Justice in the forest : rural livelihoods and forest law enforcement
Based on reviews of community experiences in Bolivia, Cameroon, Canada, Honduras, Indonesia and Nicaragua, this report shows how the extent of forest-based livelihoods is often under-appreciated. The laws that affect the way people use forests are often contradictory and restrict livelihoods. Laws tend to be selectively developed and applied in favour of large-scale forestry, while laws, which secure community rights in forests, are commonly absent, ignored or too onerous to be widely used. Lack of adequate legal protection of community rights makes much small-scale forest use 'illegal'. Illegal forest use tends to be enmeshed in wider political economies, so major players tend to be politically protected while local communities are vulnerable. Enforcement has sometimes focused narrowly on forestry laws to the neglect of laws that secure rural livelihoods. Crude enforcement measures have reinforced social exclusion and tended to target poor people while avoiding those who are well connected. The study recommends future Forest Law Enforcement and Governance initiatives be developed in transparent ways, with broad civil society engagement. They should give special attention to the rural poor by addressing the full range of laws relating to forests, adopting rights-based approaches and promoting legal reform, rule of law and access to justice
Print Book, English, ©2006
Center for International Forestry Research, Bogor Barat, Indonesia, ©2006