History and Conceptual Framework

Confusion and dismay are rampant among those concerned about human and environmental issues in the tropics, and with good reason. Forests are being degraded at apparently ever-increasing rates, and human welfare in forested areas is remaining at a constant level at best, more often deteriorating. Many people—researchers, environmentalists, and policymakers of various hues—are trying to address these problems. This book represents the evolution of one cooperative effort to understand and develop mechanisms for dealing with these interrelated problems, and the authors propose some suggestions for improving our future efforts. In our research, we have asked ourselves one fundamental question: how can we create conditions that allow local people who live in and around forests to maintain the valued aspects of their own way of life and to prosper while still protecting those forests on which they, and perhaps the rest of us, depend? To answer that question, we needed first to identify the conditions that contribute to sustainable forest management (SFM) in general and to the well-being of forest-dwelling people in particular. Satisfied that we had a good grasp of the most important conditions (see later), we set out to examine their relationship to sustainability. This examination is the central theme of this book. Central issues of concern include the identification and roles of relevant stakeholders (including gender and diversity, discussed in Section 1, and the relevance of a “conservation ethic,” discussed in Section 2), security of intergenerational access to forest resources (Section 3), and rights and responsibilities to manage forests cooperatively and equitably (Section 4). I N T RO D U C T I O N