LAND TENURIAL DYNAMICS AND PARTICIPATORY FORESTRY MANAGEMENT IN BANGLADESH

Of late, participatory forestry management, more popularly known as 's ocial forestry' (SF), has acquired great significance in Bangladesh as a strategy for both forest resource management and rural development. However, research on the contextual factors such as social relations, institutional structures, forest policies and land tenurial arrangeme nts which regulate SF's performance in the field has been limited. Lan d ownership and tenurial arrangement is one crucial factor which has r emained virtually unexplored in the context of Bangladesh SF. This art icle examines the land use and tenure arrangements in selected SF proj ects in Bangladesh. It focuses on the perceptions and choice of the SF farmers regarding land ownership, tenure and use; implications of cen tral land tenurial policy on farm productivity and farmers' motivation ; and also on the difference between farmers' land use choice and the assumptions of the SF planners. It shows that land tenure is a complex issue for SF. Although tenurial security is a major motivating force for farmers, providing permanent land ownership alone has little impac t on farm productivity or on the growth of collective effort among SF farmers. Farmers need institutional assurance and support (especially from the government) to fully utilize the potential rights and benefit s associated with such ownership. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.