Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Toolbox

Participatory Approaches and Tools for SFM

This module is intended for forest managers, project planners, facilitators of policy processes, extension agents, leaders of local forest groups, and members of multi-stakeholder platforms interested in applying participatory approaches and tools in SFM. It highlights the importance of participation as a key principle of SFM, identifies important issues to consider when actively engaging with key forest stakeholders, and provides links to relevant tools and case studies.

Scaling up community participation in forest management through REDD+ in Zambia
04 December 2019
This policy brief provides an overview of the potential for scaling up community participation in forest management in Zambia as part of the country's REDD+ investment strategy. The report gives some insight on the legal and policy context for community forest management, joint forest management, and private forest management. It...
Gender and forest conservation: the impact of women's participation in community forest governance.
17 February 2016
Would enhancing women's presence in community institutions of forest governance improve resource conservation and regeneration? This paper focuses on this little addressed question. Based on the author's primary data on communities managing their local forests in parts of India and Nepal, it statistically assesses whether the gender composition of a...
"If you saw it with my eyes": collaborative research and assistance with Central American forest steward communities
25 June 2014
This paper discusses an experience with innovative participatory research in Guatemala and Nicaragua that aimed to strengthen community capabilities in natural resource management. The Grassroots Assistance Project trained community members to document and critically reflect upon local experience with forest management and external assistance. Together with regional context studies undertaken...
Community-based fire management: case studies from China, The Gambia, Honduras, India, the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Turkey
08 April 2014
The cases studies mention the role of fire as a disturbance played and continue to play, a major role in forest ecosystems throughout the world. This view often encourages fire and forest management institutions to perceive local communities as part of the problem, and certainly not part of the solution....
Participatory forestry
24 February 2014
The aim of participatory forestry is to ensure that all stakeholders are included in all relevant aspects of forest management, decision-making and policy formulation. Using participatory forestry approaches, FAO Forestry promotes consensual negotiation among government agencies, civil society, forest users and the private sector – stakeholders who often have divergent interests...