@article{a199b68f706b4c84b67f59aca45cfe55,
title = "Management issues in Community Forests Management: a case from Bumthang, Bhutan",
abstract = "The concept of Community Forestry was introduced in Bhutan in 1992. Bhutan now has 688 Community Forests (CFs) covering little more than 2% of the country{\textquoteright}s total geographical area. Despite some reports of management issues faced by CF members, new CFs are established every year. To identify issues and to propose solutions, focus group meetings with forestry officials, elected village leaders and Community Forests Management Groups of Bumthang were conducted in September 2015. The study revealed six main issues hindering effective management of CFs in Bumthang; (i) coordination; (ii) technical capacity of members; (iii) boundaries between CF and SRF; (iv) choice of State Reserve Forests area to become CF; (v) revision of management plan and (vi) legal implications of CF rules and of extraction of other resources from CF. We recommend that besides instituting technical capacity development programs for CF members, instituting annual coordination meetings involving all stakeholders may help in managing CFs.",
keywords = "Bhutan, Bumthang, Community Forests, Community Forests Management Group, conservation, forest management, natural resources",
author = "Sangay Wangchuk and Sonam Phuntsho and Thinley Wangdi",
note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by Korea Rural Economic Institute. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Korea Rural Economic Institute for having funded the study. We would also like to thank all stakeholders for having attended the meeting and for expressing all the issues with regards to CF in Bumthang, Bhutan. We express our sincere gratitude to the Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Conservation and Environmental Research and to Mr. Tenzin Lhundup, Bumthang district forestry sector for having extended all possible support in making this study a success. The manuscript would not have taken its shape without the support from Sangay Pelzang and Manisha Subbha, both working in UWICER. We would also like to thank the Social Forestry and Extension Division, Thimphu for having provided us with latest CF data. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.",
year = "2018",
month = jan,
day = "2",
doi = "10.1080/14728028.2017.1353444",
language = "English",
volume = "27",
pages = "54--60",
journal = "Forests Trees and Livelihoods",
issn = "2164-3075",
publisher = "Taylor & Francis",
number = "1",
}
