While participation is seen as an important part of sustainable natural resource management, it is not always successful – a number of studies to date indicate conflicting values and power inequalities can significantly undermine participatory processes. A new paper in the Journal of Forest Policy and Economics examines another source of conflict: differing views of reality and underlying cultural biases.

I am very glad to have this opportunity to be at the World Forestry Congress.

My name is Theya Chaw from Layshi township, Khantee district, Sagaing region of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. I am from the Naga ethnic group, and come from a remote area near the tri-junction of India, China and Myanmar.

Where I come from, land is divided and ruled according to our local ancestral customs, and traditionally managed without the main purpose of forest  conservation. In the past, local communities made their living through Taung-ya or shifting cultivation.

"I believe that the work of RECOFTC is of greater importance now than any time in its 20 year history. Governments of the region face enormous new challenges as they seek to develop forest conservation and management regimes that simultaneously reduce emissions from forest loss and degradation, contribute to national economic development, and meet the needs and aspirations of forest-dependent people. The people who live and work in communities in and near forests can be the most effective allies in these efforts."

Summary

• Strategic Implications

Over the past two decades, the Government of Vietnam (GoV) has experimented with a variety of policies seeking to include local people in sustainable forest management. For example, Decree 02/CP (dated January 1994) marked a radical move in shifting forest management responsibility away from state organizations to individual households. IGOs are expected to encourage local people’s participation in forest management, which would make a significant contribution to sustainable forest management.

In search of excellence deviates from the path that most authors have taken. Instead of dwelling on the failures and the negative, it celebrates the “good” and the many positive management efforts in the Asia–Pacific region. It highlights the many people who are striving for excellence in forest management and seeks to encourage others to emulate these positive efforts. Collectively, the story of forestry that emerges may be more about endeavour and ingenuity than greed, indifference and incompetence.

Seventy percent of Indonesia’s land area (128 million ha) is classified as forest land. Estimates of the number of villages located on these lands vary from 25 000 to 33 000 with an estimated population of 50 to 70 million people. Many of these inhabitants claim customary rights to around 40 million ha of state forest land, claims that were recently recognized, in principle, in a ruling of the Constitutional Court on 16 May 2013.

This paper summarizes key discussions from the 1st ASEAN-Swiss Partnership on Social Forestry and Climate Change (ASFCC) Learning Group workshop organized by RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests in August 2015. The discussions highlight a number of ways community forestry (CF) can support local communities in adapting to climate change.

Kembalinya isu agraria di ranah kebijakan nasional merupakan periode penting setelah berakhirnya Orde Baru. Kebijakan Reforma Agraria dan Perhutanan Sosial (RA/PS) telah masuk dalam RPJMN 2014-2019. Sejumlah 12,7 juta ha kawasan hutan diperuntukkan sebagai  Perhutanan Sosial dan 9 juta ha sebagai Tanah Obyek Reforma Agraria (TORA). Skema TORA ada dua model, yaitu: penataan kembali sektor pertanahan melalui legalisasi aset seluas 4,5 juta ha dan penyediaan akses tanah melalui redistribusi lahan seluas 4,5 juta ha.

How equitable are benefits and costs being shared in community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) programs? To what extent are the voices of marginalized groups shaping the design and implementation of community based resource management systems?

The Forest Governance Learning Group (FGLG) Vietnam undertook a survey in Dak Lak and Thua Thien Hue provinces between December 2006 and April 2007. The survey aimed to provide insights into different forms of community forest management, the factors influencing its success, and their contribution to poverty alleviation. 

เอกสารที่รวบรวมข้อมูลพื้นฐานของชุมชนบ้านคลองเรือไว้อย่างครบถ้วน เหมาะสำหรับผู้ที่สนใจทั่วไป

Volume 2, Issue 4 of the ASEAN Social Forestry Network's (ASFN) quarterly newsletter, outlining recent project activities implemented by RECOFTC - The Center for People and Forests