Establishing a Community Forest

Collaboration between KKL-JNF and residents in establishing a community forest is based on a vision, a shared pact signed by KKL-JNF and the local authority, and a master plan with statutory status.

As changes in the composition and needs of the population occur from time to time, the process of the pact and updating or ratifying the master plan must be repeated approximately every 8 years. For this reason the life span and the stages in the life of the community forest have three phases:

Setting the process in motion – during the first year to three years, during which the local authority–KKL-JNF collaboration mechanisms are established, a shared vision and pact are created, which relate to the long term, a community plan of action is built and a master plan is advanced.
Execution and retention – four to six years during which a master plan, ongoing maintenance of the collaboration mechanisms, the forest, and the community activity are implemented.
Refreshing – in the seventh year, the collaboration mechanisms and their circle of participants are refreshed, and the long-term vision, the pact, and the master plan and continuation of the community activity are renewed.

Stages in setting the process of a community forest in motion

There are several main stages in setting the process of a community forest in motion. However, it is important to adapt the process to the local context. Some of the components detailed can and should be carried out in parallel and not one after the other:

Local authority-KKL-JNF agreements: Consolidate agreements between the local authority and KKL-JNF with the blessing of the head of the authority, and establish a leading task force while keeping to the understandings between the authority and KKL-JNF.
Preparation: Create a shared language, coordinate expectations, allocate roles and responsibilities, and create a work program for setting the process of a community forest in motion.
A wide and varied steering committee that will deal with getting to know the community forest, the process of establishing it, creating mechanisms of community involvement, and recruiting interested parties to promote the step of starting the community forest.
Inform and involve the public and use tools to create circles of involvement at different levels.
Build task forces (physical, community, other) based on the outcomes of public involvement.
Forest Trustees: Create a high-quality and energetic group of interested parties in the community to advance the community forest.
An event to launch the community forest and make the process public.
Implement a plan of action in practice in the community forest closely accompanied by the leading team.
Continuation mechanisms, creating a routine of meetings and encouraging community initiatives and activities in the forest.

Ramot Be'er Sheva Community Forest. Photograph: Oranit Ginat