Program Overview

Introduction to LoCoFoRest

The LoCoFoRest training programme focuses on scaling up restoration of forest landscapes while securing the prosperity of local communities and maintaining and improving ecosystem services.

Objective

LoCoFoRest aims to build capacity in national, regional, and local institutions and organisations, providing participants with the skills and knowledge to support local communities and entrepreneurs in making forest and landscape restoration scalable and taking advantage of new value chains and the growing demands of a biobased economy.

Target Group

The programme targets participants from:

• National, regional, and local government
• Civil society
• Private sector
• Academic organisations working with forest restoration, processing of forest products, management of forest ecosystem services, and natural resources management
• Applicants must be individuals working in these organisations and institutions, requiring the approval of their employer
• The programme is open to participants from Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Lao PDR, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam

Training Programme Components

The programme consists of five components:

• Web-based preparatory course
• Three weeks of training in Sweden
• Mentoring support for a "change-project" in the participant's home country
• Annual restoration conference
• Follow-up alumni and networking programmes in participating countries

Programme Period

LoCoFoRest ITP runs from 2021–2025, with the first call for applications posted in January 2021.

Partners and Donor

The Swedish Forest Agency (SFA) is the lead organiser in partnership with Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) and The Eco-Innovation Foundation (EIF), with financing from the Swedish International Agency for Development Cooperation (Sida).

Facts

Several researchers at SLU contribute as teachers in the programme, including Aida Bargues Tobella, Rosa Goodman, and Francisco Aguila. The programme manager is Anders Malmer (Adjunct Professor at SLU), The Swedish Forest Agency (Skogsstyrelsen).

Programme Details

The LoCoFoRest programme is designed to address the critical question of how to scale up restoration of forest landscapes while securing the prosperity of local communities and maintaining and improving ecosystem services. Forest landscapes are set to play an increasingly important role in the transition from a world reliant on fossil fuels to a circular bioeconomy. Well-managed, natural forests are key for climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as meeting the growing global demand for wood-based products.