Colfer, C.P.J., R. Prabhu, M. Günter, C. McDougall, N.M. Porro, R. and Porro.. 1999. Who counts most? Assessing human well being in sustainable forest management. C&I Tool No. 8. CIFOR, Bogor, Indonesia.Who Counts Most? Assessing Human Well-Being in Sustainable Forest Management presents a tool, ‘the Who Counts Matrix’, for differentiating ‘forest actors’, or people whose well-being and forest management are intimately intertwined, from other stakeholders. The authors argue for focusing formal attention on forest actors in efforts to develop sustainable forest management. They suggest seven dimensions by which forest actors can be differentiated from other stakeholders, and a simple scoring technique for use by formal managers in determining whose well-being must form an integral part of sustainable forest management in a given locale. Building on the work carried out by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) on criteria and indicators, they present three illustrative sets of stakeholders, from Indonesia, Côte d’Ivoire and the United States, and Who Counts Matrices from seven trials, in an appendix.

Braun, A., D. Peters, M. Covault, and J.C. Mercado. 2002. Mid -Term Evaluation of: CATIE's Program on Ecologically-Based Participatory Implementation of IPM and Agroforestry in Nicaragua and Central America (CATIE-MIP/AF) Phase III. 59 pp. CATIE-MIP/AF is a well-conceived and well-managed program that has capitalized on lessons learned in previous phases and from other programs. It developed in response to the weakening of the extension function within national agricultural systems in Central America and has contributed to the reorientation of the linear transfer-of-technology model prevailing in Nicaragua and other Central American Countries into a participatory extension approach that links farm families, extensionists, researchers and trainers, and decision-makers. The participatory methodologies developed by the program are a major strength in addressing challenges posed by modern-day complexity, uncertainty and dynamism in agriculture and natural resource management by farmers. The Program has catalyzed the establishment of a field-based multi-level, multi-institutional platform for participatory development and extension of technology for three important Central American farming systems, coffee, vegetables and basic grains (maize and beans), combining these with a broad array of ecological practices based on principles of agroforestry, integrated pest management, and natural resource conservation. The participatory capacity-building supported by the program develops powers of ecological reasoning, and incorporates a gender and family focus. The program has supported participatory training of significant numbers of farmers, extensionists, trainers and has involved decision-makers in joint planning and public monitoring of the process. Future emphasis on developing empresarial reasoning as a complement to the current focus on ecological reasoning. could increase the sustainability of achievements and the chances of significant impact on poverty alleviation in the future

Pound, B., S. Snapp, C. McDougall and A. Braun (Eds). 2003. Managing Natural Resources for Sustainable Livelihoods: Uniting Science and Participation. Earthscan/IDRC.Management of local resources has a greater chance of a sustainable outcome when there is partnership between local people and external agencies, and agendas relevant to their aspirations and circumstances. Managing Natural Resources for Sustainable Livelihoods analyses and extends this premise to show unequivocally that the process of research for improving natural resource management must incorporate participatory and user-focused approaches, leading to development based on the needs and knowledge of local resource users.Drawing on extensive and highly relevant case studies, this book presents innovative approaches for establishing and sustaining participation and collective decision-making, good practice for research, and challenges for future developments. It covers a wide range of natural resources – including forests and soils, and water and management units such as watersheds and common property areas and provides practical lessons from analysis and meta-analysis of cases from Asia, Africa and Latin America. It offers insights on how to make research participatory while maintaining rigour and high-quality biological science, different forms of participation, and ways to scale up and extend participatory approaches and successful initiatives.This book will be invaluable for those professionally involved in natural resource management for sustainable development, and an essential resource for teachers and students of both the biophysical and social science aspects of natural resource management.

Ritchie, B., C. McDougall, M. Haggith and N. Burford de Oliveira. Criteria and Indicators of Sustainability in Community Managed Forest Landscapes. CIFOR.This guide is intended to make a contribution to the larger efforts worldwide at improving forest management, human well-being, and the sustainability of natural resources. Three points should be noted by anyone intending to use the Guide:1. As with any such tool, everything in this guide needs to be considered in, and adapted to, the local context in which it is to be used.2. Successful implementation of the approach suggested in this guide relies on adequate understanding of, commitment to, and skills in participatory approaches and processes.3. This is a work in progress. CIFOR and collaborators are continuing work in this area, and we welcome input and feedback on this guide.

McDougall, C., Isbadi, I.R., Santoso, L., Corless, M. and Purnomo, H. (eds.) The CIFOR Criteria and Indicators Resource Book DatabaseThe CIFOR Criteria and Indicators Resource Book Database offers information on attributes; definitions, relevance, method for assessment, how to go about measuring a particular indicator, how to design a sample plot etc. The Resource Book Database is a work in progress at CIFOR and subject to further improvements.

McDougall, C., Isbadi, I.R., Santoso, L., Corless, M. and Purnomo, H. (eds.) The CIFOR Criteria and Indicators Resource Book DatabaseThe CIFOR Criteria and Indicators Resource Book Database offers information on attributes; definitions, relevance, method for assessment, how to go about measuring a particular indicator, how to design a sample plot etc. The Resource Book Database is a work in progress at CIFOR and subject to further improvements.

Colfer, C.J.P., M.A. Brocklesby, C. Diaw, P. Etuge, M. Günter, E. Harwell, C. McDougall, N.M., Porro, R. Porro, R. Prabhu, A. Salim, M.A. Sardjono, B. Tchikangwa, A.M. Tiani, R.L. Wadley, J. Woelfel,. and E. Wollenberg. 1999. The BAG (Basic Assessment Guide for Human Well-Being). C&I Tool No. 5. CIFOR, Bogor, Indonesia.The Basic Assessment Guide for Human Well-Being (or The BAG) focuses on the social criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management, a topic that has been the subject of considerable controversy and uncertainty. It is designed for people interested in assessing sustainable forest management, but who do not have a high degree of expertise in social sciences. The six simple methods described in this manual are designed for use by biophysical scientists with a college education. They can also be used by assessors with higher levels of expertise in social sciences, but they are presented in a ‘cookbook’ format. The Scoring and Analysis Guide, meant to be used with The BAG, provides additional help in making assessments of human well being, including a specific scoring method. It also provides increasingly detailed levels of guidance in analysis.

Roothaert, R., S. Franzel, M. Kiura. 2003. On-Farm Evaluation Of Fodder Trees And Shrubs Preferred By Farmers In Central Kenya. Experimental Agriculture. 39(4): 423 - 440.The small amount of on-farm research that has been carried out with fodder trees in Africa has mainly involved exotic species selected by researchers rather than farmers. In this study, farmers who had participated in a pre-planting survey chose, during feedback meetings, seedlings of indigenous, naturalized and some exotic fodder trees from a nursery. They planted them on-farm, where the planting niches, management, biomass production, and animal response were evaluated over a short period, and compared with the results of the earlier survey. The farmers came from three agro-ecological zones in central Kenya with respective mean annual rainfall totals of 775, 950 and 1300 mm. Data were collected at two months, one year and two years after planting. The feedback meetings proved important to the understanding of discrepancies between the earlier survey results and farmers' practices. Survival and growth of seedlings, manure application by farmers, and percentage of trees pruned for fodder, differed among species. The farmers showed a strong interest in experimenting with and actively cultivating local fodder trees.

Van Mele, P. (ed.) 2003. Way Out of the Woods: Learning How to Manage Trees and Forests. CPLPress, Newbury, UK, pp. 143.The Way Out of the Woods is an account of how the success of forestry and agroforestry projects in Nepal, Kenya and Bolivia depends on understanding biological, social and cultural diversity and applying this knowledge to meet the needs of rural people.The solutions to sustainable management lie in using local and scientific knowledge. ISBN 1-872691-67-6

Garrity, D.P., V.B. Amoroso, S. Koffa, D. Catacutan, G. Buenavista, P. Fay and W. Dar. 2002. Landcare on the Poverty-Protection Interface in an Asian Watershed. Special Feature on Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM). Conservation Ecology. Vol 6(1). Other articles in the Special Issue on INRMSerious methodological and policy hurdles constrain effective natural resource management that alleviates poverty while protecting environmental services in tropical watersheds. We review the development of an approach that integrates biodiversity conservation with agroforestry development through the active involvement of communities and their local governments near the Kitanglad Range Natural Park in the Manupali watershed, central Mindanao, the Philippines. Agroforestry innovations were developed to suit the biophysical and socioeconomic conditions of the buffer zone. These included practices for tree farming and conservation farming for annual cropping on slopes. Institutional innovations improved resource management, resulting in an effective social contract to protect the natural biodiversity of the park. The production of fruit and timber trees dramatically increased, re-establishing tree cover in the buffer zone. Natural vegetative contour strips were installed on several hundred sloping farms. Soil erosion and runoff declined, and the buffer strips increased maize yields by an average of 0.5 t/ha on hill-slope farms. The scientific knowledge base guided the development and implementation of a natural resource management plan for the municipality of Lantapan. A dynamic grass-roots movement of farmer-led Landcare groups evolved in the villages near the park boundary, which had a significant impact on conservation in both the natural and managed ecosystems. Encroachment in the natural park was reduced by 95% in 3 yr. The local Landcare groups also restored stream-corridor vegetation. This integrated approach has been recognized as a national model for the local management of natural resources and watersheds in the Philippines. Currently, the collaborating institutions are evolving a negotiation support system to resolve the interactions between the three management domains: the park, the ancestral domain claim, and the municipalities. This integrated systems approach operated effectively with highly constrained funding, suggesting that commitment and impact may best be stimulated by a "drip-feed" approach rather than by large, externally funded efforts.