Author Mayers, J. et al.

Year of publication 2013

Forests help us breathe and they give us homes, food and energy. Moreover, human well-being and the health of our whole planet depend on whether and how we grow and look after forests. So "forest governance" - or who is allowed to decide what about forests and how - is a matter of life and death for millions of people around the world and is profoundly relevant for us all. But decisions about forests and trees are often in the wrong hands or made badly. Much depends on "tenure" - on who owns and controls the forests and trees themselves. The owners may be those who need the forests and look after them well or those who degrade them with no regard for the well-being of others. In short, it is about power. This Practical Guide aims to inspire and arm those who want to try to improve things so that power is used well for forests; it describes how practical tools can be used to shape better governance of forest tenure. This guide is mainly directed to government policy-maker, or other public sector, private sector or civil society stakeholder concerned with forest governance and tenure reform. This guide aims to support taking the right decisions about forests, in order to promptly react to positive opportunities for reform of policies, laws and institutions. The guide also helps locate a starting point - the objective in trying to improve forest tenure governance and what actions might be practical in a certain context.