Special Feature 



STEWARD: Rethinking West African Forest Management with a 



Regional Approach 



Shelley W. Saxen, Scott Bode, Diane Rusself 



The Sustainable and Thriving Environments for West Africa Regional Development Program 

 (STEWARD) is a joint effort spearheaded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) 

 and the US Forest Service (USPS). STEWARD'S aim is to foster greater regional collaboration to 

 improve natural resource management (NRM) and livelihoods in the Upper Guinean Forest Ecosystem. 

 STEWARD provides a platform for generating a more coherent and strategic regional approach to 

 address regional threats to biodiversity as well as capitalize on regional opportunities to spread best 

 practices, harmonize policies, and improve regional markets. Using a regional approach to forest 

 management presents unique opportunities to better address wildlife management in West Africa. 



The impetus for STEWARD derived from a realization that addressing NRM and sustainable 

 development needs within the Upper Guinean Forest Ecosystem requires a holistic, integrated, large- 

 scale approach to achieve significant, long-lasting successes. Countries were coming out of conflict 

 where borders became increasingly permeable - people, animals and goods moving rapidly within and 

 outside the region. Moving beyond an exclusively small-scale, site- 

 specific focus and recognizing essential socio-ecological 

 interconnections and interdependencies across the region, 

 STEWARD is designed to support the sharing of best practices to 

 enhance natural resource management and livelihoods in the 

 region. The current natural resource situation in the region is fast- 

 paced and challenging, with governments and local people facing a 

 multitude of new investors and policy initiatives. Hence the need to 

 share lessons and models within the region and with actors outside 

 the region who have experience and knowledge. USAID and USFS 

 have significant regional as well as global presence and experience 

 in sustainable natural resource management, thus STEWARD is 

 well-poised to make significant positive impacts with its regional 

 focus. Wildlife, in particular, is well placed to benefit from a 

 regional program that acknowledges migration corridors across 

 borders and fundamental interdependencies that must be supported 

 to improve wildlife management beyond the national level. 



A regional scale initiative in the Upper Guinea ecosystem promotes 

 the transfer of knowledge and lessons among countries. For 



example, in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, lessons are being learned about cocoa production in relation to 

 natural forest conservation. Liberia is a leader in forest policy reform and timber certification 

 procedures. Guinea has pioneered participative forest management in the region. Other West African 

 countries are advanced in approaches to natural regeneration of degraded lands and in decentralized 

 natural resource management. In regard to wildlife management specifically, a regional approach that 

 STEWARD could capitalize on these and other best practices whose impacts include the following: 



• Reduction of open access poaching 



• Restoration of wildlife populations 



• Enhanced protection of endangered threatened species '" 



Year 1: 



In STEWARD'S first year, 

 the program will address 

 forest management, 

 wildlife management, 

 marine and coastal zone 

 issues, biodiversity 

 conservation, and policy 

 harmonization between 

 governments from a 

 regional perspective in five 

 countries in West Africa: 

 Guinea, Sierra Leone, 

 Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, and 

 Ghana. 



'us Forest Service International Programs, 1099 14* St. NW, Suite 5500W, Washington, DC 20005 USA, ssaxen@fs.fed.us 



"US Agency for International Development, Economic Growth and Trade Bureau, Natural Resources Advisor 



'us Agency for International Development, Economic Growth and Trade Bureau, Biodiversity and Social Science Advisor 



Nature & Faune Vol. 23, Issue 1 



