A framework to assess the extent and effectiveness of community-based forestry

This assessment framework provides a basis for understanding the impact of community-based forestry (CBF) on forests and local livelihoods at the country level. It also presents indicators that may be used across countries, focusing on formal CBF initiatives recognised by statutory law.

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This assessment framework provides a basis for understanding the impact of community-based forestry (CBF) on forests and local livelihoods at the country level (e.g. improved forest governance, participatory conservation, joint forest management). It also presents indicators that may be used across countries, focusing on formal CBF initiatives recognized by statutory law. The study reports that there has been a substantial increase in forest land under various types of CBF regimes over the past two decades. The associated transfer of power to local people inherent in these regimes involves various combinations of user rights, responsibilities and decision-making. However, there has not been a systematic assessment of the extent and effectiveness of the various types of CBF regimes around the world. The report concludes that well-performing CBF has the potential to rapidly restore forests in ecological terms and scale up sustainable forest management to the national level, while improving the livelihoods of billions of the most marginalised people around the world. In doing so, CBF has the potential to contribute significantly to a range of Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 15, supporting the sustainable management of natural resources, and SDG 1, reducing poverty.