Why institutional reforms in forestry? Lessons from international experience
Profound changes have taken place, worldwide, during the last decade. These political, economic, and institutional changes have contributed to redefine the role of the state in all sectors, including natural resources. This article discusses traditional shortcomings of forest departments and new challenges they face arising from the changes in national policies and global concerns. Worldwide trends, such as civil service reforms, decentralization of government, increased local community involvement in resource management, and divestiture of state-owned enterprises impact the forestry sector, already faced with shrinking forest areas, decreased revenues, and government downsizing. To survive, forest departments need to form strategic partnerships with other stakeholders, get out of forest activities where they do not have a comparative advantage, and focus on core functions that governments do best. Examples are given from countries in Asia and the Pacific. Two country case studies are presented discussing Nepal's experience with Forest User Groups and New Zealand's experience with privatization of forestry.
An analytic approach to structuring co–management of community forests in Cameroon
While decentralization is a prominent theme in contemporary natural resource policy and management discourse, questions have been raised concerning the sustainability of participatory approaches. Drawing on theoretical and empirical research on common pool resource management and participation, we develop a framework to evaluate community–level stakeholders’ potential suitability for engagement in co–management. Four criteria are assessed: stake in the resource, discount rate, social capital and capacity (leadership, organizational, enforcement of rules and knowledge). Inclusion of local actors who fit the framework in a governance arrangement could lead to more sustainable outcomes. We tested this screening strategy by assessing potential organizational partners for comanagement of non–wood forest products in community forests in Cameroon.
The Arab Spring: The End of Postcolonialism
* Introduction: The Arab Spring: The End of Postcoloniality * 1. Decentering the World: How the Arab Spring Unfolded * 2. Towards Liberation Geography * 3. A New Language of Revolt * 4. Discovering a New World * 5. From the Green Movement to the Jasmine Revolutions * 6. The center cannot hold * 7. The End of Postcolonialism * 8. Race, Gender, and Class in Transnational Revolutions * 9. Libya: The Crucible * 10. Delayed Defiance * Conclusion. The People Demand the Overthrow of the Regime