This article focuses mainly on the five
primary case study countries. For forest impacts, the
concentration is on forest conversion to other land uses and
deforestation, defined as a (temporary or permanent) removal
of trees to less than 10 percent crown cover, which is
similar to the Food and Agricultural Organization's
(FAO's) definition. Selective logging is thus not
deforestation but may degrade forests and enable conversion.

The World Bank's new environment
strategy advocates cost-effective reduction of air and water
pollutants that are most harmful to human health. In
addition, it addresses threats to the livelihood of over one
billion people who live on fragile lands-lands that are
steeply sloped, arid, or covered by natural forests. The new
approach will require accurate information about
environmental threats to health and livelihood, as well as

Decentralized forest management is an
important policy issue in India and elsewhere. Yet there are
few careful studies of the impacts of community forestry.
The authors try to fill this gap by analyzing National
Sample Survey data from 524 villages in five states in
India. Their analysis seeks to answer two key questions: (1)
Who participates in community forestry and what are the
determinants of participation? (2) What is the impact of

T his report analyzes natural resource
management and governance in the Philippines, identifying
recent trends, current challenges, and future goals. The
first half of the report summarizes the status of the
country's natural resources, describes sector policies,
institutions, and budget mechanisms, and identifies
impediments to improvements. The second half focuses on
three crucial issues for natural resource governance:

The Center for International Forestry
Research (CIFOR) receives its major funding from
governments, international development organizations,
private foundations and regional organizations. This study
analyzed journal citations of CIFOR publications, using the
International Statistical Institute (ISI) web of Science
database. CIFOR research and publications have an impact on
the scientific community? One way to answer this question is

The report contributes to the debate
surrounding land use in the Brazilian Amazon. It sets the
context by reviewing the evidence concerning the deleterious
effect of increasing levels of rainfall on agricultural
settlement, and productivity. Next, it compares the economic
future of an Amazonian community, under the traditional
"predatory logging followed by ranching" model,
and under sustainable logging. Last, the authors investigate

Forest concessions have been an
important element of forestry, and forest management in many
countries, including many developing countries. More often
than not, the concessions experience of these countries has
not been successful, and, improving their performance is not
likely to be popular. Therefore, if sustainable management
if tropical forests is to be achieved, and deforestation
brought under control, it may be necessary to strengthen the

The study addresses the importance of
wildlife to people, and as a resource of nutritional,
economic, and socio-cultural values, and examines the
complexities of hunting in tropical forests. It also
expresses that today, such hunting is rarely sustainable,
because of declining forest areas, which decreases wildlife
populations; because of changes among human populations in
the tropical forests, who have increasingly become more

This study by the World Bank indicates that forests offer vast potential for poverty reduction and rural economic growth in India while also supporting critical national conservation goals. An estimated 275 million people in rural areas depend on forests for at least part of their livelihoods. Forest dwellers, which include a high proportion of tribals, are among the poorest and most vulnerable groups in society. The government of India has adopted Joint Forest Management as a principal approach for community-based forestry.

This case study, one of six evaluations
in a series of country case studies, aims to understand the
implementation of the 1991 Forest Strategy in World Bank
operations and to obtain the views of the various
stakeholders in the country about the involvement of the
Bank. Each country study examines the overall development of
the country's forest sector. This naturally includes
the environmental impacts on forests, such as degradation,

Forest resources directly contribute to
the livelihoods of 90 percent of the 1.2 billion people
living in extreme poverty and indirectly support the natural
environment that nourishes agriculture and the food supplies
of nearly half the population of the developing world.
Forests also are central to growth in many developing
countries through trade and industrial development. However,
mismanagement of this resource has cost governments revenues

Over two decades, the World Bank has
undertaken many structural adjustment operations with
governments of developing countries. During negotiations for
structural adjustment loans (SALs), partner governments
agree to specific policy reforms, whose implementation
becomes a condition for disbursement of SAL funds.
Conditionality varies with local circumstances, but
generally supports privatization of state enterprises,