Mongolia:

Most of these forests faced serious ecological pressures, including widespread insect pest outbreaks and increasingly destructive, fast-spreading fires. FUG members could clearly see that many of the stands in their forests were too dense and overstocked, with thick, sometimes impenetrable areas that increased pest vulnerability and fire risk.

The obvious solution was selective thinning.

But here was the problem: under Mongolian regulations, cutting a “green tree” without a formal forestry qualification was illegal. Even when thinning was clearly necessary for forest health, FUG members risked fines or penalties if they carried it out.

In other words, communities had been given responsibility for managing forests—but not the legal authority or skills certification required to do so.

The practical constraint

There was another reality. Most FUG members were herders, whose primary livelihoods depended on their livestock. They could not leave their animals for weeks or months to attend formal forestry training courses in distant towns.

So the challenge became clear:

How could local people gain the professional competence and legal authority needed to manage their forests—without abandoning their livelihoods?

So, a pilot initiative, supported by FAO and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Ministry of Environment, tested a simple idea.

Instead of requiring long formal forestry qualifications, short, in-situ training courses were delivered directly to Forest User Groups. These intensive five-day courses were designed to reach a professional forestry standard, with teaching provided by national experts and certified foresters.

Participants learned how to:

𖠰 Assess stand density

𖠰 Plan thinning interventions

𖠰 Carry out pre-commercial thinning safely and effectively

𖠰 Manage harvested poles and residues

Crucially, those who completed the training were formally recognised as qualified to carry out thinning operations.