Managing Forest Conflict

In the Asia-Pacific region, poor forest governance, scarcity of resources, and historic injustices continue to cause socially destructive forest conflicts, which threaten sustainability efforts.

Throughout Asia, three-quarters of forests and tens of millions of people are affected by conflict. In 2009, Cambodia had 236 documented cases of land-use conflict in the country, more than half of which turned violent. In Thailand, 1.3 million hectares of protected land are currently in dispute by local people.

One of the main reasons for forest conflict is that dominant models of forest management — especially conservation in national parks and industrial exploitation — exclude the interests and needs of the people most reliant on forests. Moreover, these models deny the skills and knowledge that forest dwellers have with regard to managing natural resources. National parks, logging and mining operations, plantation concessions, and resorts frequently restrict or outright evict local and indigenous people from the forests where they live and work, usurping the land’s valuable resources. This exclusion usually occurs when unclear or unfair rights to forests are exploited by powerful government and private sector interests, often for short-term economic gains.

Disputes over forest land can lead to violence, abuses of human rights, destruction of property, high monetary costs, and physical and emotional harm. Conflicts also make it difficult to achieve the collaborative solutions needed to develop sustainable forest management in the region.

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Strategies to Reduce Forest Conflict

Our Role

RECOFTC aims to better understand the causes, impacts, and solutions of forest conflict. We analyze disputes, policies, forestry programs, and regulatory frameworks in the region, and we use our findings to improve advocacy efforts, raise awareness, and build capacity of stakeholders to mitigate and manage conflict. Our research also informs our conflict training courses, which help develop the skills of conflict mediators.  

When it comes to forest conflict, prevention is better than a cure. RECOFTC views participatory forest-management approaches, especially community forestry, as essential strategies for reducing forest conflict in the region. All of our thematic programs involve analysis, training, and advocacy toward participatory resource management and, thus, contribute to helping prevent forest conflict.