Participatory Forest Management, Policy Process and Institutional Strengthening Specialist

Cor has over 30 years experience working in Participatory Forest Management. He has worked as an agricultural extension coordinator in Kenya, as lecturer and researcher in socio-economic aspects of forest management and policy in Wageningen Agricultural University, as rural sociologist in an FAO regional wood energy development program in Asia, as coordinator of the FAO-RECOFTC Forest, Trees and People Network in Asia and as head of the collaborative community forestry programs in RECOFTC. Since late 2004 he has worked as a free lance consultant on more than 20 assignments in planning, training, and evaluation of participatory natural resource management programs and projects. Main clients have included FAO, RECOFTC, SDC, The World Bank, Danida, IDRC, and Ford Foundation. He also acts as the Representative of MDF Training and Consultancy in Thailand.

Education:

MSc (Ir) Rural Sociology – Wageningen Agricultural University, The Netherlands. 1972 to 1978.

Diploma (Ing) - Dordrecht Agricultural College. 1966-1969.

Key services:

• Participatory Forest Management advisory services related to programme/approach design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
• Trainings capacity building related to various topics, Participatory Forest Management and Community Forestry, Participatory Approaches, Rapid Rural Appraisal, and M&E
• Project coordination and management
• Policy processes/policy development
• Participatory workshop design and facilitation/ facilitating project programme planning and review processes. 
• Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation
• Organizational and Institutional Assessment and Development

Country experience:

Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Pakistan, Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, India, China, Kenya, Nepal, Netherlands, Spain, France.

Contact: cor.veer@gmail.com

Tel +66818071680              +66818071680                    +6629877202              +6629877202                        

Home base: Thailand

See Full CV. 

What clients say about Cor Veer?

''Excellent job. The paper is now much more concise and to the point. The key issues are discussed well and the conclusions drawn are well in line with the earlier discussion'' (Hein Mallee, IDRC, commenting on the report of the CF synthesis study)

''Thank you very much for your excellent work.(…) I think the guide should be applied not only in SE China but also in all collective forest areas of China''. (Dr. Jiang, Chunqian, FAO project coordinator, China, commenting on the PFM guides).

''Thanks for the great work and many thanks to Cor Veer for his tireless efforts on this assignment'' (Toby Carson, Learning Institute Program Advisor commenting on the draft strategic plan)

What has Cor been working on recently?

Early 2012, Cor completed work on the FAO-RECOFTC draft training guide for facilitators of forest tenure reform processes. The reform process principles proposed in the FAO Forestry Paper 165  Reforming forest tenure. Issues, principles and process, were the basis for the development of the training materials. The materials were tested in a pilot training in Vietnam, with participants from national and provincial level actively involved in forest tenure reform.

Figure: Mapping the forest with villagers in Hue, Vietnam

Based on the lessons from the pilot training, the ‘training module for tenure process facilitators’ was re-written.

The module comprises 7 sub-modules as summarized in Fig below. FAO will use the module for further field testing and adaptation in Africa.

Figure: Key topics in training module

From July to September 2012, Cor worked for the EC-SFA-FAO project on Forest tenure in China, to prepare a synthesis paper of the results of pilot applications of training materials and research in  participatory forest management (PFM) carried out in 6 provinces in South East China. The lessons from the research formed the basis for the preparation of a guide for the strengthening of collective forest management, as well as a policy brief for collective forest tenure reform. In addition a synthesis report of the assessment of the operations of ‘forest tenure trade centers’ was prepared.

The findings from the PFM assessments indicated that the greatest needs for strengthening the management of the collective forests by the newly empowered owners, were in the alleviation of ‘old’ policy restrictions as well as the provision of a wide range of advisory (forestry extension) services.

Figure The six project pilot provinces

The policy brief points at the need to replace the restrictions related to forest protection and harvest control through policy instruments that are more in line with the new situation that has emerged after the tenure reform. New policy instruments to be developed include voluntary guidelines for sustainable forest management and the development of an effective forestry extension service.

The guide for strengthening collective forest management provides a framework for assessment and strengthening of forestry extension in collective forest areas.

In October and November, Cor worked with RECOFTC in assisting the UNCCD in the preparation of reports on the implementation of regional and sub-regional action programs to combat desertification and land degradation in Asia. These reports form the basis for the review and planning of the implementation of the UN convention on combating desertification and land degradation to be held in early 2013. 

Figure: Interview during assessment of forest tenure trade centres.

He assisted UNCCD National Focal Points in Performance Review and Assessment of Implementation System.National focal points from North- and South East Asia were trained by RECOFTC as the Regional Reference Center in one regional and one national training workshop in Myanmar, in preparing on-line reports on the progress of the implementation of the UNCCD sustainable land management programs and policies in their countries. The reports prepared are now being reviewed and analyzed to draw lessons and identify implications for planning and monitoring of future activities in sustainable land management. Client: RECOFTC

He is representing MDF in Thailand. A mailing list of potential clients based in Thailand for MDF’s products and services is being developed, information about courses and consultancies disseminated, briefings on request of potential clients held and arrangements for open subscription courses made. Client: MDF Training and Consultancy

More examples of Cor's recent track record.