THE EFFECT OF COMMUNITY STRUCTURE ON SOCIAL FORESTRY OUTCOMES - INSIGHTS FROM CHOTA-NAGPUR, INDIA

Social forestry integrates rural people with forest management in an a ttempt to improve rural welfare and reverse environmental degradation. Social forestry depends on people, yet the ability to assess opportun ities for it is primarily based on technical criteria. Uniform social forestry programs are implemented in communities with different social characteristics without a clear understanding of the effects of those characteristics on people's actions and the outcomes of the program. Based on survey research among eighteen villages in the hilly Chota Na gpur Plateau, southeastern Bihar, India, this paper uses theories of c ollective action and common property resource management to investigat e the relationship between social differentiation, local institutional capacity and wealth distribution, and the likelihood of success of pr ivate or community-based social forestry strategies. The results provi de the basis for distinguishing among communities according to the pro bable effectiveness of different forms of social forestry, as well as for determining appropriate roles for external organizations intereste d in promoting social forestry. Additionally, the paper includes discu ssion of other factors such as local leadership, land and tree tenure, relations with external institutions, and ecological variation which affect social forestry outcomes.