MESSAGE FROM USAID



This POLICY BRIEF is a product of the Environmental and Natural
Resources Policy and Training (EPAT) Project funded by the United
States Agency for International Development (USAID).  It is part
of USAID's effort to provide environmental policy information to
decisionmakers and practitioners in developing countries.  The
objective is to encourage the adoption of economic policies to
promote sustainable use of natural resources and to enhance
environmental quality.

EPAT POLICY BRIEFS are written for development professionals and
policymakers in developing countries who are responsible for
establishing and implementing policies on the sustainable use of
natural resources and for civil servants, project officers, and
researchers who are directly involved in the implementation of
development activities.  This POLICY BRIEF reviews issues related
to increasing the effectiveness of social forestry programs in
developing countries.  Since growing rural populations in those
areas rely heavily on forest products for their livelihood,
development professionals working with social forestry programs
need more information on improving program effectiveness.

Several organizations have supported this work.  The contribution
of USAID toward writing, printing, and distributing this document
is estimated to be $11,000.  The document is being distributed to
more than 2,000 policymakers and professionals in developing
countries.  We will assess its effectiveness by soliciting the
views of recipients and enclose an evaluation sheet with each
mailing of EPAT publications for that purpose.



David Hales                        Twig Johnson
Deputy Assistant Administrator     Director
Center for the Environment         Office of Environment &       
USAID/G/ENV                        Natural Resources
Washington, D.C. 20523             USAID/G/ENV/ENR
                                   Washington, D.C.  20523