The ACM work strengthened our awareness of the problems local people struggled with, in terms of rights and resource access. People living in and around forests were typically seriously disadvantaged. Their rights were often trampled and their resources were often extracted by external parties without much attention to local needs. Yet there were also encouraging signs. We wanted to get a better sense of what the problems were and how to address them more meaningfully.

CIFOR is a member of the coalition organisation called Rights and Resources Initiative, which has a secretariat in Washington, DC, the Rights and Resources Group. As part of this work, CIFOR initiated in 2007 a two-year project, funded by the International Development Research Centre and Ford, to examine rights and resources within a modified action research approach in 10 countries (Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Nepal, Nicaragua and Philippines), with subsidiary activities in two more (Indonesia and Laos). Seven of these are also countries where ACM originally worked.

This project examined livelihoods, income, forest condition and equity indicators in all countries named above and worked with local partners to make findings available to policymakers and other actors who could make immediate use of them. This occurred through direct partner involvement in policymaking processes and through formal and informal interactions and policy briefs. The next stage is the development of a synthesis of the findings along with an edited book that will provide more in-depth and comparative analyses of these findings. Interim products that have been produced include the following.

Books/Journal Articles

Acharya, K.P., Adhikari, J. and Khanal, D. 2008 Forest tenure regimes and their impacts on livelihoods in Nepal. Journal of Forest and Livelihood 7(1).

Banjade, M.R. and Paudel N.S. 2008 Economic potential of non-timber forest products in Nepal: myth or reality? Journal of Forest and Livelihood 7(1).

Banjade, M.R. and Paudel N.S. 2008 Transhumant pastoralism in crisis: challenges, conflicts and status of pasture tenure in mountains of Nepal. Journal of Forest and Livelihood 7(1).

Dahal, G.R. and Adhikari, K.P. 2008 Trends and impact of forest tenure reforms in Asia: cases from India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Nepal and the Philippines. Journal of Forest and Livelihood 7(1):19-26.

Dahal, G.R., Pulhin, J. and Paudel, N.S. 2008 Ce qui fonctionne, ce qui ne fonctionne pas, et pourquoi: la gestion communautaire des forêts au Népal et aux Philippines. In: Meral, P., Castellanet, C. and Lapeyre, R. (eds.) La gestion concertée des ressources naturelles. L'épreuve du temps, 223-237. Ed. Gret et Karthala, coll. Economie et développement, Paris.

Dhungana, S.P. and Bhattarai, R.C. 2008 Exploring economic and market dimension of forestry sector in Nepal. Journal of Forest and Livelihood 7(1):58-69.

Larson, A., Barry, D., Cronkleton, P. and Pacheco, P. 2008 Tenure rights and beyond: community access to forest resources in Latin America. CIFOR Occasional Paper 50. CIFOR, Bogor, Indonesia.

Larson, A., Barry, D., and Dahal, G. in press. Forests for People: Community Rights and Forest Tenure Reform. Edited book, submitted to Earthscan, London.

Pacheco, P., Barry, D., Cronkleton, P. and Larson, A. 2008 The role of informal institutions in the use of forest resources in Latin America. Forests and Governance Program 15. CIFOR, Bogor, Indonesia.

Paudel, N.S., Banjade, M.R. and Dahal, G.R. 2008 Handover in community forestry: a political decision or a technical process? Journal of Forest and Livelihood 7(1).

Conference Papers

Barry, D. and Monterroso, I. 2008 Institutional change and community forestry in the Mayan Biosphere Reserve Guatemala. Paper to the 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of the Commons. Cheltenham, England, 14-18 July 2008.

Cronkleton, P. and Pacheco, P. 2008 Communal tenure policy and the struggle for forest lands in the Bolivian Amazon. Paper to the 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of the Commons. Cheltenham, England, 14-18 July 2008.

Larson, A. 2008 Land tenure rights and access to forests in Nicaragua’s North Atlantic Autonomous Region: making the rules of the game. Paper to the 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of the Commons. Cheltenham, England, 14-18 July 2008.

Pacheco, P., Barry, D., Cronkleton, P., Larson, A. and Monterroso, I. 2008 From agrarian to forest tenure reforms in Latin America: assessing the implications for local people and forests. Paper to the 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of the Commons. Cheltenham, England, 14-18 July 2008.

Saigal, S., Dahal, G.R. and Vira, B. 2008 Regenerating ‘wastelands’ through cooperatives: experience of tree growers’ cooperatives in Rajasthan, India. Paper to the 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of the Commons. Cheltenham, England, 14-18 July 2008.

Country Reports—A Selection (published as books or booklets in each country)

Albornoz, M., Cronkleton, P. and Toro, M. 2008 Estudio regional Guarayos: historia de la configuración de un territorio en conflicto. CIFOR and CEDLA, La Paz, Bolivia.

Albornoz, M. and Toro, M. 2008 Acceso a la tierra y manejo forestal en la economía extractivista del Norte boliviano. CIFOR and CEDLA, La Paz, Bolivia.

Elías, S., Larson, A. and Mendoza, J. 2009 Tenencia de la tierra, bosques y medios de vida en el altiplano occidental de Guatemala. CIFOR/FAUSAC, Guatemala.

Ibarguen, R. 2008 La última frontera y las comunidades de pequeños parcelarios en el norte paceño. CIFOR and CEDLA, La Paz, Bolivia.

Kante, B. 2009 Amelioration de l’equite et des moyens de subsistance dans la foresterie communautaire au Burkina Faso. CIFOR, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Larson, A. with Mendoza Lewis, J. 2009 Desafíos en la Tenencia Comunitaria de Bosques en la Región Autónoma Atlántico Norte (RAAN) de Nicaragua. CIFOR/URACCAN, Managua, Nicaragua.

Marfo, E. 2008 Security of tenure reforms and community benefits under collaborative forest management arrangements in Ghana. CIFOR, Accra, Ghana.

Monterroso, I. and Barry, D. 2009 Sistema de concesiones forestales comunitarias: reflexiones sobre la reforma forestal y el futuro del modelo. CIFOR/FLACSO, Guatemala.

Oyono, P.R., Kombo, S.S. and Biyong, M.B. 2008 New niches of community rights to forests in Cameroon: cumulative effects on livelihoods and local forms of vulnerability. CIFOR, Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Pacheco, P., Nunes, W., Rocha, C., Vieira, I., Herrera, J., Alves, K., Feitosa, T. and Cayres, G. 2008. Acesso à terra e meios de vida: examinando suas interações em três locais no Estado do Pará. CIFOR, LAET/NEAF/UFPA, ARCA.

Paudel, N.S., Banjade, M.R. and Dahal, G.R. 2008 Improving equity and livelihoods in community forestry: country synthesis report, Nepal. ForestAction and CIFOR, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Pulhin, J.M., Dizon, J.I., Cruz, R.V.O, Gevana, D.J. and Dahal, G. 2008 Tenure reform on Philippine forest lands: assessment of socio-economic and environmental impacts. College of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines.

Saigal, S., Dahal, G.R. and Vira, B. 2008 Cooperation in forestry: analysis of forestry cooperatives in Rajasthan, India.