Brittney Hall

Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Soto-Shoender, Jose

Area of Concentration

Biology and Environmental Studies

Abstract

Community forests are forests managed by local communities. They can be beneficial in socioeconomic contexts and can have positive impacts in supporting local biodiversity of plants and animals. Community forests are considered generally effective at countering deforestation and serve as valuable systems for local communities and as a response to climate change. However, the effectiveness of community forestry is dependent on a variety of socio-ecological factors, thus presenting a need for the success and efficacy of community forests to be evaluated and assessed in a rigorous and objective manner. The purpose of this thesis is to identify socio-ecological variables that contribute to successful community forests. In this narrative literature review, my primary objective is to assess commonalities across two frameworks identifying variables of community forest success and sustainability. Another objective of this review is to identify suggested indicators for consideration within the proposed comprehensive framework. My final objective is to recommend applications for improving the evaluation of community forestry success and sustainability through the considerations of the comprehensive framework. Managerial and ecosystem considerations of community forests will be explored as an introduction to the field of study. By referencing existing literature of evaluative frameworks constructed by several studies as the result of community forest meta-analyses, I then analyze the commonalities of evaluating the success and sustainability of community forests. I conclude the common variables across frameworks to be forest boundaries, forest diversity, tenure and property rights, monitoring of forest regeneration post-harvest and management impacts, community involvement and interest, legal compliance, and rules pertaining to forest degradation and regeneration. I then analyze these factors and provide additional recommendations for a comprehensive framework assessing community forest success and sustainability. The results of my analysis can be used by funding agencies, managers, and other stakeholders of community forest management for orienting practices towards successful and sustainable outcomes.

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