The National Forest Policy (PFN) is a national sectoral policy with a duration of 19 years (2006-2025). The main objectives of the Plan are: (a) the consolidation and strengthening of forestry institutions; (b) the preservation of forests and biodiversity, to be managed efficiently in the context of sustainable forest development; (c) to attain an increased production and productivity of forest goods and services; (d) to increase the extension of forest surfaces by recoverying degraded and deforested areas; (e) to ensure that economic, social and environmental functions of forests are significantly contributing to economic and social development of Paraguay. In response, the PFN seeks to optimize the contribution of forestry to the sustainable socio-economic development of Paraguay, within the economic, social and environmental functions of forests. The following programmatic lines for sustainable forestry development in Paraguay are established: 1) institutional strengthening, 2) adjustment of the legal framework, 3) forestry land planning, 4) sustainable forest management, 5) forest plantations and agroforestry systems, 6) financing and incentives, 7) competitiveness of the forest industry, 8) control and supervision, 9) applied forestry research, and 10) education. The PFN focuses on making forestry in Paraguay more productive and sustainable . It provides for financial mechanisms to compensate, support, and encourage forests owners for the generation of environmental goods and services with the aim to ensure biodiversity preservation; to reverse the loss and degradation of forests and promote sustainable management of forest ecosystems; to promote and encourage public and private investment in reforestation, agroforestry and enrichment of degraded natural forests to recover forest land for economic use and to incorporate them in the development of the economy; to improve production, productivity, and quality of forests through sustainable forest management plans. The PFN will generate employment in rural areas. Particularly, it seeks to improve the quality of life of rural communities by incorporating them into forest management activities to internalize in the rural areas economic and socio-environmental benefits afforded by forest goods and services. The PFN will provide financing mechanisms for thedevelopment of agroforestry and silvo-pastoral programs, and promote the development, diversification and competitiveness of the forest industry by creating favourable conditions for forest investment from large, medium and small enterprises to ensure a growing supply of forest products for the domestic and international markets, and its integration in production and commercial chains. Furthermore measures are laid down to improve the competitiveness and efficiency of the forest industry for higher value-added forest products and its positioning in the national and international markets; to promote economic valuation of goods and services from native forests and forest plantations; to encourage the development of forestry research and its dissemination to improve the generation and transfer of appropriate technologies for the forest sector; to create and strengthen a National Forest Information System; to promote education and ongoing training of qualified human resources, at different levels, to accompany the development of the forestry sector; and to promote awareness of the population in the conservation and sustainable use of forests and its strategic importance to the economic development of the country The PFN will promote forest plantation to access the benefits of greenhouse gases mitigation programmes and other environmental services generated by forests. The State Forestry Administration will be the executing agency of the PFN and the Mesa Forestal Nacional will be the support mechanism to enhance the process of sustainable forest development in the country, while in close collaboration with other recognized consensus bodies. In addition, a National Forest Programme will be formulated and implemented as the main instrument of implementation of the PFN. This Programme will be based on a set of regulation and plans to reach asustainable forest management and development of Paraguay, adjusted to the socio-economic, cultural, political and environmental conditions of the country. In addition, this Programme will be a continuous process of planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, which will be reviewed regularly to respond to changing situations, new knowledge and acquired experience.
Paraguay · 2006-12-01