Trends and impact of forest tenure reforms in Asia: cases from India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Nepal and the Philippines

For the last two decades, some countries in Asia have initiated progressive tenure reform in the forestry sector through transfer of management and use rights from the state to the local communities, indigenous groups, local government units, private sector and individual households. However, still around 92% of the forests in South and Southeast Asia are owned by the state, which manages it particularly for revenue generation and protection of environment (FAO 2006). Some of the devolved tenure models such as community forestry in Nepal and the Philippines and joint forest management in India are yielding promising results in terms of forest protection, but the livelihoods of the local communities are not fully recognized yet. Decentralization of forest management rights at household level such as in China, Vietnam and Cambodia is another encouraging model as it contributes to raising the incomes of poor households. However, the security of such rights in legal terms is questionable due to inconsistent policies and legal frameworks. Tenure reforms in Asia have had mixed results so far, but the reforms are heading towards addressing peoples’ livelihood needs on the one hand and protecting forest and environment on the other

Forest governance and institutional structure: an ignored dimension of community based forest management in the Philippines

This paper identifies strategic weaknesses in the devolution policy process in forest management and analyses the reasons behind them. Further, it establishes the relationship of devolution policy outcomes with governance and institutional structures. The field research was undertaken in the Philippines, taking six cases of community based forest management (CBFM) sites in the province of Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino and employing a qualitative technique for data collection and interpretation. The study demonstrates that the devolution policy process has two major interrelated strategic weaknesses: one is inadequate policy articulation and the other is a set of differences between policy and the complex reality of implementation. Drawing upon this analysis of strategic weaknesses in the devolution policy process in the Philippines the paper argues that the level of success of policy outcomes is dependent on the interrelation between the levels of devolution with clear policy articulation on the one hand and quality of governance and institutional structures on the other

Bridging, linking, and bonding social capital in collective action: the case of Kalahan forest reserve in the Philippines

This paper seeks to identify the factors which are responsible for successful management of natural resources when communities are given opportunities to manage those resources. Applying the social capital framework, it analyzes empirical data from the well known case of Kalahan Educational Foundation, the Philippines. The study confirms previous findings, which have emphasized the high level of cohesion and traditional norms among a homogeneous community of indigenous peoples (bonding social capital) as a success factor. This study further identifies that for effective management of collective action, mobilization of bridging and linking social capital are equally important as they do not only help mobilize external resources but, at times, also promote bonding social capital