Commodity-driven deforestation and forest conservation efforts in the Mekong region have placed multiple pressures on community-based resource systems, undermining tenure security and livelihoods. In response, several initiatives have been mobilized by states, communities, and civil society organizations which aim to recognize and formalize customary forest tenure rights.

Containing contributions from academics, practitioners, and professionals, the Routledge Handbook of Community Forestry presents a truly global overview with case studies drawn from across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The Handbook begins with an overview of the chapters and a discussion of the concept of community forestry and the key issues. Topics as wide-ranging as Indigenous forestry, conservation and ecosystem management, relationships with industrial forestry, trade and supply systems, land tenure and land grabbing, and climate change are addressed.

This introduction to the chapters on community forestry in North America summarises the often-traumatic post-Columbian interactions between Native Americans and waves of immigrants mainly from Europe. The Indigenous land management, mostly by controlled ground fire set in small patches, enables annual harvests of multiple goods and services from the forest. This ‘light touch’ management is sensitive to local ecologies and reduces the risk of catastrophic fires, which have been exacerbated by a century of government attempts to stop all forest fires.