CIFOR has been actively engaged in field research in Indonesia focussing particularly on the role of forests and forest products in generating sustainable livelihoods for local users. Issues such as incentives and institutional structures for equitable and sustainable management systems have been highlighted in this research, which has been undertaken with the active co-operation of local NGOs.

The typical practice by smallholder teak growers of letting trees grow without management input has resulted in poor quality plantations. Various questions arise when farmers start to better manage their teak plantations. This book provides practical guidance in addressing these questions by explaining in detail the techniques of parent tree selection, seed preparation, seedling production, planting, fertilising, thinning, pruning, controlling pest and disease and harvesting. To be more easily understood, the descriptions are complemented by illustrations, photographs or tables.

This occasional paper is the result of research carried out from 2006 to 2008 on the effects of new tenure rights for forest-based communities in Latin America on access to forest resources and benefits. Focused on seven different regions in four countries, the paper examines changes in statutory rights, the implementation of those rights in practice, and the extent to which they have led to tangible new benefits from forests, particularly to new sources of income.

The Grab Bag' is designed to complement 'the BAG' and for use by social scientists who may find 'the BAG' overly prescriptive. The eight methods presented are either more difficult for non-social scientists to use or, in a couple of cases, can substitute for one or more method presented in 'the BAG'. 'The Scoring and Analysis Guide' provides the user with help in making an actual assessment of the social C&I, based on the results of these methods.

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.

Governments in many countries are decentralising to give more control over decision making and budgets to local administrations. One expectation of this change is that local governments will more effectively and efficiently respond to the poorest citizens in their jurisdictions. Decentralisation is especially significant to forest communities, which have historically benefited little from government services and poverty reduction programmes because of their physical isolation and social marginalisation.

Kemiskinan adalah masalah yang persisten di Indonesia. Tujuh tahun setelah dimulainya desentralisasi hanya terlihat sedikit peningkatan pada kesejahteraan masyarakat. Pemerintah daerah telah memperoleh kesempatan dan tanggung jawab baru untuk melaksanakan pembangunan, tetapi hanya beberapa kabupaten saja yang mempunyai kemampuan dan pengalaman yang diperlukan untuk mengurangi kemiskinan secara efektif. Laporan ini menyajikan potret kemiskinan dan kesejahteraan di Kutai Barat, sebuah kabupaten yang baru didirikan pada tahun 1999.