Community Forest Management: A Casebook from India

Forests throughout India and the local communities whose livelihoods depend on them, are under threat from large commercial enterprises. This Casebook follows the development of a community-based forest-protection movement in the state of Orissa, as it grew from spontaneous local protests in the mid-1970s into a network of forest-management organisations with respected expertise and widespread influence. ‘Community Forest Management’ analyses the achievements of the movement - known as ‘Friends of Trees and Living Beings’ - and considers its significance within the context of a national legal and policy frameworks. The authors draw on candid interviews with villagers, activists, NGO staff and forestry officials; considers the cultural, ethical and political dimensions of the movement and examine the tensions inherent in its expansion. Finally they show how the Orissa experience proved to be a rich resource for development education in the United Kingdom.