Abstract
Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are considered as “win-win” solutions to both government and market failures in sustainable forest management. PPPs in Sri Lanka are filling a regulatory gap resulting from withdrawal of government from the management of forest resources. The national forest policy has emphasized afforestation, conservation and protection as the main components of emerged government-community, donor–recipient and public–private partnerships with local people, rural communities and other stakeholders. Timber and fuel-wood plantations, and agro-forestry woodlots have been established through partnerships. Eco-tourism has been given special emphasis through partnerships between the government agencies, private sector and communities. Private sector involves in forestry as a business through sustainable agro-forestry, imparting financial gain. The government has identified risk mitigation as an integral part of the government–community partnership planning process. Investments of private sector in forest management are committed to enhance inflow of foreign exchange earnings through the export of value added forest products. The Forest Ordinance has empowered Forest Department for the management, protection and development of forest resources. PPPs are far less frequent in rule-setting and implementation of timber and fuel-wood plantations and agro-forestry woodlots. Work undertaken by community based organizations in PPPs occurs on a minor scale. Private-sector involvement in forest resources management has raised serious concerns by public perception about conflict of interest. The Government needs serious efforts and amendment of forest policies to promote public-private partnerships for the sustainable development of forest resources.
Highlights
Public private partnerships (PPPs) are agreements between government and the private sector for providing solution to a wide variety of problems of governance reflecting mutual responsibilities in furtherance of shared interests (OECD, 1996)
Private Partnerships (PPPs) maximize the provision of goods and services jointly from public and private forests according to the climate change research to achieve more effective forest policy (Ministry of Environment, 2011)
The emergence, influence and legitimacy of PPP arrangements vary enormously according to the types and purposes of forest management systems in Sri Lanka
Summary
Public private partnerships (PPPs) are agreements between government and the private sector for providing solution to a wide variety of problems of governance reflecting mutual responsibilities in furtherance of shared interests (OECD, 1996). The proliferation of public– private partnerships is rapidly reconfiguring the international forestry landscape Both the private and the public sectors that play vital roles in modifying the forest management for public, private and community purposes have been identified as the major influencers. Afforestation, conservation and protection activities in Sri Lanka are focused on consultation between government and local community base on the nature of the partnerships. This study attempts to analyze the present state of PPPs in terms of emergence, influence and legitimacy with a view of possible institutional development for the future sustainability of the forestry sector in Sri Lanka. The study uses emergence, influence and legitimacy approach to understand PPP in different forest management activities in Sri Lanka by assessing the involvement of government agencies and their interactions with private sector key stakeholders. Conducting personal discussions with stakeholders who are involving in different forestry projects was aimed to share from their expertise and experiences in PPPs of very complex forest management systems
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