Abstract:At their most local, initiatives to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) will depend on rural people to manage forest resources. Although the design of frameworks, mechanisms and arrangements to implement REDD programs have received significant attention, it is not yet clear how REDD+ will function on the ground or how the participation of local populations will be assured. Community forest management (CFM) could be an option under REDD+ depending on how it is negotiated, largely because of the expectation that CFM could reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation. Examining institutional factors in the emergence of successful CFM systems and local forest enterprises could provide valuable lessons for REDD planners. We examine cases of CFM development in Mexico, Brazil and Bolivia, to assess the role of multi-scaled governance institutions in their development. Comparing and contrasting advanced CFM systems to regions where it is still emerging, we will show how the establishment of a local organizational base for communal resource management is crucial.

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ABSTRACT. Integrated natural resource management (INRM) helps resource users, managers, and others to manage resources sustainably by considering, reconciling, and synergizing their various interests and activities. Although many social and environmental problems have to be tackled at a range of scales to be resolved successfully, INRM has particular relevance at the landscape level at which the interests of local people first intersect those of the outside world. We propose eight guidelines for building successful INRM programs: focus on multiscale analysis and intervention; develop partnerships and engage in action research; facilitate change rather than dictating it; promote visioning and the development of scenarios; recognize the importance of local knowledge; foster social learning and adaptive management; concentrate on both people and their natural resources, including biodiversity; and embrace complexity. Reviewing these guidelines in the light of experiences from three separate studies shows that most are being done, though more as a product of happenstance than design. The guidelines form a mutually reinforcing framework for building INRM, primarily through empowering local stakeholders to be more articulate advocates and active participants in their own development and conservation efforts.

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ResumoAs comunidades da Amazônia têm grandes possibilidades de melhorar suas condições de vida, por meio do manejo de suas florestas. Existem diferentes iniciativas externas buscando apoiar as comunidades a estabelecerem sistemas de manejo fl orestal comunitário (MFC) para a extração madeireira. No entanto, não existe ainda uma avaliação da viabilidade financeira dos modelos propostos. Esse estudo, feito com oito iniciativas de MFC, revelou que a viabilidade fi nanceira dos modelos atuais é bastante limitada. Um debate crítico sobre o potencial desses modelos técnicos externos precisa ser feito, buscando ajustar as propostas aos interesses e capacidades das comunidades. AbstractAmazonian communities have the potential for improving their livelihoods by effi ciently managing their forest resources. Aiming to support communities, there are different externally-driven initiatives promoting community forest management (CFM) for timber extraction. However, there is limited understanding of the fi nancial viability of those initiatives. This study revealed that families received limited fi nancial benefi ts from externally-driven CFM initiatives. A critical debate on the real potential of these approaches needs to take place in order to adjust the concepts to the interests and capacities of local communities.

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Amazonian communities have the potential for improving their livelihoods by efficiently managing their forest resources. However, there is limited understanding of how communities are managing their forests in the dynamic Amazon frontier. This issue was studied in four areas in Bolivia, Brazil and Peru. The most common approach to forest management was found to be informal timber rights negotiations between communities and logging companies. Much less common was community forest management (CFM) for timber extraction supported by NGOs. Case studies revealed that stocks of commercial timber species were depleted by logging companies in only a few years in the logged areas, while CFM initiatives planned rotational cycles but were abandoned when external support ceased. Families received limited financial benefits from both loggers