Social forestry: changing perspectives in forestry science or practice?

Abstract

Social forestry as a concept was introduced in the 1970s. It is an approach which focuses specifically on the forest-related needs of local communities in tropical countries, and on stimulating community involvement in the sustainable management of forest resources. It has been suggested that the development of social forestry implies a paradigmatic change in forestry, but this idea has been contested; the objective of this thesis is to contribute to the debate. A paradigm involves a total set of disciplinary commitments; this disciplinary matrix involves a basic world-view, normative perspectives and conceptual generalizations as well as ideal-typical exemplars for problem-solving. Both scientists and professionals may adhere to such normative commitments. Consequently, the suggestion of a paradigmatic change in forestry may be related either to forestry as a science or as a professional institution. The study made here has 4 analytical steps. First a short overview is given of the history of forestry and of one of its major conceptual generalizations - sustainability, and the nature of the disciplinary matrix of conventional forestry is identified. Next, the development of social forestry is described, and the approach conceptualized as involving forestry policies designed and implemented by professional foresters, and community forest management practices executed by local communities, who are not professionally trained foresters; it cannot be assumed that the normative perspectives of these two categories of practitioners are similar. The third step of the analysis, therefore, compares the perspectives of the two categories, and shows major differences in normative perspectives. The last step of the analysis focuses on how the recognition of such differences has impacted on forestry science and professional practice. It is concluded that social forestry involves major changes in both the role- and rule-orientation of professional foresters, with the role no longer considered as being that of ideal typical forest managers but also as facilitators of community forestry. Because of this, several new concepts and theories concerning social coordination in forestry have evolved. Forestry science became more empirically orientated by paying attention to all possible forest management conditions rather than only to professionally controlled situations. These changes can best be considered as evolutionary rather than paradigmatic. However, the differentiation in tasks of professional foresters and the loosening of close institutional links between forestry scientists and professional practitioners can be considered as involving a paradigmatic change in forestry as a professional institution. The thesis is presented in 11 chapters, 4 of which are original, with the remainder either reprinted or adapted from earlier publications by the author (and others in some cases). They are: (1) General introduction; (2) The disciplinary matrix of forestry; (3) 200 years of sustainability in forestry: lessons from history; (4) Tropical forestry policies: from colonial forestry to rural development forestry; (5) The concepts of social and community forestry; (6) Farmer adoption of contour hedgerow intercropping, a case study from east Indonesia; (7) The forestry agent at the interface between local-level environmental management and external policies: reflections on forestry interventions in the Sahel; (8) Indigenous exploitation and management of tropical forest resources: an evolutionary continuum in forest-people interactions; (9) Traditions and recent advances in tropical silvicultural research in Indonesia; (10) Social forestry: diversification or evolution in forestry?; (11) Reflection and conclusion: changing perspectives in forestry.