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D. Geni et al. 2010. A framework for characterizing convergence and discrepancy in rural forest management
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production and conservation with social, political, and spiritual dimensions” at local level, and
constitutes an entity which has to be dissociated from the more classical forests.
There is a real need for a better characterization of these rural forests. Which indicators can be
addressed to understand the specific relationships that have evolved between rural people and
the forests they have shaped Are there general features found both in northern and southern
countries As complex socio-ecological systems, how do social and ecological factors
jointly determine their nature Can the concept of rural forest be an empirical model to put
sustainable development in practice
The research program POPULAR “Public policies and farmers’ local management of trees and
forests: sustainable alliance or dupery” (www2.toulouse.inra.fr/popular/), supported by the
French National Research Agency, aims at exploring the links between public policies and local
uses and management of small-scale forests by rural people, at sharing experiences both from
North and South, and at going further in the characterization of this almost orphan research
object that constitutes rural forest. As part of this project, we report here on a comparative study
that attempted to show the general characteristics and particularities of rural forests from
examples taken both from North (five sites in France) and South (Cameroon, India, Indonesia
and two sites in Morocco).
2. Material and Methods
The eleven sites were chosen in order to cover a large array of situations both ecologically
(humid tropical forest, dry forests, temperate forests) and concerning human population pressure,
socio-economic conditions and public policies related to forest management.
In France, different cases were developed within a context of centralized forest management and
both agricultural modernization and decline : 1) common small-scale forests privately managed
by traditional farmers from south-west part of France (Gascogne) (Deconchat et al., 2007): 2
and 3) the domestic chestnut forests in Corsica and Cevennes (South of France) which
experienced several phases of abandonment and renovation and where confrontations between
local dynamics and sustainable development policies are recurrent (Michon & Sorba, 2010); 4)
An example of a multifunctional management of a tree out of forest in the Pyrenees (southwestern
France) which coevolved with changing agricultural systems and land use
management : The ash tree (Mottet et al., 2007); and 5) the Languedoc Garrigues, a case of
agriculture abandonment where local initiatives emerge to control parts of the territory, such as
truffle forestry (Therville, 2009).
In Morocco, two situations representative of semi arid environment were analyzed : a secular
endogenous community-based forest management named agdal in the High Atlas mountains
(Cordier & Genin, 2008); the argan forest, located in the South West of the Country, with a
unique a semi-arid climate (annual rainfall around 350 mm). Argan tree (Argania spinosa) is an
endemic tree which provides highly valued oil for alimentary and cosmetic uses, and where
there is large historic trajectory of forest management both from local populations and forestry
services (Simenel et al. 2009).
In Southern Cameroon, even if forest ownership is public, management of forest is usually
performed by local communities who partly depend upon the extraction of forest resources for
their livelihood (Lescuyer, 2007).
In the Western Ghâts of India, different situations coexist such as commercial agroforests,
sacred forests both managed by local people, and reserved forests managed by forestry services
but where collective land use rights still continue. Two situations were analyzed in this paper:
agroforests and reserved forests (Hinnewinkel et al., 2008).
In Indonesia, there is a large experience on indigenous communities’ utilisation of forest
resources. Since the 1970s, the relevance of local management systems for forest science,
conservation and development have become well-recognized facts.
Forest Landscapes and Global Change-New Frontiers in Management, Conservation and Restoration. Proceedings of the IUFRO Landscape Ecology
Working Group International Conference, September 21-27, 2010, Bragança, Portugal. J.C. Azevedo, M. Feliciano, J. Castro & M.A. Pinto (eds.)
2010, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Bragança, Portugal.