12 -01 – 2017 - A review of its extent and effectiveness

Since the 1970s and 1980s, community-based forestry has grown in popularity, based on the concept that local communities, when granted sufcient property rights over local forest commons, can organize autonomously and develop local institutions to regulate the use of
natural resources and manage them sustainably. Over time, various forms of community-based forestry have evolved in different countries, but all have at their heart the notion of some level of participation by smallholders and community groups in planning and implementation.
This publication is FAO’s rst comprehensive look at the impact of community-based forestry since previous reviews in 1991 and 2001. It considers both collaborative regimes (forestry practised on land with formal communal tenure requiring collective action) and smallholder forestry (on land that is generally privately owned). The publication examines the extent of community-based forestry globally and regionally and assesses its effectiveness in delivering on key biophysical and socioeconomic outcomes, i.e. moving towards sustainable forest management and improving local livelihoods. The report is targeted at policy-makers, practitioners, researchers, communities and civil society.
Over the past 40 years considerable attention has been paid to community-based forestry (CBF) and related forest tenure transformations, with the aim of involving communities and smallholders in forest management and governance. This period has witnessed a substantial increase in forest area under various CBF regimes. It is
estimated that, to date, almost one-third of the world’s forest area is under some form of CBF management. The assumption underlying the transfer of management rights to communities and smallholders is that CBF will lead to sustainable forest management and improvements in key environmental, social and economic outcomes at the local level.
The last time that FAO comprehensively documented the impact of CBF was in 2001. Since then, numerous studies, international dialogues and field programmes have produced a range of information on such topics as requirements for scaling up CBF; the importance of secure tenure rights for local communities and smallholders; capacity building; and strengthening the access of community and producer groups to markets.
While studies on forest tenure indicate a significant trend towards increased forest areas under CBF management, reports about the effectiveness of the management have been mixed. In addition, reliable data on CBF effectiveness are limited, which hinders informed decision-making at national, regional and global scales as well as the progress
of CBF in general.
Building on its two previous global reviews of CBF in 1991 and 2001, FAO has conducted this review not only as an update on the status of CBF but also to assess to what extent CBF is meeting expectations and which factors – enabling or constraining – can explain successes and failures. The publication covers 40 years of experience and looks at the changes in social capital (livelihood, food security and nutrition, influence over decisions, access and control over forest resources), economic capital
(employment, household incomes) and environmental capital that CBF has generated, as well as other impacts. The review also identifies key issues for the future of CBF.
This publication demonstrates that CBF is a powerful vehicle for moving towards sustainable forest management while bringing significant improvements to local livelihoods. However, many CBF regimes are still performing below expectations and could do much better if provided with the right “keys”.
This report targets a range of actors, from policy-makers, practitioners and researchers to communities and civil society. It will provide them with inspiration and guidance to support local communities, indigenous peoples and family smallholders in managing the forests on which not only they, but also the rest of the world, depend for a better and sustainable future.
Eva Muller
Director, Forestry Policy and Resources Division
FAO Forestry Department