There is a vast and unrecognized opportunity for community forestry to strengthen national resilience to climate change through diversifying rural livelihoods, increasing food security, leveraging social capital and knowledge, advancing disaster risk reduction and regulating microclimates.

Agricultural tractors with attached winches, grapple tongues and log trailers with cranes are the key machines for small-scale forestry work in developed countries. In the near future, a similar role is also foreseen in small-scale community forestry work in Asia and the Pacific.

At RECOFTC, we take a long-term, landscape-based and inclusive approach to supporting local communities to secure their land and resource rights, stop deforestation, find alternative livelihoods and foster gender equity. 

In Vietnam, forests have been under state stewardship for a long time. Degradation of forest resources under state management together with the high costs of forest protection has led to increased involvement of local people in forest management.

Community forestry supports local level climate change adaptation by enhancing resilience in multiple ways: supporting livelihoods and income, increasing food security, leveraging social capital and knowledge, reducing disaster risks and regulating microclimates.