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ABOUT "COMMUNITY FOREST MANAGEMENT"
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Generally speaking, Community Forest Management
(CFM) refers to community-based activites
which are geared towards the sustainable
use of forest. This however, is an oversimplification
as evidenced by the fact that the concept
of CFM has been evolving over decades but
until now, cannot be defined more precisely.
This is due mainly to the various forms and
contexts in which CFM is found. The complexity
becomes even more apparent when one remembers
that, apart from communities, NGOs, forestry
departments, and donor agencies are all involved
in the dynamics of forest management and
all have significant impact on CFM with regards
to its social, economic, and political aspects.
Despite the lack of definition however, CFM
stands as a logical guiding principle in
the management of forests, and the history
of community-managed forests supports this.
As mentioned, the various forms and contexts
of CFM makes it difficult to define, but
rather than struggling to capture the essence
of CFM in a few words or sentences, it may
be more worthwhile to understand these forms
and contexts in terms of how CFM is practiced;
this could then lead to a better appreciation
of what CFM could achieve rather than what
it is by definition. Presented below are
some of the experiences and learnings garnered
from AFN's first-hand interactions with different
communities, NGOs, and forestry departments
related to CFM in the five participating
countries under the CMFSProject.
Through these case studies, some of the different
forms that CFM may take, and some contexts
in which it may be found are presented. These
may be interpreted from various perspectives
as well but the intention here is precisely
to spark insight and encourage discussions
from various perspectives which may lead
to a better understanding of CFM, rather
than a definition, especially at the Southeast
Asian regional level. Hopefully, these discussions
will lead to a discovery of opportunities
for supporting efforts geared towards CFM
in different locales. Although it would be
interesting to draw parallels and differences
among the presented CFM examples, such analysis
is beyond the scope of the present text and
still part of AFN's on-going effort to document,
compile, and later analyze the learnings
from its interactions and dialogue fora.
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