The role of development partners in Africa: a forestry perspective on benefits, problems and trends

The forest sector is not always as unique as foresters tend to think. In the case of international assistance, this sector has by and large followed the broader trends in official development assistance (ODA). This article seeks to demonstrate how the forest sector could capitalize on emerging trends in ODA, relating its objectives more directly to broader development goals, and championing the shift from project-based interventions to newer instruments of support. It begins with an assessment of the performance of forest-related ODA in the past, continues to look at new directions and trends in ODA, and concludes with consideration of how these trends could be integrated into ongoing and future forest programs.