Sustainable participatory management and conservation requires an understanding of site-specific, rights structure, resource use and resource dependency patterns over time. This paper documents these issues by examining the resource use pattern overtime by the Katu people in Nam Dong district, Thua Thien Hue province, central Vietnam, before and after allocation of natural forest to the households of the community. Household interview, key informant and group discussions were used for data collection and crosscheck. Descriptive analysis and pairsample T-test are main tools used to explore those parameters. We found a weak performance of property rights and differences in the De facto to the De jure rights of forest recipients. On contrary to the increased rights, forest use and forest dependency of local people have been reduced due to the degradation of resources, and availability of alternative opportunities from emerging agriculture and animal grazing options. Considering dynamic nature of resource dependency overtime, it is necessary to consider in the post-allocation programme which embrace the local context to have better forest protection and management as well as the satisfaction of local people on the forest resources they manage.

This paper investigated the influence of forest tenure on vegetation characteristics for selected forests under private, District Forestry Services of local governments and National Forestry Authority in central Uganda. Two hundred and twelve plant species in 65 families and 168 genera were recorded. The family Moraceae was the most species rich in Central Forest Reserves (CFRs), while Euphorbiaceae were the most species rich in private forests and Local Forest Reserves (LFRs), respectively. There were 174 species in CFRs, 144 species in LFRs and 112 species in private forests. Our findings indicated a remarkable shift in floristic composition among the studied forests from Albizia-Piptadeniastrum-Celtis species primary dominance by 1964 report to current secondary and colonising species of Trilepisiummadagascariensis-Funtumia africana-Pseudospondias macrocarpa and Macaranga schweinfurthii. Diversity measured by two indices, i.e., the Shannon diversity and evenness for the different growth forms differed significantly among the forest ownership categories. The CFRs were the most diverse for the trees, while the private forests were the most diverse for the ground flora species. Plant species richness also expressed by the two indices: Species density and Margalef's diversity index followed the same trend, with CFRs being the most species rich for the trees, followed by the private forests and LFRs. The population structure characteristics i.e. stem densities, mean DBH and basal area of saplings and trees were higher in private forests than CFRs and LFRs. Diameter size for all species combined followed the inverse J-shape, typical of mixed-age stands. LFRs and CFRs were highly affected by human disturbances which may be an indicator that government agencies are not as much in control as private forest owners. We found that the composition and distribution of species in the Mpigi forests is complex because it is influenced by two conflicting factors i.e. ecological stability versus human disturbances. We conclude that human activities influenced by forest tenure reduced plant species diversity and composition at different sites; confirming the argument by common property theorists that open access resources are not compatible with biodiversity conservations. There is thus a need for forest managers to regulate human activities for effective conservation of forests.

This paper evaluates a community timber plantation programme in Indonesia called HTR (Hutan Tanaman Rakyat, community timber plantation). Launched in 2006, the programme seeks to establish over 5 million hectares of new plantations by 2016. Government authorities have offered a range of incentives including low interest loans, assistance with the acquisition of land, streamlined application procedures and simplified reporting on operations. Nearly four years later only a small fraction of the intended plantations have been established. Review of the policy content, incentives offered and financial profitability assumptions indicate significant policy design flaws and shortcomings in implementation. The policy also runs the risk of encouraging illegal forestry activities. We identify five policy adjustments that can potentially increase the success of the programme in the areas of financial feasibility, legal certainty, and transparency in land allocation and financing.

Contested rules between the state and local communities over use and protection of forest affect environmental services and livelihood options in Indonesia's forest margins. Success in forest protection and emission reduction (REDD) requires conflict resolution. The recent village forest (Hutan Desa) regulation by the Minister of Forestry (P.49/Menhut-II/2008) details how to reconcile forest management targets and livelihood interests of forest-edge villages within the framework of a permanent forest estate. Lubuk Beringin in Bungo District, Jambi Province became the first village in Indonesia to secure such an agreement. Our analysis of process, stakes and social capital bridging local, district and national scales of Hutan Desa aims to assist in reducing transaction costs for wider application. Streamlining of rules is needed to make Hutan Desa a viable part of REDD schemes at relevant scale, and to support locally appropriate mitigation action as part of national strategies, and as co-investment in stewardship for local, national and global benefits.

Strengthening of forest law enforcement is likely to impact the livelihood of forest communities. The paper discusses the concept of livelihoods in the context of the Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) and the expected impacts on the livelihood of forest communities in Ghana. It builds on a literature review and an expert survey. The paper finds that the concept of livelihoods had a prominent position in the VPA negotiation phase. The VPA livelihood impacts will differ for different social groups — the impoverished groups are expected to be more affected in comparison to the wealthier groups. The following issues are identified as the most achievable in shaping the VPA livelihood impacts: improved forest resources and environmental services, reforms of the land and tree tenure system, increased transparency and accountability, and stakeholder consultation and participation in the forest management.

The community forestry program in Nepal has been advancing as a successful means of improving the condition of forests. However, as in other areas around the world, Nepal's community forestry initiative continues to face unresolved equity issues. This paper seeks to explore underlying causes of inequity using contemporary theories of justice. Examining two community forest user groups in the middle hill districts, the study finds that lack of recognition in interpersonal and public spheres exacerbated the powerlessness of marginalized people, reducing their participation in decision-making. The paper argues that, while distributional rules advanced by the program are crucial, the problem of recognition remains an unaddressed but necessary pre-condition for achieving equity. This suggests that policy and practice in community forestry needs to focus on broader political questions, including representation in decision making, making space for the voice of members to influence decisions, and transforming socio-economic and political institutions and cultural practices.

This paper provides an overview and a thorough understanding of the sustainability issues in the timber sector of Ghana. This understanding will help to identify and bridge the sustainability gap to avoid the imminent depletion of the natural forest resources. The sector was assessed by means of a structured closed-ended questionnaire, followed by in-depth personal interviews with selected stakeholders. Responses on economic, social and environmental consequences of the timber sector were measured by sustainability indicators on a three point Likert scale. The sustainability gap has been identified and it is expected to widened, if major policy interventions are not implemented and respected. To achieve sustainability the study concludes by suggesting a number of approaches to bridge this sustainability gap in order to make the timber sector sustainable.

In China, high feedstock cost and supply logistics constrain the development of the wood bioenergy sector. This study examines the cost structure and supply logistics for two locations in Inner Mongolia: Naimanqi which has a power plant supplied by a collectively owned forest and Arxan, where a proposed power plant would be supplied by a state-owned forest. The study areas differed in supply logistics and management structure but were alike in that the largest component of feedstock cost was labour. The feedstock cost varied between Naimanqi and Arxan due to the differences in collection process, equipment, hauling distance, transportation cost and administration cost. The case study provides insight into the economics of bioenergy feedstock from forests in northern China.

Forest biotechnology is moving on a separate path, away from U.S. agbiotech business models. Now is the time to define its research charter broadly defined to the benefit of more of the world's forests, well beyond its current focus on intensively managed GE forest plantations. This became evident when forest biotechnology officially took a separate path during the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization's AgBiotech Conference held in Guadalajara Mexico in March 2–6, 2010. My aims here are twofold: 1) to map forest biotechnology's path away from U.S. agbiotech business models although its momentum can be traced to forestry's long timelines, a feature notably absent in agriculture, and 2) to broadly defined its research charter, a research charter defined here as forest biotechnology sensu lato. I propose that forest biotechnology's narrow focus on planting GE plantations be exchanged in favor of a research charter which emphasizes policy-relevant climate change research, basic research, and even molecular manufacturing. In recognition of its separate path from agbiotech models, forest biotechnology sensu lato should focus on both naturally regenerated and planted tropical forests.

There is growing consensus that the expanding scope of tropical forestry is not properly reflected in the way students are being trained. Forestry graduates across the tropics remain poorly equipped on how to engage with local stakeholders, on the technical and economic aspects of multiple-use management, on participatory approaches to forest resource use, and on how to respond effectively to global forestry paradigms. By their very nature, non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are located at the heart of a pluralistic view of tropical forest use and management and their inclusion in forestry curricula could promote interdisciplinary training. In this paper we provide some insights on the status and trends of NTFP education in Latin America through a synthesis of interviews with experts and the results of an electronic survey in order to outline some of the obstacles that need to be overcome in order to advance forestry curricula by using NTFPs. We argue that NTFPs are suitable to introduce topics that traditionally have not been taught to university level forestry students yet not necessarily through formal courses on NTFP management or textbooks on the topic. Instead, a modular approach may be a potentially effective way to promote interdisciplinary thinking and enhance adoption by university professors.