Biodiversity Conservation and Management of Forests: The Significance of Participation of Stakeholders and Communities

Abstract

Participation of local communities and transboundary conservation issues should be shared by governments and institutions. The knowledge of forest ecology provides the essential ecological basis for the successful management and conservation of forests and biodiversity. Government can play an important role in re-introducing or restoring the local and regional management practices that successfully integrate sound management of biological resources. The practices and beliefs of forestdwelling tribes, nomadic communities and farmers remain closely intertwined with the biological diversity they live amidst. Ethnobotany has an important role to play in conservation of nature and culture, particularly, biodiversity and diversity of traditional human cultures. There is need to further revise the forest policies and ensure wider participation of stakeholders in forest and other resource planning and decision making processes so that the constraints on the implementation of management programs could be resolved through the increased financial resources, conflict management, institutional strengthening and capacity building of human society and other related measures.