The planning section comprises of Forestry Planning, Forestry Inventory and Forestry Mapping. Its primary roles are to quantify and monitor the forestry resources in both natural and planted forests and provide advice to the traditional landowners on how to enhance their financial, environmental and social benefits from the resources. The traditional landowners bundle of rights to use, access and control the forestry resources are embedded with diverse cultures that differ by areas and islands. Therefore, the Vanuatu constitution ruled that all land including the natural resources on the land belong to the indigenous landowners and their descendants and custom ruling are the basis of the land rights and uses of the resources. The planning section only provides advices to the resource owners on how to sustainably manage and utilize their resources.
Planning Section Objectives
- To facilitate and develop forest management plans at the national, provincial and at the operational local level in both natural and planted forests,
- To conduct and update the national forestry inventory in both natural and planted forests,
- To conduct and update the forests and land use map of Vanuatu using Geographical Information System and Remote Sensing,
- To produce forestry publications (Newsletters, Posters, Flyers, Documentaries) on various aspects of forestry,
- To provide regular reports to the United Nation Food and Agricultural Organization on the status of the forestry resources in Vanuatu.