
This policy brief highlights the exclusion of the larger community from forest governance in the face of dominance by a few community members who have positions in the Community Forest Management Body. Some leaders of the community forest committees feel more accountable to the Forestry Development Authority than to the community that appoints them. They demonstrate too much interest and authority defending the company against the community and believe the government and the logging company owners have more authority over the management of the forests than ordinary community members. The conflicts among community members have been used by the logging operators to exploit the forest resources.