PROFOR

Interview questions

Program on Forests (PROFOR) Clients

Introduction:

This interview is part of an overall review of the Program on Forests, PROFOR, looking back on the program as it ends and is replaced by a new program, PROGREEN.

PROFOR is a multi-donor trust fund created in 1997 to support in-depth analysis, innovative processes and knowledge-sharing and dialogue on forests. Since 2002, the program has been managed by a core team and a Secretariat based at the World Bank.

While the agenda and partnerships of PROFOR are widening, PROFOR as a program will cease to exist as of end of June 2020. PROGREEN, the newly created multi-donor trust fund on forests and landscapes will take over the agenda. It will build on many of the achievements and partnerships of PROFOR and is likely to be funded by the same donors. PROGREEN will guide much of the Bank’s future analytical work and investments on forests and landscapes, while PROFOR becomes the bridge to this future. That’s why we now want to carefully assess PROFORs achievements and lessons learned during its 18 years at the Bank.

The objective of this overall review of PROFOR is three-fold: (1) to capture the history of the program, (2) to report back to the PROFOR donors on achievements and lessons learned, and (3) to develop recommendations to guide the design and implementation of PROGREEN.

The assessment will examine PROFOR’s:

(1) relevance in terms of development and dissemination of activities (knowledge products, analytics, data and tools) against the changing international forest agenda,

(2) degree of uptake of PROFOR activities by decision-makers, managers and other stakeholders and their influence on forest policy formulation and sustainable management of forests.

(3) partnerships and how these facilitated development of the research agenda and the uptake and influence of PROFOR activities beyond the completion of those activities?

Pre-Questions:

1. Is it ok if we record you? Yes, it is OK
2. We will refer to your involvement with a PROFOR project but will not mention you by name if we quote you in the closing report. Is that alright with you? Alright
3. To really learn from the PROFOR experience, we want to capture what worked well and what didn’t. We want you to be candid. Our review will report on lessons learned. If some of those lessons come from shortcomings, the report won’t assign personal blame or point fingers. It will recommend how PROGREEN could do better.

Fact gathering

1. Tell us about the PROFOR-funded project that you were associated with.
2. Were you aware at the time that the funding came from PROFOR, or did you think of it just as a World-Bank–funded project?

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There are some projects and studies carried out with the World Bank, but we do not know that these have been done under PROFOR. To clarify the matter, I asked some of my friends who I thought might have information. They don’t know anything about PROFOR either.

Considering that PROFOR was founded in 1997 and has been active since 2002, it may be possible to mention the following information.

1. In 2001, upon the request and proposal of General Directorate of Forestry, “Turkey – Forestry Sector Review” report was prepared.  http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/515421468316457849/Turkey-Forestry-Sector-Review
2. In 2010, the General Directorate of Forestry requested to update this document. As a result of long correspondence, it could only be completed in 2017 and “Turkey – Forest Policy Note” document was prepared.http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/694751507885204989/Turkey-Forest-policy-note
3. Two more studies were conducted with this document.
   1. •2017- Poverty, Forest Dependence and Migration in the Forest Communities of Turkey : Evidence and Policy Impact Analysis-https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/28590
   1. •2017- Valuing Forest Products and Services in Turkey : A Pilot Study of Bolu Forest Area-https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/22961

• The Main contact institute for the World Bank regarding forestry issue is the General Directorate of Forests. “Foreign Relations, Training and Research Department” is responsible to coordinate for international cooperation.

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Relevance

• Where did the idea for this project come from?  

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Since these documents prepared by the World Bank are mostly related to the strategic plan and annual investment programs of the institution, the Strategy Development Department has become more active.

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• Were you happy with the final product? Why/why not?

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The reports do not adequately address the situation and demands of the private sector. During the preparation phase, private sector and research and development units are not discussed enough. There is a very strong forest sector in Turkey. There are 13 forest faculties. There are around 20,000 forest engineers and thousands of furniture manufacturers. Non-governmental organizations are very strong. It is one of the largest countries in the fiber-chip industry. International relations are extremely high. But these issues are not adequately addressed in the reports. More information about forest statistics is given. And it’s mostly prepared by the public eye.

Uptake

• How have you used the product(s) you received? Do you continue to use it (them)?
• What do you think could have been improved? (Have you worked with other sponsors who do a better job in designing, implementing, or following up on projects? What do they do well?)

Closing

• What was the most remarkable thing about working on this project?
• Is there anything else you would like to tell us about this work or about PROFOR?

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In fact, one of the most important problems is the lack of permanent employment as a forestry expert at the World Bank office in Turkey.

The presence of a forestry expert who has forestry education and knows the sector and the international arena will both facilitate the work and strengthen the relations. On the other hand, the lack of an institutional agreement between the World Bank and the General Directorate of Forestry (eg a Letter of Agreement) makes it difficult to monitor the work.