Participation in social forestry re-examined: a case-study from Bangladesh
Khan, N.A.; Begum, S.A.
Development in Practice 7(3): 260-266
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 0961-4524 PMID: 12348315 DOI: 10.1080/09614529754495Document Number: 271433
The paper notes that there has recently been unprecedented enthusiasm in Bangladesh for Social Forestry (SF). SF projects have been launched with the goal of involving local communities in managing forest resources. The paper evaluates the nature and extent of participation in an SF project in Bangladesh (the Chandra Agroforestry Research and Demonstration Project), which is currently receiving attention from government and donors. The paper uses a systematic theoretical framework to evaluate participation in the decision-making, implementation, benefit-sharing, and evaluation of the project. It concludes that people's participation has been insignificant, and marginal. People have virtually no major involvement in project-related decisions and evaluation, but perform within strict bureaucratic limits.