Local Communities Involvement in Forest Policy Implementation: Case from Sudan

The aim of this study, was to provide for review, identification and discussion of opportunities and constraints facing community based natural resource management in the Sudan. Forest resources, excluding the protected area, cover over 25% of the total area of the country. These resources are however, not managed sustainably and have been subject to intense deforestation pressure. This situation has resulted, from neglecting community involvement, community basic needs in addition to inadequate funding of the forestry sector. In an effort to manage the forest resources sustainably, involvement of local communities is now being tried in a variety of collaborative forest management approaches thus empowering the communities. In this study, village-based forest management is described and case studies are cited. These case studies show that; empowerment of local communities has improved forest management considerably and has dealt effectively with other land use problems. The approaches are cheap and sustainable.