This policy brief discusses the opportunities and challenges facing social forestry in Southeast Asia and recommends that ASEAN Member States, universities and international research organizations mainstream participatory action research (PAR) in social forestry to overcome these challenges and maximize these opportunities. 

The ASFN and RECOFTC report 'The current status of social forestry in climate change adaptation and mitigation in the ASEAN Region' offers insights on national forestry data and information on forest cover and areas managed by local people in ASEAN countries. These infographics provide snapshots of key data presented in the report in national languages. They summarize the current status of community forestry in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam and offer recommendations for effective development of policies and management.

Since 2009, the Government of Switzerland and RECOFTC have partnered with ASEAN through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)’s support to the ASEAN Social Forestry Network (ASFN) and the ASEAN-Swiss Partnership on Social Forestry and Climate Change (ASFCC). This is a brochure describing the RECOFTC activities under the ASFCC Phase II (2014-2016).

In this report the results of an independent assessment of the needs for capacity building for the development of community forestry in Indonesia, are presented. Needs were assessed at the level of the institutional context of community forestry development, key organizations and individuals. The team of 2 national consultants carrying out the assessment used the steps and methods of CBNA procedures developed by RECOFTC. 

Since 2009 RECOFTC through the Grassroots for Capacity Building for REDD+ in Asia project have been working to develop capacities of local partners in five countries (Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal and Viet Nam) to facilitate awareness raising on and initiatives to deal with climate change and REDD+.

Research shows that community forestry enterprises (CFE) in community forestry (CF) sites are restricted due to a number of factors: a lack of support by governments, combined with policies that undermine CFE’s viability; misconceptions by governments that communities are unable to manage forests in a sustainable manner;  and regulatory framework that favours private sector and state forest enterprises. These restrictions prevent CF members from developing and commercializing forest products, thereby only allowing them to benefit from their forests through a subsistence approach.

This brief identifies the problems with the Thai Community Forestry Bill (granted in 2007) that had initially aimed to help forest communities preserve and manage their surrounding forest land and to transfer the rights of management from the central government to local communities.

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.