This edition of the journal has set out to explore the theme " Forests and People: Investing in Africa’s Sustainable Future”. The academia, research, development community, civil society and individuals working in the forestry sector and related fields are contributing short articles to this edition of the journal. Authors explore the topic from varying perspectives and share their experiences, challenges and dreams on the future of Africa’s forests as they relate to African people and their sustainable future.

Ce numéro du journal Nature & Faune aborde le thème central suivant : « Les Forêts et les populations : Investir dans un avenir durable pour l’Afrique ». Il s’agit d’un numéro spécial pour célébrer la toute première édition du Congrès forestier mondial (CFM) en Afrique. Cet évènement offre aux pays, scientifiques, forestiers, décideurs et professionnels africains du secteur forestier et des domaines afférents, une opportunité de présenter leurs activités en cours dans le cadre du développement de la foresterie en Afrique.

A Preliminary Assessment by RRI, Vasundhara and NRMC. Provides  potential area, state, district and village wise area over which CFR (and IFR) rights can be recognized under the FRA; now used as a baseline for planning and effective implementation of CFR rights, assess the extent to which the law has been implemented; delineate data on forest land, villages & population within village boundaries and CFR Recognition Status. 

The Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) supported a scoping study to understand the range of post CFR issues in the central Indian landscape,  especially in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha. It also proactively sought to draw experiences from states such as Maharashtra and Kerala where established mechanisms related to post CFR issues have been implemented through various partnerships.

Two-thirds of Viet Nam's land area of 33 million ha is mountainous. Almost half of the land area is classified as forest, with one-quarter of Viet Nam's 90 million people living near or in forest lands. Many of them belong to 53 ethnic minority groups. There is a high correlation between the incidence of poverty and forests. Forest tenure reforms initiated in the 1990s, have resulted in considerable diversification of tenure arrangements, with almost 30 percent of the forest land under management by local people, either by individual households or village communities. 

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.

This is a case study under the USAID supported "Grassroots Equity and Enhanced Networks in the Mekong Program" for  Na Ot village, Na Ot commune, Mai Son district, Son La province, Viet Nam. The Na Ot villagers have protected their forest ever since the establishment of the village, but poverty has been one of the reasons why they didn’t take part in the protection more proactively in the previous years as they had to focus on income generation.

In its present state, the analysis of the wood industry system in Tanimbar archipelago only covered the South part of the Yamdena island. In this part of the island, the wood industry system feeds the demand of the local villages and of Saumlaki. Among the villages of South Yamdena, two villages (Wermatan and Ilngei) are remarkable with their high level of wood activities. Thus these are analysed in the following sections. In the north part of the Island, the system feeds the local villages, the city of Larat, but also some outer markets.

This book exposes the key land use and environmental problems facing Kenya today due to lack of an appropriate national land use policy. The publication details how the air is increasingly being polluted, the water systems are diminishing in quantity and deteriorating in quality. The desertification process threatens the land and its cover. The soils are being eroded leading to siltation of the ocean and lakes. The forests are being depleted with impunity thus destroying the water catchments.

Of Cambodia's total area of 18 million ha, about 57 percent (10 million ha) was covered by forest in 2009. Most of the population is concentrated in the plains, with an estimated 4 million villages living in or near forest areas, using forest resources to sustain their livelihoods. Under the National Forest Program (2010-2029), where community forestry is a major component, the Cambodian government targets to bring 2 million ha of forest under community management.