In 1998, the government of British Columbia introduced a new form of tenure for community forestry. The Community Forest Agreement (CFA) was envisioned as a unique institutional mechanism for devolution, providing resource-dependent communities and First Nations in B.C. with the authority to set the direction of forest management in their locale, and to create local benefits. Relative to the industrial status quo, there were high expectations of community forestry and what it might achieve. This study empirically tested some of these expectations with respect to B.C.’s Community Forest Program. Taking a realist approach to evaluation, a variety of qualitative research methods were used to critically assess the structure, performance, and outcomes of the CFA. Analysis of the CFA revealed that its structure is virtually identical to tenures designed for industrial forestry with a few minor exceptions. In the current tenure regime, the CFA devolves limited power over strategic decisions and community control largely resides at the operational level, affecting on-the-ground aspects of timber harvesting rather than enabling a broader and more holistic approach to forest management. Outcomes of the CFA generally did not satisfy expectations that communities would commercially harvest botanical non-timber forest products, develop capacity for value-added wood processing, and utilize more environmentally-sensitive harvesting treatments. The study did find that CFAs supported local employment and were more labour intensive than industrial licensees in harvesting and silvicultural activities. Assessing the CFA structure and the on-the-ground outcomes side-by-side, this study suggests that the impediments to realizing a more holistic form of community forestry likely have their roots in the institutional mechanism itself, rather than in the efforts of communities. Flowing from the evaluation are recommendations for government to consider devolving more power over key strategic management decisions and increasing the size of CFAs to improve their economies of scale; and recommendations for communities to build their capacity and critical social mass to leverage policy changes that may further the evolution of community forestry in B.C.

Dissertation (Dr. nat. techn.) -- Universität für Bodenkultur Wien, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 162-167) and indexes of figures and tables.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Natural Resource Management))--Mahidol University, 2007. / LICL has E-Thesis 0022 ; please contact computer services.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1997. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 170-178). Also available on the World Wide Web.

In 1998, the government of British Columbia introduced a new form of tenure for community forestry. The Community Forest Agreement (CFA) was envisioned as a unique institutional mechanism for devolution, providing resource-dependent communities and First Nations in B.C. with the authority to set the direction of forest management in their locale, and to create local benefits. Relative to the industrial status quo, there were high expectations of community forestry and what it might achieve. This study empirically tested some of these expectations with respect to B.C.’s Community Forest Program. Taking a realist approach to evaluation, a variety of qualitative research methods were used to critically assess the structure, performance, and outcomes of the CFA. Analysis of the CFA revealed that its structure is virtually identical to tenures designed for industrial forestry with a few minor exceptions. In the current tenure regime, the CFA devolves limited power over strategic decisions and community control largely resides at the operational level, affecting on-the-ground aspects of timber harvesting rather than enabling a broader and more holistic approach to forest management. Outcomes of the CFA generally did not satisfy expectations that communities would commercially harvest botanical non-timber forest products, develop capacity for value-added wood processing, and utilize more environmentally-sensitive harvesting treatments. The study did find that CFAs supported local employment and were more labour intensive than industrial licensees in harvesting and silvicultural activities. Assessing the CFA structure and the on-the-ground outcomes side-by-side, this study suggests that the impediments to realizing a more holistic form of community forestry likely have their roots in the institutional mechanism itself, rather than in the efforts of communities. Flowing from the evaluation are recommendations for government to consider devolving more power over key strategic management decisions and increasing the size of CFAs to improve their economies of scale; and recommendations for communities to build their capacity and critical social mass to leverage policy changes that may further the evolution of community forestry in B.C. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

In 2014, the legal landscape shifted in British Columbia with the unanimous Supreme Court decision, Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia. The case resulted in a recognition of Aboriginal title, and real and substantial Aboriginal authority over large tracts of land in the province. According to legal analysts, the most significant element is the requirement for stronger consultation with First Nations and – in many cases – consent that needs to be pursued by the province’s resource extraction industries prior to development. British Columbia’s community forest sector is unlikely to be immune to this shift. A baseline for First Nations involvement in community forestry – both in terms of breadth and depth – has not yet been established. While Tsilhqot’in is expected to dramatically impact stakeholder engagement, to what degree and in which locales this change will occur is not well known. Through a series of semi-formal interviews conducted with people in a leadership position in 19 of the province’s community forests, this paper establishes this baseline, as well as considers the potential impact of the Tsilhqot’in decision for the province’s community forest sector.

Small-scale forest-based enterprises (SSFBEs) are enterprises that utilize any material or product that is derived from forests, woodlands, or trees outside of forests and woodlands for income generation. Characteristically, they are small, rural, household-based operations that are technologically simple, requiring limited skills and little capital investment. Little attention has been paid to the importance of these enterprises in supporting rural livelihood in developing countries. At the same time, the income earned from SSFBEs provides an incentive for forest dwellers to manage their resources at a sustainable level, as well as helping to alleviate rural poverty. SSFBEs are, however, not without their problems. They face unstable markets, lack of raw materials, few financial resources, poor market access, and constraints on forest use and control, to name a few. The purpose of this paper is to provide a qualitative overview of SSFBEs by discussing their role in and importance to rural communities in developing countries, their significance in poverty alleviation and forest conservation, problems they face, and possible solutions. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning

Community and urban forestry is a multifaceted field ranging from tree planting to removal, hazard assessment, and public relations. However, the racial and gender diversity of the community forestry workforce is remarkably low. To gain a better understanding of this lack of diversity, I surveyed professionals in two major community/urban forestry organizations. Age, income, and years in the profession were considered, along with education level, to determine if there is some underlying reason for low representation of women and minorities in the community/urban forestry field. I found that while white males dominated all work sectors (especially private organizations), women were concentrated in public or non-profit organizations holding positions in offices, education, or other jobs with extensive public interaction. Minorities held similar positions to women or were in entry level jobs and general tree care rather than in more professionally advanced positions. Attitudes regarding most aspects of the profession varied little based on sex or minority status, with only minor differences on advancement potential and salary.

No description available.

Community forestry as an approach to forest management has gained popularity in recent decades as a response to the failures of top-down, centralized forest policies. The shift from state-controlled forests to community forestry was aimed at achieving desired environmental and socio-economic outcomes in the forest management process. Community forestry is frequently posited as a promising forest management model for achieving ecological sustainability and community well-being. Although extensive literature exists that covers various aspects of community forestry, studies on the performance of community forestry programs in the face of unpredictable events such as climate change impacts and earthquakes are limited. In Nepal, for instance, community forestry programs have been implemented since the late 1970s and flourished after the adoption of the Forest Act of 1993. However, the impacts of these programs on the resilience of communities to various drivers of change have received little attention. To address these gaps, this dissertation employed a mixed methods approach in analyzing the impact of Nepal’s community forestry program on the general resilience of forest-dependent communities, as well as their specified resilience to the 2015 earthquake. Data for the qualitative component of the study were generated through the review of documents, as well as interviews with 27 purposively sampled key informants from two rural communities in the Gorkha district of Nepal, whereas quantitative data were generated through the administration of a survey questionnaire to 237 households who were selected using the systematic random sampling technique. Data were collected from November 2019 to March 2020.The results from the community level analysis revealed that the shift towards the community forestry program in both communities was triggered by the perception of ecological crises and facilitated by the existence of enabling policy conditions as well as the role of external forest organizations. The analysis of the impacts of the community forestry program on community resilience outcomes revealed variations across different forms of capital assets, with similarities and differences between the two communities. While natural capital, social capital, human capital were reported to have increased in both communities, the effect of community forestry on physical capital was found to be moderately positive. Regarding economic capital, the implementation of the community forestry program resulted in positive and negative outcomes on both communities, but the overall effect seemed to be moderately positive. Regarding specialized resilience outcomes, the community forestry program had a positive impact on community resilience to the 2015 earthquake. The community forestry program played various roles in community earthquake resilience, including enhanced access to timber for housing construction, and enhanced linking social capital for the mobilization of external resources. The results from the household level analysis showed that ethnicity and household’s prior involvement in forest organizations were significant predictors of household participation in the community forestry program but past household assets did not predict participation. Ethnicity and participation in the community forestry program were also the most important predictors of outcomes of the program, as measured by current levels of assets. Each of the past household assets and socio-demographic variables was a significant predictor of at least one of the current assets, but prior involvement in forest organizations did not predict any of the current assets or changes in assets. Regarding household resilience to the 2015 earthquake, household participation in the community forestry program also had a significant positive effect on two of the three dimensions of earthquake resilience, whereas past bridging capital and past physical capital each had a significant positive effect on the three earthquake resilience dimensions. Consistent with the community resilience framework, the results lend some support to the hypothesis that capital assets and institutions, coupled with the role of various community attributes, are important predictors of the process and outcomes of community resilience to drivers of change. Participation in community forestry programs provides an important mechanism for building general and specified resilience in forest-dependent communities. As global climate change policy has shifted towards community-based adaptation in recent decades, this study shows the potential for community forestry to serve as an entry point for global climate change policy through its contributions to community capacity for adaptation to various drivers of change.