Desentralisasi kewenangan atas hutan di belahan dunia saat ini sedang berjalan cepat, disertai implikasi positif dan negatif bagi masyarakat dan hutan itu sendiri. Penelitian terbaru dari beberapa negara di Wilayah Asia-Pasifik dalam buku ini menyajikan pengalaman desentralisasi yang sangat kaya dan beragam, sehingga bisa menjadi pelajaran berharga bagi wilayah lain. Dimulai dengan tinjauan sejarah dan geografi, bab-bab selanjutnya dalam buku ini mengulas secara mendalam negara-negara di wilayah ini.

CIFOR's ACM program has been carrying out participatory action research with local communities to devise models for forest management by multiple stakeholders. One of the early requests by communities has been for the mapping of their villages. This report describes the facilitation team's observations during the process of mapping these territories (villages along the Malinau river, Kalimantan, Indonesia). Central theme is the question what caused conflicts within and between villages and how were these handled and overcome by the communities.