The ‘push down’ of power through devolution and decentralization and the ‘pull down’ of power through action on the ground are reaching an exciting stage in Scotland. This is happening within a political context of devolution in the UK, with the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 and Scotland’s forest estate now in the hands of the Scottish Executive (the government in Scotland). This chapter describes the political ‘push down’ and the people’s ‘pull down’ of power and tells the story of the people’s movement to get access to land and natural resources. The movement has led to the Land Reform Act, which gives communities the right to acquire ownership of land, including woodlands, and to the establishment of more than 100 community woodland organizations. It has also strongly influenced cultural and organizational changes within the national forest and rural development institutions. Local and sometimes radical efforts to pull down power can shape the decentralization process at the national level. Six examples illustrate the range of options for communities seeking to manage local woodlands.

Community managed forest systems embody a considerable portion of the wisdom, knowledge, and practical skills and management necessary for the sustainability of forest resources globally. These systems, however, are under threat in many ways, including from the rapid rate of change of their political, socio-economic, and biophysical contexts. Adapting forest management sufficiently quickly and effectively to meet these changes is both urgent and very challenging. This Guide introduces criteria and indicators of sustainability for community managed forest landscapes (CMF C&I) as a potential learning and communication tool that can help meet that challenge. It draws on CIFOR collaborative research on CMF C&I in Brazil, Indonesia, and Cameroon to propose a flexible step-by-step approach to developing and implementing self - or collaborative forest monitoring systems, and gives examples of C&I developed by communities in these countries. The approach is targeted to communities and their partners in forest management, such as NGOs, government, or development projects, who are seeking strategies to improve local well-being and forest sustainability through more effective learning, collaboration, and decision-making in local forest management.

Community managed forest systems embody a considerable portion of the wisdom, knowledge, and practical skills and management necessary for the sustainability of forest resources globally. These systems, however, are under threat in many ways, including from the rapid rate of change of their political, socio-economic, and biophysical contexts. Adapting forest management sufficiently quickly and effectively to meet these changes is both urgent and very challenging. This guide introduces criteria and indicators of sustainability for community managed forest landscapes (CMF C&I) as a potential learning and communication tool that can help meet that challenge. It draws on CIFOR collaborative research on CMF C&I in Brazil, Indonesia, and Cameroon to propose a flexible step-by-step approach to developing and implementing self - or collaborative forest monitoring systems, and gives examples of C&I developed by communities in these countries. The approach is targeted to communities and their partners in forest management, such as NGOs, government, or development projects, who are seeking strategies to improve local well-being and forest sustainability through more effective learning, collaboration, and decision-making in local forest management.

Community managed forest systems embody a considerable portion of the wisdom, knowledge, and practical skills and management necessary for the sustainability of forest resources globally. These systems, however, are under threat in many ways, including from the rapid rate of change of their political, socio-economic, and biophysical contexts. Adapting forest management sufficiently quickly and effectively to meet these changes is both urgent and very challenging. This Guide introduces criteria and indicators of sustainability for community managed forest landscapes (CMF C&I) as a potential learning and communication tool that can help meet that challenge. It draws on CIFOR collaborative research on CMF C&I in Brazil, Indonesia, and Cameroon to propose a flexible step-by-step approach to developing and implementing self - or collaborative forest monitoring systems, and gives examples of C&I developed by communities in these countries. The approach is targeted to communities and their partners in forest management, such as NGOs, government, or development projects, who are seeking strategies to improve local well-being and forest sustainability through more effective learning, collaboration, and decision-making in local forest management.