Twelve papers are included on the issue theme. An introductory editorial suggests that participation as a concept does not hold the key to sustainable and equitable natural resource management, since as it has evolved within the development aid context, it has a conceptual flaw. This is because the concept assumes that the government/project does, while the community participates. Governments worldwide have failed as the main engine for development, and projects create little space for participation, and also isolate the project activities from the larger context. Project thinking also excludes the project staff from being accountable for their own actions and initiatives. An alternative approach may be to graduate to the state of responsibleness of the community concerned; the role of the government/project is then altered to a greater responsiveness. Most of the papers, which are listed below, address this viewpoint. They are: (1) From participation to 'responsibleness' (Onibon, A.); (2) Two decades of participatory forest development, but how participatory? (Dam, C. van); (3) Indigenous people - between development and forest conservation (Gram, S.) - the Kayan Mentarang Project in Kalimantan; (4) Some community forestry issues in the Terai, Nepal: where do we go from here? (Baral, J. C.; Subedi, B. R.); (5) Scaling up the learning process - range post coordination committees as a forum for sharing FUG experiences (Shrestha, R. B.) - Forest User Groups in Nepal; (6) From practice to policy - squatters as forest protectors in Nepal - an experience from Shrijana Forest User Group (Pokharel, R. K.); (7) Community management of forests in Tanzania - a status report at the beginning of the 21st century (Alden-Wily, L.; Akida, A.; Haule, O.; Haulle, H.; Kavishe, C.; Luono, S.; Mamkwe, P.; Massawe, E.; Mawe, S.; Ringo, D.; Makiya, M.; Minja, M.; Rwiza, A.); (8) All is not green with JFM in India (Niraj Kumar); (9) Learning from self-initiated community forest management in Orissa, India (Conroy, C.; Abha Mishra; Ajay Rai); (10) A revolutionary conservator blazes a new trail in Srisailam tiger reserve (Shouvik Datta) - JFM in Andhra Pradesh; (11) Community based forest management (CFM) in Orissa; a new way forward (Pal, S. K.); and (12) Networks - giving the people a voice in forest conservation planning (Kaiyourawong, S.; Brodt, S.) - in Thailand.