This paper reports the results of a pre-test in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, of four methods designed to assess the level and nature of participation by local people in forest management quickly and easily. Two of the methods - the "Iterative Continuum Method" (ICM) and the participatory card sorting method - were deemed helpful.One method, the communication network analysis, was discarded in its current form.The final method, the researcher guide on the functions of participation, was felt in need of revision.

Previous research identified three important issues of relevance to forest people's roles in sustain- able forest management which we address here: the presence of a Conservation ethics, a feeling of closeness to the forest, and a significant forest-culture link. In this paper we examine a method (the Galileo), recently pre-tested for this purpose in West Kalimantan, which we hope can help us to assess such issues quickly, reliably and in a quantitative manner amenable to use by would-be assessors of various educational and experiential levels.

What policies should be adopted regarding enclave populations in national parks and other protected areas and how should the policies be implemented? These questions are important for protected areas throughout the world. Andrew P. Vayda and Ahmad Sahur report here on socio-economic and historical research that they conducted in the rapidly industrialising Indonesian province of East Kalimantan to help deal with such questions.

This book contains a number of commissioned background papers presented at the workshop on ‘Research on Non-timber Forest Products’ (Hot Springs, Zimbabwe, 28 August - 2 September 1995). Bringing together experiences from different regions and professional backgrounds, the book attempts to analyse the complexity of multiple use of forests from a multidimensional perspective that incorporates environmental, social, economic, technological, political, historical and cultural factors. Current topics of discussion are reviewed.

In a year marked by several formal expert-level meetings on certification of forest management and criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management (C&I), most of which were related to the mandate of the Inter-governmental Panel on Forests (IPF), CIFOR and CATIE decided to lead off by hosting an informal meeting of experts from a cross-section of important certification and C&I initiatives.

This study analyses seven factors used to explain the conversion of forest to pasture in Central America between 1979 and 1994: 1) favourable markets for livestock products; 2) subsidised credit and road construction; 3) land-tenure policies; 4) limited technological change in livestock production; 5) policies which reduce timber values; 6) reduced levels of political violence; and 7) characteristics specific to cattle which make conversion attractive. Deforestation rates in Central America declined in the 1980s, but remained high.

Andrew P. Vayda, drawing on his long experience in studying the relations between people and their environments, addresses here the question of how human influences can be better incorporated into ecological studies. Citing relevant sources from the literature of philosophy as well as social and biological science, he argues that we should be guided in our research by the goal of giving causal explanations of concrete human behaviour and its concrete environmental effects.

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. Among the key questions are: (1) How are we to define "forest", "deforestation" and "agency” in the context of Indonesia?

This report documents the conduct of the first field tests of criteria and indicators (C&I) at the forest management unit level. Interdisciplinary and international teams of five persons conducted tests of five sets of C&I in four countries (Germany, Indonesia, Brazil, and Cote d’Ivoire). This report provides a description of the methods used, a thorough analysis of the findings, a combined generic template of C&I dealing with production forestry, policy, social and ecological issues, based on the groups’ results.

Miombo woodlands are the most extensive vegetation type in Africa south of the equator. These dry tropical woodlands cover some 2.5 million hectares and are home to over 40 million people. Miombo products are very important to the livelihoods and basic needs of an additional 15 million urban Africans. The book demonstrates how much livelihood strategies of rural communities depend on miombo goods and services, and indicates the strong differentiation of uses within communities and in space and time.

This article analyzes why it has been easier to promote some types of environmental policy reform in Latin America than others. It first looks at the main groups that might promote such reforms - developed country organizations, the urban middle class, groups that have direct material interests in reform, and movements for social justice.