NGOs Facilitating Internal Governance Processes in Community Forestry Initiatives

Abstract

All over the world, Indigenous and local communities use, manage and protect forest lands in their surroundings – broadly referred to as community forestry. Community forestry has the potential to support local livelihoods while contributing to the conservation and restoration of forests – crucial to tackle the global biodiversity and climate crises (Aggarwal et al., 2021; Ding et al., 2016; WWF, 2021). It has been suggested that community forestry can contribute to at least 13 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (De Jong et al., 2018), and it can be a key component of ‘other effective area-based conservation measures’ (OECMs) as defined by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), referring to areas outside of protected areas where local actors sustain biodiversity, irrespective of their core management goals (Alves-Pinto et al., 2021; Castillo & Tugendhat, 2022; Gurney et al., 2021). Over the last decades, many governments have installed policies in support of community forestry, allowing communities to apply for formal tenure rights over forest lands, giving them greater control to use and manage forest resources according to their own customs and needs (RRI, 2020). This thus implies the transfer of certain forest-related rights and responsibilities from the state to communities. In this process, a community is often represented by a governance body, which can be based on traditional leadership (e.g. a village chief) or a newly established institution (e.g. a community forest management committee or community forest users groups). The transfer of authority over forest management and the use of land is often partial, resulting in an agreement between the government and the community about rights, responsibilities and benefit distribution (Cronkleton et al., 2012). The formalization of community forest tenure rights provides communities with an increased level of protection against expropriation by external actors. It allows communities to secure access to natural resources for their own livelihoods, and may secure or increase opportunities to derive economic benefits from forest management, for example by harvesting and selling timber and non-timber forest products, setting up ecotourism businesses or through carbon payments. The formalization of community forest tenure rights may also contribute to the recognition and reinforcement of customary rights to forests (rights that are rooted in long-standing customs, rather than in state laws), and increase local self-determination (Kusters & De Graaf, 2019). Local governments are often responsible for the implementation of tenure policies, which offers opportunities for greater local engagement, but also presents challenges in