In the REDD+ era, the issue of forest tenure has shot to the top of international forest policy agendas. Even beyond the issue of 'REDD readiness,' there is much debate on the role of tenure in other outcomes of sustainable forest management, in particular livelihoods and forest conservation. This literature review focuses on the latter concern and aims to provide a brief overview of the international literature on the question of the relationship between forest tenure and forest cover change. The objective is to discover whether there is evidence that particular forest tenure regimes have significant relationships with forest cover change.
On the basis of a review of literature published in international peer-reviewed academic journals, the following three findings are suggested:
- globally, the relationship between tenure regime and forest cover change is mixed and there is no clear evidence to suggest that a specific tenure type will ensure forest conservation; however,
- globally, tenure security - including aspects of monitoring and enforcement - is significantly related to improved forest cover; and
- globally, local rule-making is also significantly related to improved forest cover.
This study was conducted by HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Nepal, in collaboration with the Rights and Resources Initiative.
Authors and Publishers
HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation (or Helvetas in brief) is a Swiss association for international cooperation. It was founded in 1955 as the first private organization for development co-operation in Switzerland.
Helvetas is an international network of independent affiliate member organisations working in the field of development cooperation and emergency response. The main focus of our work is on international projects.
The Rights and Resources Initiative is a strategic coalition of international, regional and community organizations engaged in development, research and conservation. Together, we are working to encourage greater global commitment and action on pro-poor tenure, policy and market reforms.
Data provider
RECOFTC
RECOFTC is derived from an abbreviated form of the organization's legal name, Regional Community Forestry Training Center for Asia and the Pacific. Formerly the organization was known as RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests.