Recent experience in collaborative forest management

A review paper

CIFORBogor, Indonesia

Collaborative forest management (CFM) is loosely defined as a working partnershipbetween the key stakeholders in the management of a given forest—key stakeholdersbeing local forest users and state forest departments, as well as parties such as localgovernments, civic groups and nongovernmental organisations, and the private sector.The paper reviews worldwide experience in CFM to date, considering the forms that ittakes in different tenure situations. Overall, mechanisms of CFM are diversifying,reflecting a greater recognition of the need for partnerships in forest management. Dueto entrenched power structures within both government institutions and communities, itis not easy to promote social justice and sustainable livelihoods through CFM.Nevertheless, examples exist of local people gaining a strong, legally backed voice inforest management. Whether or not CFM is financially viable depends very much onlocal circumstances—an important issue is the inclusion of all costs and values. CFMcan clearly lead to better forest management, although examples of silviculturalinnovations specifically designed to meet CFM needs are limited. Worldwide, theinstitutionalisation of CFM is proceeding at a different pace and to differing degrees.Whilst some of the most rapid recent CFM developments have taken place in theNorth, where government forest institutions are well funded and accountable, and civilsociety well organised, the most significant gains made to date probably lie incountries of the South and East, wherever local people have begun to enjoy realpartnerships in forest management, based on recognised rights of use and access.