Insight: Notes from the Field, Issue I

Insight: Notes from the Field is a response to this need, and with this publication, we aim to give practitioners a forum to share field level cases and lessons in Community Forestry (CF) or Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM).  In this edition of Notes from the Field, there are inspirational stories on Community Forestry in Thailand, development of Village Forest Councils in India, experiences on Public Hearing and Public Auditing in community user groups in Nepal, and how to improve buffer zone co-management in protected areas of Vietnam.

Field level practitioners play a key role in shaping the outcomes of community based natural resource management. With a direct connection to the people who manage and depend on natural resources, field practitioners form a crucial link between local communities and other levels of society by providing support to local actors and at the same time relaying information on their community realities. Most journals and newsletters that served in the 1980s and 1990s as forums for people involved in CF or CBNRM to share their field experiences, such as Forests, Trees and People Newsletter, Rural Development Forestry Network Series, etc., are no longer available. RECOFTC recently commissioned a review to assess knowledge and information needs to support CF/CBNRM in the Asia region. Through this review, as well as the opinions of practitioners RECOFTC meets across the region, the Center has found that many field level practitioners feel they have insufficient opportunities to share knowledge and experiences with other practitioners.