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.

In Indonesia, rapid deforestation is affecting local populations’ access to forest, yet little information is available about the impacts of deforestation on highly forest-dependent populations. To better understand these potential impacts, this document reports on economic and cultural uses of the forest for three villages in the Sub-District of Pujungan in East Kalimantan, using data from household suveys conducted in 1996.

This document is a report on the implementation of an initial project of Bulungan Research Forest in East Kalimantan, Indonesia 1997-2001 with financial support from International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). It contains an executive summary, the main text of the project objectives and outputs, brief report on technical and scientific aspects, lessons learned and recommendations for future projects.

CIFOR's research in the Bulungan Model Forest in Malinau, East Kalimantan, Indonesia took the form of a 3-year investigation into ways of achieving forest sustainability in a large forest landscape with diverse, rapidly changing and conflicting uses. The study reported in this book highligts the complexity of the challenge while also clarifying the key aspects.