‘Prioritise the people first and the forest second’ for sustainable management

Community empowerment and constructive government measures are essential for successful community forestry management in Indonesia and the Philippines, a summit heard this week. Speakers from Indonesia and the Philippines shared their experiences of forging community collaboration on forestry management in their respective countries. Dede Rohadi, a representative from Indonesia's Environment and Forestry Ministry and a scientist with the Centre for International Forestry Research, said Indonesia has had a long history establishing community forests, with the idea initiated in 1978 but officially implemented in 2003.