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Backgrounder: International Model Forests Network (IMFN)

Launched in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio, the IMFN promotes multi-stakeholder cooperation to advance the management, conservation, and sustainable development of all forest resources in the world's major forest ecosystems. The primary goal of this international program is to increase the understanding and practice of sustainable forest management on a global scale.

The IMFN program works with interested countries and institutions to establish a global network of model forests representing the major forest ecosystems of the world. Model forests use locally-based partnerships to develop locally-relevant operational visions of sustainable forest management, along with the tools and processes to achieve it.

Over the past decade, the model forest approach has been a highly effective tool, not only for technical aspects of sustainable management, but also in support of development. It does so by addressing essential human needs at a practical level in areas such as governance and civil society, poverty alleviation, sustainable livelihoods, and watershed protection -- all within the context of healthy and sustainable forest ecosystems, and sustainable communities within them. The approach also calls for the meaningful participation of indigenous peoples and other marginalized groups in discussion and decision-making about how forest resources are used.

The IMFN currently includes 19 model forests in 11 countries. These are in addition to the Canadian Model Forest's 11 sites.

The IMFN Secretariat supports the maintenance and growth of the international network and works as an advocate and technical resource agency for network members. It is housed at Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and is supported by IDRC, CIDA, Natural Resources Canada/Canadian Forest Service (NRCan/CFS), and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT).

Regional Model Forest Centre for Latin America and the Carribean (RMFC)

The Regional Model Forest Centre for Latin America and the Carribean (RMFC) is the latest initiative in the 10-year history of the IMFN. The centre, which will be based at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Santiago, Chile, represents an important and dedicated partnership of countries and institutions in support of sustainable forest management (SFM).

Founding partners in this initiative include Argentina, Canada (through the Canadian International Development Agency - CIDA, and International Model Forest Network Secretariat - IMFN/IDRC), Chile, and the Dominican Republic, as well as the UNDP. Canada, through CIDA's America's Branch will provide $1.5 million over three years to support this center.

International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

Canada's International Development Research Centre is one of the world's leading institutions in the generation and application of new knowledge to meet the challenges of international development. For more than 30 years, IDRC has worked in close collaboration with researchers from the developing world in their search for the means to build healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous societies.