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Forestry for Sustainable Rural Development








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directly under the division of production, became parallel to it and had its responsibilities broadened to include all reforestation and land rehabilitation activities.

Third, social forestry concepts and more socially sensitive approaches to working with forest villagers were integrated into the training given to all SFC personnel. The forestry personnel who interact most with villagers—labor foremen, forest police, forest guards, and forest rangers—were required to take 30 hours of social forestry in their six months of training. Exposure to social forestry through training also was given to managers, field people, and others in the forest development division. Paralleling these institutional changes, the SFC directorship set forth a series of regulations and management guidelines related to social forestry. These regulations and guidelines were especially important in the SFC, whose officials pride themselves on "going by the book."

Forest department staff training—often conducted by NGOs and academic institutions—is an important focus for efforts to institutionalize change. In most countries, a handful of talented and committed individuals has driven the initial work in community forestry. Yet a dependence on individual talents also means the change process is subject to individual frailties and to the risk that programs will not outlast the departure of a specific individual. Staff-training programs have sought to broaden the base of understanding and support for community forestry approaches, both among officials who have decision-making authority and among the field personnel who work most closely with villagers.