What is a national forest programme (nfp)?
The term “national forest programme” (nfp*) is a generic expression for a wide range of approaches towards forest policy formulation, planning and implementation at the subnational and national levels. As one of the most important outcomes of international forest policy dialogue, the nfp is the first commonly agreed framework for sustainable forest management which is applicable to all countries and to all types of forests. Hence, an nfp serves as a framework to put international agreements on sustainable forest management into practice
The nfp is a country-specific process which provides a framework and guidance for:
- country-driven forest sector development;
- national implementation of internationally agreed concepts (such as sustainable forest management), agreed obligations (e.g. UN conventions) and proposals (e.g. Proposals for Action drawn up during the IPF/IFF process);
- external support: nfps have been declared the common frame of reference for forest-related international cooperation by the world’s major organizations and fora and most bilateral donors.
* In line with the established use within many organizations, the term ‘nfp’ is spelled with lower-case letters when it is used to signify the general concept