Community forest management: how it is supported in interna5onal agreements

The report argues that while state and private ownership still dominate global forests, community forest management (CFM) is a more effective strategy for forest conservation, poverty reduction, and climate mitigation. It identifies a set of key rights—including territorial, consultation, and cultural rights—that underpin successful CFM and maps these against 17 international agreements, such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and UNDRIP. The document concludes that while no single agreement mandates the creation of community forests, the collective weight of these international norms provides a strong legal and moral basis for states to devolve forest authority to local communities.

• Community forest management (CFM) is presented as a superior alternative to the 'binary paradigm' of industrial logging and strict state-run conservation, offering better protection for biodiversity, soils, and water, while contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
• Despite the potential of CFM, state and private ownership continue to dominate globally; as of 2017, legally recognized lands for indigenous peoples and local communities represented only 15.3% of the total forest area, with governments maintaining authority over more than 70 percent of forestlands.
• The report identifies seven key rights essential for the establishment and maintenance of CFM: the fulfilment of State obligations, the right to self-determination, rights to consultation, territorial rights, rights to livelihood and economic development, women’s rights, and cultural rights and traditional knowledge.
• Meaningful consultation in the context of CFM must be a formal, good-faith dialogue that occurs before decisions are made and allows for the possibility of amending policy proposals based on the information received, rather than being a mere tokenistic exercise.
• Territorial rights are critical for CFM viability, yet many countries restrict the ability of communities to benefit commercially from their forests; a survey of 45 forest countries found that only 15 afforded communities commercial timber rights.
• Women's participation in CFM is often hindered by local norms that marginalize them, yet evidence from India and Nepal indicates that community forest groups with a high proportion of women in their executive committees show significantly greater improvements in forest condition.
• Traditional knowledge and cultural practices are essential for sustainable forest management, including fire management, agroforestry, and the maintenance of ecosystem services, and can often only be preserved through secure tenure and CFM.

APA

Counsell, S. (n.d.). Community forest management: how it is supported in interna5onal agreements. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Community-forest-management-How-it-is-supported-in-international-agreements.pdf

Chicago

Counsell, Simon. Community forest management: how it is supported in interna5onal agreements. Friends of the Earth International, n.d. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Community-forest-management-How-it-is-supported-in-international-agreements.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Counsell |first1=Simon |title=Community forest management: how it is supported in interna5onal agreements |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Community-forest-management-How-it-is-supported-in-international-agreements.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{counsellndcommunity, author = {Counsell, Simon}, title = {{Community forest management: how it is supported in interna5onal agreements}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Community-forest-management-How-it-is-supported-in-international-agreements.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }