全球智库信息集成服务系统

This study examines two major transitions in forest governance - decentralisation and state-sponsored (formal) community forestry - with respect to whether they are opening spaces for communities to contribute to sustainable forest management. Our main thesis is that there is a need for democratic decentralisation in order to effectively re-engage communities in forest stewardship.
The study consists of an introductory chapter and seven individual country studies India, Nepal, Cambodia, the Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam and China. It employs a critical, structured approach to separate the realities of decentralisation and community forestry from the ideologies that often accompany these movements and to allow for comparison of policies and impacts between countries. Each country study describes and analyses the history of forest management; the current state of forest governance with respect to policy, legislation and institutions and how these are played out at different levels (local, provincial and national), and; decentralisation and community forestry policies and their impacts. Case studies of community forestry are provided to illustrate how the transitions are played out at the local level and each country study finishes with policy recommendations to improve decentralisation processes and formal community forestry programmes as instruments of sustainable forest management.