Who Owns the Forests of Asia?

In recent decades there has been a shift away from government control of forest land towards increasing access and ownership for indigenous groups, communities, individuals, and firms. This brief highlights this transition in statutory forest tenure from 2002-2008 in Asia. The brief focuses on forest land tenure, but tenure over other forest resources (timber, non-timber forest products, carbon, sub-soil mineral ores, etc.) is often just as important. Moreover, although the focus is only on tenure in this analysis, the regulatory framework is also critically important because it specifies the rules regarding land use and who gets access to what resources.

Women’s Rights, Forests and Climate Change

Worldwide attention is being paid to forests as a tool to mitigate climate change. The RRI-RFN conference Rights, Forests and Climate Change highlighted the role…

Seeing People Through the Trees – Summary

Rapidly growing world demand for food, fiber,and bioenergy could lead to a global land grab,with severe consequences for many of the world’spoorest people, particularly those…

Local Rights and Tenure for Forests

Conservation organizations are becoming increasinglyaware of the need to deal equitably with localpeoples’ rights to forest land and forest resources. “Rights-based” approaches to conservation arebeing…