Community-Based Tree and Forest Product Enterprises: Market Analysis and Development

Key points in document

• The manual defines the Market Analysis and Development (MA&D) process, and provides planners with the information necessary to prepare for and to implement the MA&D process with respect to community-based enterprise development.
• The MA&D approach aims to guide conservation enterprise development towards sustainability, ultimately resulting in an enterprises owned and run entirely by "empowered entrepreneurs."
• The audience for this manual is at the project management, planning, and decision-making level.
• It is recommended that facilitators use the Field Facilitator Guidelines, part of the larger MA&D package created by FAO and partners, for the field-based implementation of the MA&D approach.
• The manual offers guidance on using the MA&D approach to ensure the appropriate conditions for community-based tree and forest product enterprises rather than presenting specific lessons from case studies on enabling conditions.

Information relevant to Learning Questions:

Are enabling conditions in place to support a sustainable enterprise?

• Stakeholder alignment
• Market demand, access to credit/capital
• Ownership, governance
• Government requirements, policies for enterprises, business alliances
• Financial management capacity, technical capacity
• Inputs, equipment
• Targeted participants, biodiversity linkage, policies for and enforcement of resource use

Does the enterprise lead to benefits to stakeholders?

• Increased income for participants
• Non-cash benefits

Do the benefits lead to positive changes in attitudes and behavior?

• Attitudes regarding sustainable use of resources

Does a change in stakeholders’ behaviors lead to a reduction to threats to biodiversity (or restoration)?

• Biological resource use
• Natural system modifications

Does a reduction in threats (or restoration) lead to conservation?

• Forest ecosystems
• Species