| Community forestry consists of two goals: the sustainable use of natural resources and the promotion of empowerment. Since community forestry's inception in 1978, these two components have been sought after with varying success. Today, efforts continue towards actualizing these goals, and the Community Forestry Unit of the Food and Agriculture Organization serves as a leader in this area of international development. Through interviewing Community Forestry Unit members and examining community forestry related literature, a better understanding of this topic and its intended outcome is provided. Of particular interest is the concept of participation, which is often utilized simultaneously with the term community forestry. Examining past and present endeavors to achieve participation will help to clarify the concept and illuminate the steps necessary for its achievement. Many changes have occurred over time regarding participation: moving from implementation, to the gathering of sociological information, to empowerment and currently to multi-stake holder analysis. As participation is continually sought after, paradigms are shifting from being top-down to bottom-up. To achieve this reversal, power must also change hands and that topic is explored here, as well as the implications for all those involved in engaging community forestry activities. |
