Community Forestry: Supporting Bhutan's National and MDG Goals While Protecting Forests

摘要

The CF Program is increasingly contributing to forest and environmental conservation through the active involvement of rural people. Silvicultural activities are improving forest conditions, degraded or barren land is being planted with a variety of species, and headwaters are being protected. The willingness of CFMGs to invest both cash and labor to improve their community forests show that the CF Program is supporting overall national forestry policy, and will not be a threat to the specific policy directive of maintaining 60% forest cover. In addition to conserving and improving forest conditions and livelihoods of rural communities, the CF Program is also supporting Bhutan's commitment to the MDGs. Given the above, the DoF should continue to support the CF Program and actively stimulate the up-scaling of its implementation. The DoF should be more flexible in implementing the CF Program, enacting rules that allow communities to benefit economically by streamlining the sale of timber and NTFPs. Community forestry is already contributing to the livelihoods of Bhutan's rural communities through sales of timber and NTFPs, but could contribute substantially more in the future.