There is now a solid body of scientific information for understanding and interpreting the relationships between forests and water in both temperate and tropical regions. However, there is also a parallel and deeply entrenched “popular narrative” that often runs counter to the consensus views of the forest hydrology scientific community. This paper thus summarizes the key aspects of the scientific consensus that are particularly relevant for community forestry and points the way to relevant literature for anyone wanting to follow up on specific topics. 

This is a case study under the USAID supported "Grassroots Equity and Enhanced Networks in the Mekong Program" for  Na Ot village, Na Ot commune, Mai Son district, Son La province, Viet Nam. The Na Ot villagers have protected their forest ever since the establishment of the village, but poverty has been one of the reasons why they didn’t take part in the protection more proactively in the previous years as they had to focus on income generation.

RECOFTC, in partnership with ICRAF, has developed a regional training manual on agroforestry for climate-resilient landscapes with the objective to train future extensionists and practitioners working on agroforestry. To ensure the efficacy of the manual, each training sessions has been tested with a range of audiences at national and international levels. These include mid-level government officers, NGO staff and academics from Thailand, Myanmar and Viet Nam.

Dr. Juan Pulhin reports how the forest sector is addressing this challenge with some ambitious targets that include: uplands poverty halved in 15 years; forests under sustainable management, within 10 years; healthy forest-based industries, within 5 years in this report.

A collection of practical experiences and lessons on Payments for Environmental Services (PES)

The project covers two pilot sites encompassing 41,000 ha of forest land: Vinh Tu Commune in Quang Tri Province and Huong Son District in Ha Tinh Province. Both sites are commercially used forest and have potential for a certification mechanism. The certification project presumes that ecosystem services can be provided alongside sustainable forest management. Innovatively, the pilot test will help develop national standards and indicators for ecosystem certification.

This brief summarizes the different approaches for the forest inventory needed for the community forestry management plan (CF-MP) were tested to compare their accuracy and efficiency. These approaches included: a) the official method envisioned in the national community forestry guidelines, b) a new type of plot layout called the K-tree method and c) the use of the diameter at breast height (DBH) to height relationship method.

Forinfo aims to strengthen the capacity of the Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Office (PAFO) by supporting the implementation of improved bamboo management within the two concession areas in Meung district. The project is partnering with officials from the Government of Lao PDR (GoL), from the national to district level, private enterprises, community associations, and other NGOs to foster a wider stakeholder responsibility and ownership of the activities.

Two-wheeled manual sulkies were developed in the 1970s for use in the tropics by forest development projects of mainly Scandinavian countries. In its final development stage, a sulky with double bogie wheels was designed in 1985 in Finland and applied widely in east African countries and the Philippines under the FINNIDA APPRODEV project.

This paper explores the conflicts between badly-affected local communities and logging and mining companies and analyzes how such conflicts can be addressed effectively.

This brief presents an integrated CF-CCA framework for practitioners working in rural contexts, including natural resource management user groups and non-governmental and civil society organizations. The framework draws on an integrated landscape approach (Reed et al. 2014) to natural resource management, which aims to reconcile trade-offs, balance competing demands, integrate policies and identify priorities across different land-use sectors.

The principle that indigenous peoples and local communities have a right to give or withhold their Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) to developments affecting their resources is not new. However, experience using FPIC in REDD+ implementation is still limited in the Asia-Pacific region. Using relevant examples from a range of locations and sectors, this guidebook provides a basis for developing country-specific guidance on employing FPIC in REDD+ processes.