Learning to learn: Working with local people to develop timber and non-timber forest products in Nepal

Forests and forestry are critical, in terms of day-to-day livelihoods, for millions of poor people, particularly in the developing world. Since the Rio Summit in 1992, forestry and forests in the tropics and sub-tropics have received considerable international attention with funding from both multilateral and bilateral bodies. While in gross terms funds in this area have been declining over the last two to three years, there is no doubt that forestry will remain a high profile contributor to global, regional and national debates about the environment and poverty elimination. The World Bank is currently reviewing its forest policy and, as a contribution to the discussion generated by this review, it has been argued that the Bank needs to: ‘choose strategies, ways of managing, products bias and time frames to suit the poor [and] free up management goals so that people can manage the forest in their own way more.’ This chapter focuses on approaches to research which will help to achieve this.