COMMON PROPERTY AND COLLABORATIVE FOREST MANAGEMENT: RURAL DYNAMICS AND EVOLUTION IN COMMUNITY FORESTRY REGIMES

International forest policies have been giving more attention to stimulating the involvement of local communities in forest management since the 1980s. Gradually the interest in common property management regimes in tropical countries has been extended to include collaborative management schemes and community forestry development in industrialized countries. This paper describes the multiple and dynamic meanings of community and analyses the various forms of dependency on forest resources within the framework of livelihoods and well-being. The evolution in community forestry is illustrated by examples from Europe. As a result of changing government policies and socio-economic development, both community management arrangements and forest dependency has gradually changed. The community organisations are increasingly based on common interests and social relations rather than on common residence, and the motivations to join such schemes are increasingly based on aesthetic, ecological and recreational benefits rather than material needs. These examples from Europe illustrate the multiple manifestations of community-based forest management and its dynamic nature. A thorough understanding of the scope and merits of common property forest management can best be obtained by assessing schemes in the dynamic context of socioeconomic development.