Most reforestation has been carried out by governments on behalf of large corporations or by the large corporations themselves, and the profits have tended to go to these industries. Technical feasibility studies and financial assessments have usually been carried out, but social impact studies have been less common.
Sometimes, reforestation has actually disadvantaged local communities. Some would even maintain that this has been more often the case than not, although there appears to be little solid data from across the region enabling firm conclusions to be drawn on this matter.
For example, in some cases reforestation has been carried out on land where ownership is disputed, including areas where traditional owners may dispute the assertion of state ownership. In some cases, the lands being planted were already being used by rural communities for other purposes. These communities had to be evicted before reforestation could occur, and planting was carried out by external contractors.
In such cases, it is not surprising that failures have occurred when new plantations have been deliberately burned by aggrieved local communities
