Community Forestry—Project Implementation Through Communities as a Whole or Through Interest Groups?

Abstract

The term community forestry, as in the case of “community development”, can easily be misinterpreted as forestry and a development approach that must be implemented and managed by a community as a whole. The diverse groupings within a community, as the debate on what a “community” entails indicates, would complicate the implementation of this assumption. It is therefore necessary to identify, with the consent of the participating community, (a) specific interest group(s) that can plan, implement and manage a community forestry programme and project in a sustainable way. In this regard the complex nature of the dynamics of rural community structures must be understood and development intervention should be based on a multi-disciplinary and holistic approach.