ABSTRACT
In recent years, many governments around the world have given local communities the authority to manage blocks of national forest.[1-3] As of 2002, governments had given communities legal rights to manage 380 million hectares of forest, 57% of which had been transferred during the previous 15 years.[4] This approach has been particularly widespread in South Asia. Nepal and India have the oldest and largest programs in the region: More than 13,000 community forest user groups in Nepal are managing 25% of the country’s total national forests,[5] while in India 53,000 forest protection committees are managing 18% of the country’s national forests.[6] The experience of Nepal and India in the 1980s and 1990s infl uenced the development of forestry programs in many other countries across the world.[7] Overall, community forestry programs have been highly successful at providing a range of economic and social benefi ts to the participating user groups.[1-3] However, concerns have been raised about the ability of user groups to manage their community forests (CFs) on a sustainable basis and share the CF products in an equitable manner.
