Models of Community Forestry

Abstract

Community forestry has become a much-discussed alternative to more conventional private and public approaches to forest management in recent years. While many countries are experimenting with community forestry, there is little consensus on what the term actually embraces. Theories and practices that are labelled “community forestry” cover a wide range of, at times, quite disparate ideas and both will benefit from greater conceptual clarity. Drawing on examples from North America, the article presents an analysis of the concept of community forestry, distilling a small number of practically applicable models out of a much larger number of analytically possible types. This analysis is particularly relevant in the Australian context where community forestry is as yet relatively unexamined and will prove useful in guiding theorists and practitioners in considering which approach is most suitable in a given set of circumstances.