The World Bank unveiled practical guidance on Tuesday to tackle the complexity of issues surrounding forests' role in poverty reduction, economic growth, and the protection of local and global environmental commons.

The Forests Sourcebook: Practical Guidance for Sustaining Forests in Development Cooperation is designed to be a resource for countries, staff of the World Bank Group, government and development agencies and other stakeholders in the forest sector, including investment projects, according to a statement released by the World Bank.

The Sourcebook also aims to give guidance on the World Bank's stringent policies that relate to forestry work, said the statement.

The Forests Sourcebook draws on the experiences of more than 70 experts, both within and outside the World Bank, who have applied innovative approaches to implementing the World Bank's Forest Strategy.

Through concrete illustrations in the first section of the document, the Sourcebook looks at the operational implications of seven themes that are priorities in the sector, from how forests can contribute to poverty reduction, to improving forest governance, and mainstreaming forest considerations in macro-policy dialogue.

A second part of the Sourcebook provides specific guidance on how to implement the World Bank's Operational Policy on Forests, considered to be a rigorous, state-of-the-art standard in this sector, with special attention to the vital role that consultation and communication need play if a project with a forest component is to be successful and sustainable.