leading to an overall decrease in the world's forest cover. The forests of Asia, in particular, have been strongly impacted. A number of initiatives have suggested forest policy reforms, and the need for the sustainable management of forests has been widely recognized and encouraged. But because implementation of reforms at the local level has been insufficient, it is imperative that local people begin to effectively participate in forest planning and management as well as in protected-area management. The Forest Conservation Project, launched in April 1998 by the Institute for Global...

This book is a compilation of the results of strategic policy research carried out by the Forest Conservation Project of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), between 1998 and 2002. The project's main purpose is to shed light on measures to conserve biodiversity and use forests sustainably, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. Project work was conducted by academics, non-governmental organizations, and governmental officials in selected countries in the region and covered everything from the local reality at the village level, to forest policy at the national and...