Indigenous Forestry

Indigenous forestry started getting recognition after the failure of state-dominated forestry, which excluded historical forestry management by indigenous and local communities. Indigenous forestry is defined as an approach that sees local indigenous forestry users as taking a central role in how their resources are managed and used. The indigenous forestry approach contrasts with conventional or scientific forestry, which brings in outside knowledge that indigenous people are then forced to use in planning, management, and use of their forests. Globally, there have been moves toward incorporating the interests of indigenous forest communities in Africa's Congo Basin, in the Amazon forest, and in southeast Asia.

The adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2007 has further highlighted the importance of 370 million indigenous peoples globally. Indigenous forestry relies on indigenous or local forestry use and practices that have been acquired over a long period of time. The recognition of the ownership rights of forests for the indigenous peoples goes beyond a moral necessity but is also socially, economically, and politically necessary.

Indigenous knowledge is important in indigenous forestry management. Most governments’ policies view indigenous communities as destroying forests. The expert view of foresters has largely continued with knowledge perceived as coming from the forestry experts to the indigenous communities.

There are many reasons for promoting indigenous forestry. First, indigenous forestry is often seen as a way of promoting sustainability. Since indigenous communities have managed and used forestry resources over many years, they have developed time-tested management systems that have ensured that forest resources would be available for future generations. Dependency on forests for various products such as food, medicines, and construction materials that are basic human requirements means that the indigenous communities will look after their resources.

Second, indigenous forestry is in line with the values of modern democratic society. Democracy values the input of local citizens who must have a say in issues that affect their lives. This is often referred to in terms of the subsidiarity principle. Justification for the subsidiarity principle blames centralized institutional arrangements by stating that local issues have to be addressed locally. Forestry is a local issue, where indigenous knowledge, if it exists in that locality, should be a basis for deciding on its management and use. This results in the crafting of locally specific and locally relevant rules. Indigenous forestry is one way of connecting the local views with higher levels of government.

Third, indigenous forestry is rooted in local culture, norms, and values. By allowing people to manage their forests using local norms and practices, we are more likely to make people follow their rules and regulations rather than if they were imposed by regional or central government. People's beliefs should be central in any power relationship. Such power relationships can only be legitimate if they coincide with the beliefs, values, and expectations of a specific community. In the long run, it is argued that it is cheaper to enforce and monitor rules and regulations that are considered legitimate by local communities.

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