our bank account before the start of training and proof of payment sent to: info@ecasiafrica.org.

ABOUT ECAS INSTITUTE

The ECAS Institute designs and delivers independent and targeted training, research, and consulting services. Our work focusses on climate change and resilience building, carbon markets, renewable energy, nature-based solution, biodiversity conservation, agriculture and food systems, We are located in Nairobi Kenya and work across the African region. We have implemented training and research assignments in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Somalia, Malawi, Rwanda, Congo, and South Africa. Globally, we have supported our partners from the UK, Denmark, Italy, Sweden, Germany, and USA.