Describes how woodland communities in Asia use community forestry to raise incomes and protect the environment. Looks at access and rights to forest products and land, community-based organizations, and the role of NGOs and research institutions.

This book provides an overview of the complex challenges and opportunities related to forest-based rural development in the tropics and subtropics. Applying a socio-ecological perspective, the book traces the changing paradigms of forestry in rural development throughout history, summarizes the major aspects of the rural development challenge in forest areas and documents innovative approaches in fields such as land utilization, technology and organizational development, rural advisory services, financing mechanisms, participative planning and forest governance. It brings together scholars and practitioners dealing with the topics from various theoretical and practical angles. Calling for an approach that carefully balances market forces with government intervention, the book shows that forests in rural areas have the potential to provide a solid foundation for a green global economy.

Recent history reveals that both the large-scale reforestation projects of the 20th century have often been less successful than anticipated, and that tree growing by smallholders – as an alternative means to combat deforestation and promote sustainable land use – has received relatively little attention from the scientific and development communities. Taking a first step to addressing that balance, this collection of peer-reviewed papers adopts a comparative approach to explore the potential role that tree growing by farmers can play in sustainable forest management. The goal of this approach is to identify common threads and to start to develop a framework for future research and practice. Presenting case studies from the Philippines and comparative data from a number of Asian countries the book reveals that farmer tree growing has the potential to play a significant role in sustainable forest management, and discusses the surrounding issues which must be addressed in order to realise this potential. The book is primarily aimed at research scientists and graduate students interested in relevant aspects of forestry, agroforestry, agricultural diversity, natural resource management and conservation in agricultural landscapes, as well as those involved in sustainable development and international development studies. It will also provide a valuable reference for professionals, managers, consultants, policy makers and planners dealing with issues in sustainable development, natural resource management, land use change issues and participatory approaches to resource management.

This book describes the components of sustainable management of forests and sustainable development, describes various concepts of sustainable forest management. The text contained in this book starts with an introduction of forests and their classification, including with status of forests and their role, human interactions with forest, and the history of forestry development. Even though conservation attention has usually implied in large forest areas, and evidence is increasing, which suggests that smaller forest areas are imperative for both conservation as well as rural development. The text also discusses the significance of environmental values associated with physical factors, impelling the conservation of forests in rural communities. The text is also focused on the identification of the key human factors that influence forest patch conservation in a tropical agricultural landscape. Forest features of hydrologic significance are also described.

Sections include: history of Ford Foundation involvement in community forestry in Asia; elements of community supported by the Foundation; distributions of rights between governments & forest users, among communities of forest users, & within communities of forest users; what happens when the resource becomes valuable? community-based organizations for forest management; multiple-use management of the forest resource; forest departments: providing an institutional base for community forestry; working groups: a mechanism for institutional change; institutionalization; expansion; nongovernmental organizations & research institutions: their roles; the development & applications of new social science methodologies in community forestry; important lessons; key challenges; & the path to sustainable development.

"This book focuses on three multi-faceted aspects of rural sustainability: farms and farming, the remaking of rural communities and rural spaces, and policy and action in rural development. The research is focused on three global regions: North America, the United Kingdom and Ireland, and Australia."--back cover.