Regional meetings are held regularly by the Network to keep members informed of developments in Community Forest Management in the different Asian countries with special attention given to policy. The meetings provide a venue not only for sharing learnings, but also for establishing or further strengthening linkages among different community forestry-related institutions.
• 11th RM - Bangkok, Thailand; November 2006
• 10th RM - Davao, Philippines; December 2004
• 9th RM - Chiang-Mai, Thailand; November 2003
• 8th RM - Siem Reap, Cambodia; October 2002
• 7th RM - Panglao Island, Bohol, Philippines; June 2001
• 6th RM - Ho Chi Mihn, Vietnam; March 2000
• 5th RM - Surajkund, India; December 1996
• 4th RM - Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines; April 1995
• 3rd RM - East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA; March 1994
• 2nd RM - Ciloto, West Java, Indonesia; March 1993
• 1st RM - Bangkok, Thailand; January 1992
11TH REGIONAL MEETING
Forest Sector Contributions to the Millenium Development Goals
RECOFTC - Bangkok, Thailand; 2006 November
Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand
The 11th Regional Meeting of the Asia Forest Network was held from
November 28-30, 2006 at the Regional Community Forestry Training Centre for Asia and the Pacific (RECOFTC) in Bangkok, Thailand. The event was hosted by AFN and RECOFTC and was sponsored by the Japan Fund for the Global Environment (JFGE) under the Asia Regional Exchange on Forest Sector Contribution to Millennium Development Goals Project. The meeting's theme was "Forest Sector Contributions to the Millenium Development Goals" and was attended by representatives of national and local governments, and civil society.
The conference ran for three days, including one day for visiting forest areas and two days for panel and workshop sessions. Sessions focused on how forestland management can contribute to poverty reduction. Interactions were designed in a way that participants could learn mechanisms which they can use to support community-based resource management in their own countries. Participants discussed their roles in balancing local needs with national, regional and global interests, along with how their work can contribute to human security and the Millennium Development Goals.
Documentation:
Meeting Report "Realizing MDGs, Restoring Forests" (pdf, 2.26Mb)
Bahasa-Indonesia version of Meeting Report's Executive Summary (pdf, 83Kb)
Description of Sessions (pdf, 108Kb)
Powerpoint Presentations
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10TH REGIONAL MEETING
Community Forest Management Policies,
Implementation and Adaptations
Davao, Philippines; 2004 December
Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam
The objective of this year's regional meeting was to synthesize engagements of Asian nations in community forest management over the last twenty years, with particular focus on experiences over the last five years. The choice of discussion themes was dependent on the recognition of the limitations of policy, programming and implementation of CFM, while establishing the progress that has been made given the complexities of application in the context of social change. One major discussion revolved around the relation of CFM to broader themes of environmental sustainability and overall human development. Scoping necessary adaptations and prospects for furthering CFM in its diverse forms was the main output of the sessions.
Documentation:
Powerpoint Presentations
Agenda [pdf 138Kb]
Field Guide [pdf 4644Kb]
List of Participants [html]
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9TH REGIONAL MEETING
Community Forest Management Policies and Practice
Chiang Mai, Thailand; 2003 November
Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam
The Regional CFM Meeting 2003 was held in Chiang Mai, Thailand on November 12-14, 2003 with around 30 participants from Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam. This exchange activity was part of the Community Forest Management Support Project for Southeast Asia funded by the European Commission and the USAID's East-Asia Pacific Environmental Initiative.
Titled "Community Forest Management Policies & Practice: Future Directions for Southeast Asia", the meeting highlighted case study presentations of network partners that helped scope the context, process, content and impact of community forest management in the different participating countries. Recent developments in national policies were also discussed.
The regional policy meeting was organized by the Asia Forest Network with Thailand's Watershed Conservation and Management Office of the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment acting as the country host.
Documentation:
Agenda and Participants [html]
Field Guide [pdf 526Kb]
PowerPoint Presentations in PDF Format:
Cambodia: Flood Forests, Fish And Fishing Villages: Community Resource Management Transition Around Tonle Sap Great Lake, Kampong Phluk, Siem Reap, Cambodia [2.914 Mb]
Indonesia: Crafting Multi-Stakeholder Agreement On Developing Community-Based Forest Management Policies And Practices: A District-Level Process In Wonosobo, Central Java, Indonesia [1.021 Mb]
Philippines: Carood Watershed Community Forest Management, Bohol Province, Philippines [1.102 Mb]
Thailand: Community Forest Management Support Project In The Mae Khan Watershed, Chiang Mai, Thailand [1.663 Mb]
Viet Nam: Community Forest Management In Cao Bang, Viet Nam: Forest Enrichment In Household Forest Areas [0.672 Mb]
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8TH REGIONAL MEETING
Community Forest Management Policy Development in Asia
Siem Reap, Cambodia; 2002 October
Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam
The 8th Regional Meeting of the Asia Forest Network was held in Siem Reap, an ancient and historic province which boasts the treasured ruins of Angkor Wat.
Entitled "Community Forest Management Policy Development in Asia: Transitional Experiences," it was co-hosted with the FAO's Community Fisheries Program and involved about 30 participants from the participating countries. The objectives of the meeting were to present recent CFM Policy Developments in Asia, and develop an analytic framework to assess regional trends. The meeting ran from
October 1-4.
Documentation:
Agenda and Participants [html]
Field Guide [pdf 1544Kb]
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7TH REGIONAL MEETING
Panglao Island, Bohol, Philippines; 2001 June
Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam
This regional meeting of the Asia Forest Network was also the first meeting of member countries under the Community Forestry Support Project for Southeast Asia. Although most of the participants were already old friends from the previous meetings of the Network, the introduction of an umbrella project gave a sense of newness to the meeting. It was important to redefine areas of collaboration based on the Project's goals and objectives while building on past accomplishments of the Network to support renewed efforts in community forest management. In this light, the meeting took off with a review of the status of community forestry in each country. Particular emphasis was given on how AFN can strengthen country programs and efforts to define immediate directions for the Network's member organizations. Sharing of learnings on a regional basis was also an important area of discussion given the new nature of the Network and its broadening perspectives.
Twenty participants from the five participating countries in CFMSP-SEA gathered to present their national CF program support strategies, discuss support needs, and share ideas for regional exchange. A representative from the International Centre for Forestry Research (CIFOR) also participated in the meeting to provide updates on the region. The objective of this first meeting was to form a core group who could help guide the project over the next three years.
In addition, the group spent one day on a field trip visiting Candijay Municipality to engage in dialogues with communities in the upper watersheds and those living near coastal mangrove forests to identify resource management issues and strategies. The visit was organized along with representatives from the Philippine Working Group (PWG) and the Environmental Science and Social Change (ESSC). The visit culminated with a meeting of AFN participants and the municipal government. The visit highlighted community management of upland and coastal mangrove forests, as well as new efforts to protect and restore coral reefs and fisheries. The message of Madame Mayor Camacho of the Candijay Municipality to the participants was impressive, "we will not wait for Manila or outside assistance, rather, local government and communities are working together to restore our natural resources." AFN has developed the visit to Candijay into a working paper with ESSC as the CFMSP-SEA's first case study of community-local government dialogue on resource management.
The meeting also identified a number of areas of common concern where regional CF exchanges should be pursued in the next two years:
- Formulating Enabling CF Policies and Guidelines
- Linking Communities with Local Government to Enable Resource Management
- Community Forestry Federations, Associations, and Apex Bodies
- Community Forestry Field Methods and Research
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6TH REGIONAL MEETING
Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam; 2000 March
Cambodia, Thailand, Viet Nam
This year's meeting saw an important development in the evolution of the Network: The Sustainable Management of Resources in the Lower Mekong Basin Project.
In the spring of 1998, a delegation from the Mekong River Commission (MRC) met with officers of the Asia Forest Network at the University of California at Berkeley to discuss a collaborative program to establish national community forest management working groups in mainland Southeast Asia. The goal at that time was to initiate national dialogues to examine ways to accelerate transitions to sustainable forest management systems based on greater community participation. The proposal was for a regional strategy to be implemented under the umbrella of the MRC, with each country taking responsibility for creating a national process to monitor and assess the evolution of CFM policies and practices, and inform government agencies and development organizations. Initial financial and technical support would be provided through the project with complementary support from the Asia Forest Network and other appropriate organizations working in the region.
In the fall of 1998, a series of country workshops were held in Hanoi, Vientiane, and Phnom Penh involving government planners, researchers, NGO workers and development project staff. Based on these meetings, national-level working groups were formed in Viet Nam and Cambodia.
The sixth regional meeting of the Asia Forest Network provided the venue for the Viet Nam and Cambodia working groups to meet for the first time. It also gave an opportunity for a Thai delegation from the Watershed Management Division of the Royal Forest Department, RECOFTC, and Wildlife Fund - Thailand to participate and this led to the Thais forming their own working group.
Reviewing the activities of the Viet Nam and Cambodia working groups, it was apparent that they have been very active since their formation over a year ago, meeting on a bi-monthly basis to design national strategies to track and evaluate the progress of CFM activities and to advise planners and project managers regarding policy and operational needs. They also have made substantial progress in collecting available information on CFM experiences including project reports, field studies, policy assessments and forestry sector reviews, as well as reviewing scientific literature. In addition, each country has commissioned 5 to 7 case studies reflecting traditional and emerging CFM contexts and issues. These field studies are being analyzed using frameworks and typologies developed by the working groups to capture the social and environmental diversity present in each country.
Other discussions during the meeting focused on an evaluation of problems or concerns, and the development of plans for the coming year.
Documentation:
Community Forest Management Working Groups 2000 in
Cambodia, Thailand, Viet Nam
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5TH REGIONAL MEETING
Surajkund, India; 1996 December
Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam
As a follow up to the discussions on decentralization, the fifth meeting drew together collective experiences in the devolution of rights and responsibilities to communities over the management of the public forest domain. The participating country representatives presented learnings and exchanged experiences regarding evolving forest policy trends and community forest management issues. Finally, alternative medium- and long-term transition plans adapting the "Project-to-Process" strategy proposed in the last regional meeting where also developed from current evolving trends in community forest management as well as for possible future activities within each country.
Documentation: Research Network Report No. 9 [html]
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4TH REGIONAL MEETING
Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines; 1995 April
China, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam
Topics of the fourth meeting included national strategies for inventorying and monitoring community movements and cultural institutions. There were also discussions on the technological tools available for community forest management research including the value and advantages of manual Geographic Information Systems (GIS). A strategical shift from "Project-to-Process" was discussed extensively and was recognized as an important new concept for policy makers to adapt in implementing community forest management projects.
Documentation: Research Network Report No. 6 [html]
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3RD REGIONAL MEETING
East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA; 1994 March
China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam
China and Nepal were welcomed into the Network during this meeting, bringing
the count of represented countries up from three during the first meeting to seven.
One of the most important issues identified in the last meeting were the policy implications of decentralizing the management of public forests. This meeting focused on the different difficulties, responses, challenges, and approaches to decentralization. Natural regeneration was also seen as a primary approach to ecological restoration and research issues were identified on how this could be better understood and implemented.
Documentation: Research Network Report No. 5 [html]
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2ND REGIONAL MEETING
Ciloto, West Java, Indonesia; 1993 March
India, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam
During the first meeting of the Asia Forest Network in 1992, it was agreed that the participants from Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand would try to identify important issues regarding community forest management that could be proposed as research targets for the Network. In the second regional meeting, these findings were presented to the group which was now also attended by representatives from India and Viet Nam. The discussion centered mainly on the analysis of the findings and the setting of research targets for the Network.
Documentation: Workshop Report [pdf 2791Kb]
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1ST REGIONAL MEETING
RECOFTC, Bangkok, Thailand; 1992 January
Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand
Between 1982 and 1992, numerous discussions on community forestry were being held with different organizations from Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. These discussions formally came together for the first time in Bangkok during the first regional meeting of the Asia Forest Network. The Network, at this time was not yet established but was, in fact, one of the outcomes of the meeting. Discussion focused on sharing experiences regarding community forest management and identifying common research objectives. Critical forest management issues were discussed including the effects of commercialization on non-timber forest products. Another important discussion centered on the different forces which are driving deforestation.
As mentioned, the most important outcome of this meeting was the agreement that there was basis to form a network committed to supporting community forest management in Asian countries. Research would be carried out and learnings shared so that efforts towards community forest management could be strengthened and spread. It was also agreed that until the next regional meeting scheduled for the following year, the participating groups would try to document community forest management efforts in their own countries and identify research issues to be tackled as a Network.
Documentation: Research Network Report No. 1 [html]
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