Gilmour, O’Brien Nurse
15 These priority policies consider also Government Regulation No. 34 2002,
mandating the empowerment of communities within and surrounding the forest in order to improve community institutional capacity in utilizing the forest
Article 51.
5.2.2. Progress with Implementation
By 1999 about 92,000 ha had been leased out to communities, mainly to encourage them to rehabilitate degraded forests. A subsequent program leased
out 66,000 ha on lands without existing concessions under social forestry schemes Klooster and Ambinakudige 2005. These leases are contingent on
the submission of detailed management plans approved by the district level forestry service and require the community to register itself as a cooperative.
Perum Perutani, the state owned enterprise managing forest in Java, has started to implement a process of land sharing and sharing of rights to harvest
timber and NTFPs with local farmers Diah Djajanti, in press.
5.3. Lao PDR adapted from Phanthanousy and Sayakoummane 2005
5.3.1. Regulatory Framework
Community forestry is at the project stage in Lao PDR, with different models being tested to determine what modality is appropriate for Lao’s conditions. There
are about 10 projects dealing with community forestry in production forests, conservation areas and tree plantations.
Community forestry is called Village Forestry in Lao PDR and is defined as a partnership between the state and organised villagers for the management of
designated forests in order to sustain a flow of benefits which are intended to be shared fairly by the villagers and the rest of the national community Lao Dept of
Forests, 1997. Village Forestry involves the implementation of the Forest Land Allocation Programme which has major objectives of i sustainable management
and use of natural resources, ii reduction and gradual elimination of shifting cultivation and iii promotion of commercial production Morris et al. 2004. The
emphasis of the program is on land-use planning, land-use zoning, forest land allocation, the preparation of village development plans, and the development of
forest and agricultural land management agreements.
The Forest Law MAF 1996 provides a legal framework for the NTFP sub sector. Article 30 recognizes and authorizes “customary use” of forests and forest
land: “Which has been protected for a very long time…involving the collection of
non prohibited wood for making fence, firewood, gathering of non timber forest products, hunting of non prohibited wild and aquatic animals for
household use and other customary use” 1996: 8
In addition, each household can extract up to 5m
3
of timber for household use. There is evidence of substantive devolution of authority to the village level
for NTFP management and use in recognition of the basic needs of communities. Two large pilot trials have also been undertaken during the past decade to
explore the possibilities of villagers becoming directly involved in the management of production forests. For these situations, villagers are involved in partnership
with Department of Forestry in many aspects of forest management including
16 REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS FOR CF
boundary demarcation, land use mapping and planning, forest inventory, management planning, harvesting, and selling products.
Decree 59PM2002 provides for the establishment and management of large, contiguous tracts of production forests as Production Forest Areas. Villages are
allocated village forests mainly through the land and forest allocation program. Harvesting of trees for personal use is allowed in village production forests or
village use forests Forest Law Art 28 and MAF Reg. No. 535 on Management of Village Forest. Villagers can participate in commercial logging and other
production forest management activities when a Production Forest Area exists within their boundaries.
The piloting of village forestry ended in 2000 at the end of the project period. This was followed by two years of study and debate on how the lessons from
piloting village forestry should be converted into an official policy for participatory, sustainable forest management. The government effectively withdrew its support
for commercial timber harvesting through village organisations through Prime Ministerial Order No.11 of May 1999.
5.3.2. Progress with Implementation
