Small forestry enterprises: Drivers of sustainable development? Report of a side event for The seventh session of the United Nations Forum on Forests

This side event on small forestry enterprises on April 23rd in New York at the UN Forum on Forests laid out a challenge to forest decision makers. It described how small and medium forest enterprises (SMFEs) are the norm in the forest sector - typically comprising the majority of forest enterprises in developing countries. The side event explored what can be done to reconnect SMFEs to policy processes, business support structures and markets. James Mayers of IIED chaired the event with Duncan Macqueen of IIED and Andy White of the Rights and Resources Initiative setting the scene internationally on SMFEs and calling on all to "allow them to exist, allow them to compete". Practical case studies were presented from Guyana, South Africa and Guatamala.