COMMUNITY FORESTRY IN DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING-COUNTRIES - A COMPARATIVE-STUDY

Concerns about the ecological and economic sustainability of industria l forestry led to the revival of community forestry (CF) in the develo ping countries. Recently, the developed countries are also examining t he feasibility of CF as a land management alternative for the similar reasons. This paper compares the opportunities and challenges of CF in the developing and developed countries. Particular emphasis is placed on the goals and objectives, participants and beneficiaries, land ten ure, size and management, ecology and economics of CF. In the developi ng countries CF is generally small, labour intensive and geared to mee ting the basic needs of the community people. By contrast, CF in the d eveloped countries is large, capital intensive and market oriented. No twithstanding the differences, CF provides an opportunity for ecosyste m management to maintain community stability and ecological integrity in both developing and developed countries.