Community forestry or Social foresiry for Rural Development-a Critical Review

Rural people form a vital component of the forest eco-system. Exeessive removal of timber and fuelwood from the forests, restrictions imposed on the free use of forest bendifs by the rural people, reversed flow of forest benefits from rural to urban areas have all combined to impoverish the already poor rural people. Social forestry programme, developed under Indian conditions was advocated to be the solution for mitigating the hardships of the rural people. The implementation of this programme with its landable objectives has, however, failed to elicit the willingness and participation of the rural people in right earnest. Several reasons for this failure can be cited Community Forestry Management for Integrated Rural Development is the alternative approach advocated and discussed in the present study.