ABSTRACT
Research increasingly indicates that strengthened forest tenure for communities and individuals can improve well-being, enable exclusion of outside claimants and improve forest management and conservation (Sunderlin et al, 2008). Despite such potential however, forest tenure reform remains tenuous and its impact limited. One reason is that even where substantial, secure rights have been granted, government regulations hinder community access to forest products and related markets. This chapter looks at the question of regulation; Chapter 8 addresses community engagement with markets more specifically.
