Laporan penelitian ini menyajikan hasil penelitian lapangan yang dilakukan di Kutai Barat, Kalimantan Timur sebagai bagian dari proyek Menjadikan Pemerintah Daerah Lebih Tanggap Terhadap Kemiskinan: Pengembangan Indikator dan Alat untuk Mendukung Pengembangan Penghidupan yang Berkelanjutan dalam Desentralisasi yang didanai CIFORBMZ. Laporan menunjukkan bahwa dampak otonomi daerah terhadap kesejahteraan Dayak Benuaq, masyarakat yang bergantung pada hutan, kelompok mayoritas masyarakat di Kutai Barat.

Community managed forest systems embody a considerable portion of the wisdom, knowledge, and practical skills and management necessary for the sustainability of forest resources globally. These systems, however, are under threat in many ways, including from the rapid rate of change of their political, socio-economic, and biophysical contexts. Adapting forest management sufficiently quickly and effectively to meet these changes is both urgent and very challenging.

There have been several major research efforts on the rate and causes of Indonesia's deforestation in recent years and much associated literature, but there is still no consensus in the research community on these issues. This paper reviews the areas of uncertainty and confusion, and proposes questions that must be answered to get a better grasp of the subject.