User groups as producers in participatory afforestation strategies

This paper contains a discussion of policy options and operational strategies for improving social forestry programs. The analysis of the types of social forestry approaches called "community" forestry or "village" woodlots reveals that many forestry programs intended genuinely to be participatory are formulated in fuzzy terms, are not designed around well identified social actors, and neglect to ensure clear benefit distribution arrangements and incentives. Their confused sociological conceptualization and lack of sound social engineering renders the investments in such programs much less effective than they could be. Participatory social forestry strategies must aim at engaging the rural users of fuelwood into organized activities for producing and managing forests. The author argues that the profound behavioral change to be elicited on a gigantic mass scale among farmers through social forestry strategies is an evolutionary shift from simple foraging and gathering fuelwood in naturally grown forests to cultivation trees for fuelwood. Trees and forests are to be systematically produced.