Research on livelihoods aims to find ways to strengthen forest rights, identify and address risks related to climate change and restrictions on forest access and trade from conservation, and better understand how investment, migration, remittances and urbanization influence forest–people relationships.

Scientists are also identifying ways to engage communities and the private sector in forestry, promote the creation of jobs for youth and women based on forest and tree products, and explore options for improving forest and agricultural management practices at the forest-farm interface