Community forests for forest communities: Integrating community-defined goals and practices in the design of forestry initiatives

• Autores: Reem Hajjar, Robert A. Kozak, Hosny El-Lakany, John L. Innes
• Localización: Land use policy: The International Journal Covering All Aspects of Land Use, ISSN 0264-8377, ISSN-e 1873-5754, Nº. 34, 2013, págs. 158-167
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Community forestry can deliver economic, socio-cultural, and ecological benefits to rural communities, yet criticisms have arisen that community forestry remains dominated by the decision-making of offsite experts and management techniques inappropriate for some communities. We use a case study approach to ascertain the needs, wants, and current realities of selected forest communities in Brazil and Mexico, to inform bottom-up approaches to community interventions. In identifying community-defined goals, we found that other livelihood strategies, particularly agricultural practices, need to be better integrated in the planning of forestry interventions overly focused on timber production. Site-specific intervention models need to take into account the variety of contexts and community interests, rather than replicating models that have been successful in other jurisdictions. A better understanding of local perspectives can aid in the design of community forestry interventions brought by conservation and development agencies, by adding an important and under-studied perspective to the problems that face community forestry.