Community forestry: the language of life. Report of the First Regional Community Forestry Users Group Workshop, organised by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development and FAO's Forests, Trees and Peoples Programme, Nepal, 22-27 May, 199

This workshop brought together 77 women and men engaged in grassroots level forest management from 6 countries (Nepal, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Philippines, Bhutan). The participants represented forest user groups, women's groups, NGOs, and community organisers. They identified key issues that would be necessary to make community forestry an effective mechanism for sustainable mountain development. These included evolving strategies for strengthening local institutions, establishing national and regional networks to enhance learning and knowledge exchange, building conceptual understanding of advocacy, and enhancing the role of community institutions in influencing policy. Strategies which will give women and the resource poor more control over the management of natural resources received particular attention. The proceedings are arranged in 5 parts: (1) Introduction; (2) Opening sessions - which included the setting up of cross-country working groups; (3) Plenary sessions - working groupreports, country group presentations and other activities; (4) Concurrent sessions - Challenges for the future (working group on advocacy and networking; strategies for enhancing women's role in decision-making; strategies for strengthening local institutions: institution-building, capacity- building and training; and strategies for enabling policy, rules and regulations), and Country action plans and strategies (Pakistan; Bhutan; Thailand; Philippines; India; Nepal); and (5) Annexes - the workshop schedule and list of participants.