This Policy Note discusses the status of
Forestry in the Middle East and North Africa Region (MNA) of
the Bank. The Policy Note is a product of the FAO Investment
Center in Rome, the International Food Policy Research
Institute (IFPRI) and the Bank. Experience in natural
resource management shows that to adequately address
sustainable development, solutions must go beyond any single
sector, and be cross-sectoral. They must also go beyond

The country environmental safeguard
review provides an overall assessment of Bhutan's
environmental safeguard system. The study is not intended to
be comprehensive or prescriptive. It is meant to provide a
broad overview of some key legal, policy, and institutional
challenges and highlight some options for possible future
action. The following points identify the broad focus of the
review: (i) identify critical gaps in Bhutan's policies

Decentralized forest management is an
important policy issue in India and elsewhere. Yet there are
few careful studies of the impacts of community forestry.
The authors try to fill this gap by analyzing National
Sample Survey data from 524 villages in five states in
India. Their analysis seeks to answer two key questions: (1)
Who participates in community forestry and what are the
determinants of participation? (2) What is the impact of

T his report analyzes natural resource
management and governance in the Philippines, identifying
recent trends, current challenges, and future goals. The
first half of the report summarizes the status of the
country's natural resources, describes sector policies,
institutions, and budget mechanisms, and identifies
impediments to improvements. The second half focuses on
three crucial issues for natural resource governance:

This report analyzes the experience
of Cambodia with the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP)
process3. The focus of the report is on evaluating the
performance of the World Bank in supporting the PRSP
initiative, not on appraising the authorities policies.
Given the early stage of the PRS Process, with the document
only formally launched by government in March 2003, the
report focuses on the process of PRSP formulation in

This study by the World Bank indicates that forests offer vast potential for poverty reduction and rural economic growth in India while also supporting critical national conservation goals. An estimated 275 million people in rural areas depend on forests for at least part of their livelihoods. Forest dwellers, which include a high proportion of tribals, are among the poorest and most vulnerable groups in society. The government of India has adopted Joint Forest Management as a principal approach for community-based forestry.

Forest resources directly contribute to
the livelihoods of 90 percent of the 1.2 billion people
living in extreme poverty and indirectly support the natural
environment that nourishes agriculture and the food supplies
of nearly half the population of the developing world.
Forests also are central to growth in many developing
countries through trade and industrial development. However,
mismanagement of this resource has cost governments revenues

Forestry contributes 7-10 percent of Lao
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 15-20 percent of
non-agricultural GDP. In rural areas forest exploitation is
one of the few available economic activities, and non-timber
products provide more than half of family income. The sector
contributes 34 percent of total export value, and even more
of net foreign exchange. Forestry royalties as a share of
government revenues have decreased from 20 percent in the

Forestry contributes 7-10 percent of Lao
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 15-20 percent of
non-agricultural GDP. In rural areas forest exploitation is
one of the few available economic activities, and non-timber
products provide more than half of family income. The sector
contributes 34 percent of total export value, and even more
of net foreign exchange. Forestry royalties as a share of
government revenues have decreased from 20 percent in the

Central control of forests takes
management responsibility away from the communities most
dependent on them, inevitably resulting in tensions. Like
many African countries, Tanzania--which has forest or
woodland cover over 30-40 percent of its land--established
central forestry institutions at a time when there was
little need for active management and protection because
population pressures were low. But in the face of scarce

Mon describes their traditional ceremonies for the forest.

Amphan describes how everything comes from the forest.