Vol. 51 (1), 2009: 66-76

FOLIA FORESTALIA POLONICA
Series A - Forestry, 2009, Vol. 51(1), 66–76.

Constructing and sustaining Participatory Forest Management: lessons from Tanzania, Mozambique, Laos and Vietnam

Irmeli Mustalahti , Iben Nathan
Danish Centre for Forest, Landscape and Planning, Faculty of Life Science, University
of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 23, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark, Corresponding author.

Abstract
The paper introduces an illustrative model, the ‘house model’, which contains a number of key elements for constructing and sustaining people’s participation in forest management. The model is used as a tool for analysing four donor supported forestry projects in Tanzania, Mozambique, Laos and Vietnam. The study shows that the two core elements for sustaining participation in forest management, regardless of land tenure or forest management model, are: (a) attitude: local people in the specific context see themselves as responsible for the local resources and; (b) access: local people gain secured access to information and benefits from the resources.

Key words
participatory forest management, sustainability, extension services, donor support