This book for the first time brings together a suite of effective methods as a guidance on how to deal with the needs of local communities and biodiversity in landscapes required by decision makers. The techniques provide conventional biophysical descriptions of the landscape and explicitly relate this information to local needs, preferences and value systems. These methods can be used to guide future research and to make recommendations on options about land use and policy. The methods described in this report also provide a foundation for deeper dialogue with the forest communities.

The study provides a comparative analysis of the devolution and empowerment process in 14 case studies drawn from eight countries in southern Africa. Each case study examined the extent to which policy and legislation devolves significant control over decision making and benefit flows to communities; the legitimacy and power of different community institutions and their relationship with other stakeholders such as local authority structures, NGOs, donor agencies, and the private sector; and lastly the relationship and divisions between different actors and groupings in the community.

This study examines the preliminary impacts of Indonesia's decentralization process on the administration and management of forest resources in Ketapang District, West Kalimantan. The case study is based on field work carried out in mid-2000, using a rapid appraisal methodology. The report covers the impacts of decentralization in three areas, in particular: customary adat communities, oil palm and rubber plantations, and conservation issues related to Gunung Palang National Park.