Question

discuss role of people participation in management of forests

Answer 1

The participation of local communitys and stake holders in managing forestry and conservation projects can help to improve forest productivity

Answer 2

Many people of a great variety of cultures and land-use practices live in or around tropical forests. Although these people are all in some way dependent on forests, they have little else in common. In recent years, however, it has become much harder for forest-dependent people to use local forests and their products, owing to deforestation, logging, population pressure or legal initiatives such as the declaration of state forests, national parks or wildlife reserves. In many countries, plans to protect forest ecosystems have failed to address the needs and knowledge of local forest-dependent communities (Anan 1996; Wily 1997; Tuxill & Nabhan 1998; Kumar 2000). Participation by local people is essential to any conservation effort.

In forest conservation, participation is often associated with community forestry, which refers to forest management or co-management by people living close to the forest. Legal, political and cultural settings for community forestry vary widely, and the term covers a wide range of experiences and practices. Community forestry is often associated with South and Southeast Asia, but it is also common in other regions (Wily 1997).

Although local participation is important in forest conservation, there are circumstances in which it is absolutely necessary, for example high population pressures and resource use conflicts, communal ownership and in smaller and more vulnerable protected areas (Roche & Dourojeanni 1984). In such cases, conservation without local participation is doomed to failure. Nevertheless, participation in itself provides no guarantee of success. The outcome of participatory processes often depends on additional factors such as institutional or legal frameworks, and the education or interests of local people and other stakeholders. As the case studies in this paper show, governments and their agencies play a significant role in participatory processes by providing-or not providing-an 'enabling environment'.