New book on community forest rights to be launched at the GLF in Bonn, June 2019

In recent years, the call of civil society organizations to formalize rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples to forests has been growing louder. They argue that formalizing local forest rights will have positive outcomes for livelihoods as well as forest conservation. In response to these calls, many governments have started forest reforms. This has become known as the forest tenure transition.

With the transition on its way, it is time to take stock. How far have we come with the recognition and formalization of local forest rights? What are the expectations? What are the outcomes? And, what are the conditions required to make formalization a success?

Tropenbos International set out to find answers to these questions based on a review of the literature, and interviews with some of the world’s experts. The results have now been published in a book, titled Formalizing community rights to forests: Expectations, outcomes and conditions for success.

The book will be presented at the GLF in Bonn on 22-23 June, 2019, where Tropenbos International and the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA) will host a session in the Learning Café titled “Community Rights Bingo: What are the conditions for success?”. Together with the audience and CIFOR scientist Anne Larson we will reflect on what is needed to make community forest rights work for the benefit of people and nature.