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Countering Forest Sector Corruption

Countering Forest Sector Corruption. Presented by Ken Rosenbaum Sylvan Environmental Consultants On behalf of the Forest Integrity Network. What is the Forest Integrity Network?. FIN is an informal network of people concerned about the impact of corruption on the world’s forests.

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Countering Forest Sector Corruption

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  1. Countering Forest Sector Corruption Presented by Ken Rosenbaum Sylvan Environmental Consultants On behalf of the Forest Integrity Network

  2. What is the Forest Integrity Network? • FIN is an informal network of people concerned about the impact of corruption on the world’s forests. • FIN emerged from a 2000 conference at Harvard. • FIN is now a project of Transparency International.

  3. FIN Activities • FIN has a new paper on civil society tools to fight corruption in the forest sector. • FIN is turning its attention to approaches for responsible businesses.

  4. What is corruption? • Abuse of power for private gain. • Not just bribery; corruption can entail a whole family of actions.

  5. Varieties of corruption • Bribery • Favoritism & patronage • Kickbacks • Fraud

  6. Bribery (by objective) • To get a scarce benefit • E.g., a forest concession • To get a discretionary favor • E.g., to avoid prosecution • To get an incidental benefit • E.g., faster service • To impose a cost on others • E.g., competitor gets an inspection

  7. Favoritism & Patronage • Self-dealing • E.g., Buy goods for government from self • Nepotism • E.g., Hire brother-in-law • Cronyism • E.g., Promote based on loyalty

  8. Kickbacks • Money “under the table” from or to suppliers • Excessive gifts & hospitality • Payments from subordinates

  9. Fraud • Defrauding others in the name of the employer • E.g., issuing false certification of species or origin to allow wood export • Defrauding the employer for the benefit of self or others • E.g., setting up ghost employees

  10. Impacts of Corruption • Rule of Law is compromised • Money is often diverted from the forest sector • The market sends altered signals • The biggest losers are those who won’t or can’t pay to play: • The environment • Honest businesses • The poor • Future generations

  11. Some truths about corruption • People may tolerate corruption, but no society approves of it. • Corruption is an ongoing, potential problem in every society. • Countries with low corruption have well-functioning national integrity systems.

  12. National Integrity Systems

  13. Practical Tools

  14. Awareness Raising • Educate the press • Run radio & TV spots • Sponsor a national anti-corruption week • Produce comic books & street theater

  15. Procurement • Organize workshops on procurement processes • Set up a concession website

  16. Access to Information • Compile a forest law reference • Publish a guide to dealing with the government for forest landowners or a guide to the concession process

  17. Public Institutions/Diagnostics • Compile corruption perception indexes • Create citizen report cards • Document agency structure and staffing • Create a stakeholder advisory panel

  18. More Public Institutions Ideas • Compile forest operation statistics • Train people in enforcement, prosecution • Work to protect whistleblowers

  19. Business Ethics • Promote a professional forest ethics code • Promote integrity pacts

  20. Success?? Happy enforcement official with seized logs

  21. Partial wins, ongoing fights • Shutting off the Khmer Rouge timber trade in Cambodia • Outsourcing enforcement, Ecuador • Citizen Report Cards, India • The end of the General Land Office, USA

  22. No magic bullets • By all accounts, the fight against corruption must be a multi-year, ongoing effort • The choice is macro-revolution or micro-revolution/evolution, and macro-revolution is rarely without its downsides

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