Legal and institutional aspects of urban, peri-urban forestry and greening: A working paper for discussion by Lidija Knuth FAO LEGAL PAPERS ONLINE #48 September 2005 FAO Legal Papers Online is a series of articles and reports on legal issues of contemporary interest in the areas of food policy, agriculture, rural development, biodiversity, environment and natural resource management. Legal Papers Online are available at http://www.fao.org/legal/prs-ol/paper-e.htm, or by navigation to the FAO Legal Office website from the FAO homepage at http://www.fao.org/. For those without web access, email or paper copies of Legal Papers Online may be requested from the FAO Legal Office, FAO, 00100, Rome, Italy, [email protected]. Readers are encouraged to send any comments or reactions they may have regarding a Legal Paper Online to the same address. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the United Nations or the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The positions and opinions presented do not necessarily represent the views of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. © FAO 2005 Legal Papers Online September 2005 Table of Contents Foreword List of abbreviations and acronyms Acknowledgements Executive summary 1. Introduction 2. Definitions of urban, peri-urban forestry and greening 2.1 Technical definitions 2.2 Legal definitions 3. International framework 3.1 UN-Habitat 3.2 Agenda 21, Chapter 11, Combating Deforestation 3.3 Rio’s “forest principles” 3.4 Convention on Biological Diversity 3.5 United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification 3.6 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol 3.7 Conclusion 4. The legal framework at national and sub-national levels 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Regulations and by-laws on trees 4.3 Forestry legislation 4.4 Environmental legislation 4.5 Land use planning and land ownership 4.6 Urban agriculture 4.7 Fuelwood-related legislation 4.8 Erosion control and watershed protection 4.9 Incentives 5. Institutional framework 6. Conclusion References Annexes Annex 1 - A. Selected legislations around the world B. Websites Annex 2. Legal, policy and institutional issues of urban and peri-urban forestry and greening Legal Papers Online September 2005 Boxes Box 1: On the broad definitions used by Strom, 2000 Box 2: Location and nature of tree systems in the context of urban and peri-urban forestry and greening Box 3: Section IV C. of the UN-Habitat Agenda: Sustainable human settlements development in an urbanizing world Box 4: Istanbul declaration on human settlements: General Assembly resolutions 51/177 of 16 December 1996 and 53/242 of 28 July 1999 Box 5: Agenda 21, Chapter 11, on “Combating Deforestation” Box 6: By-laws currently in effect within the City of Toronto Box 7: National Forest Act of South Africa, Section 32 Box 8: National Environmental Management Act of South Africa no. 107 of 1998, Section 1 Box 9: Coordination of greening efforts in Hong Kong Box 10: What is the “Johannesburg City Parks” agency and how does it work Tables Table 1: Scope of the term “forest” in different countries Table 2: Examples of the analysed provisions on fuelwood in the context of UPFG Legal Papers Online September 2005 Foreword It is a recognized fact that forest and trees in rural areas contribute to the improvement of livelihoods and the alleviation of poverty. With more than two-thirds of humanity living in cities by the year 2050, the global village, which already accounts for over 50 percent of the people in cities, is turning into an urban globe. This deep transformation of societies and their territory generally generates poverty and other perverse effects, namely, natural resource degradation. Among the problems faced by cities in developing countries and those with economies in transition is one of first necessity product supply (agricultural products, wood energy and water), erosion, sand encroachment and floods. On the other hand, fighting against pollution and looking for recreational areas have become universal needs. Good tree and forest management in and around cities, associated with good governance, enabling policies, participatory approaches and capacity building of stakeholders should lead to convincing and promising results. An important result for poor dwellers is income generation from the production of service wood, fuelwood, non-wood forest products and foodstuffs. Activities towards reduction of air pollution and other environmental improvement can also generate income and reduce expenses. The policy and legal conditions for promoting forest and tree cover in urban environments and the constraints on the use of and access to these resources are different from those of forestry in rural areas. As part of its mandate to support countries in addressing poverty alleviation and food security, FAO assists in building the capacities of national policy and decision-makers and institutions in order to address legal, economic, social and environmental issues related to urbanization and urban environment with regard to trees and forests. However, so far little information has been published on this subject generally, and in particular on the legal and institutional aspects of UPFG. For those who are interested in understanding the overall legal and institutional framework of UPFG in their country, and in developing an enabling policy-legal-institutional environment for UPFG, this concept note is intended to provide a basic understanding of the overall legal framework at national and sub-national levels. The suggested elements provided in the annex cover relevant aspects of the legal and institutional framework of UPFG, as well as guidelines for undertaking case studies at national and city levels, with particular attention to developing countries. This paper was prepared in 2004 by Lidija Knuth, Legal Intern, in the framework of her post-graduate studies. She worked under the joint supervision of Michelle Gauthier of the Forest Conservation Service (FORC), Forestry Department, and Ali Mekouar of the Development Law Service (LEGN), Legal Office. Ali Mekouar Jean-Prosper Koyo Chief Chief Development Law Service Forest Conservation Service Legal Office Forestry Department Legal Papers Online September 2005 List of abbreviations and acronyms CBD Convention on Biological Diversity FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations IUCN World Conservation Union NFAP National Forestry Action Programme NGO Non-governmental organization OPFA Ontario Professional Foresters Act UA Urban agriculture UN United Nations UNCCD United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, particularly in Africa UNCED United Nations Conference on Environment and Development UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UPA Urban and peri-urban agriculture UPFG Urban and peri-urban forestry and greening Legal Papers Online September 2005 Acknowledgements I would like to thank FAO, in general, and the Forest Conservation Service (FORC) and the Development Law Service (LEGN), in particular, for their support throughout this study. More especially, I would like to express my gratitude to Mr Ali Mekouar for his patience and invaluable guidance. Special thanks are extended to the following people for providing information on specific topics: Jim Chi-Yung, Chair of Geography, University of Hong Kong (China), W. Andrew (Andy) Kenney, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto (Canada), Fabio Salbitano, Professor of Urban Forestry, Department of Science and Technologies of the Forest Environment, Università di Firenze (Italy) and Li Zhiyong, Research Institute of Forestry Policy and Information, Chinese Academy of Forestry. Many thanks also to those persons and institutions from many countries across the world, too numerous to mention here, that provided me with relevant information. Lidija Knuth Legal intern Legal Papers Online September 2005 Legal and institutional aspects of urban, peri-urban forestry and greening: by Lidija Knuth Executive summary In general, urban and peri-urban forestry and greening (UPFG) receives little attention on political agendas despite its importance for the social, economic, aesthetic and environmental benefits for society. This is even more problematic in developing countries and countries with economies in transition, where urban development is too often accompanied by severe degradation of the environment (including trees and forests), poverty increase and food insecurity. This document succinctly describes the legal and institutional issues related to UPFG globally, and illustrates them through some case studies. The paper provides an overview of existing UPFG laws and regulations and identifies the main issues that legislative bodies may have to consider with regard to UPFG. It is divided into six parts. The first and last parts contain introductory and concluding considerations. Part 2 analyzes the definition of UPFG, including its technical and legal features. UPFG is broadly defined to include shrubs, trees and forest as well as lower vegetation encompassing recreation parks, agroforestry,