An Introduction to Community-Based Ecosystem Management

Understanding community forestry: a qualitative meta‐study of the concept, the process, and its potential for poverty alleviation in the United States case

“…Examination of the case study objectives is useful in addressing the issue of process versus state or condition. Most studies and documented experiences seem to align with the dominant perspectives on community‐based ecosystem management – an approach rooted in process (Gray et al . 2001; Lead Partnership Group 2002; Moote et al .…”

“…In the context of forest‐related activities, the desire to foster sustainable livelihoods has resulted in a paradigmatic shift in national policy over the last decade. The direction of this shift has been from state‐centred control over conservation and natural resource management decisions toward an approach centred on active participation of the local population, often referred to as community‐based ecosystem or natural resource management (Gray et al . 2001).…”

New promises, new possibilities? Comparing community forestry in Canada and Mexico

“…Even if a community holds a licence, its management is determined within the regulatory framework of forest tenure (Burda 1998). It has been proposed that this lack of local control could limit community initiative for responsible stewardship in the long term (Bowyer-Smith 2000) and some, such as Gray et al (2001a), have argued that a shift from a focus on output to stewardship can create high levels of community capacity.…”