| Abstract: | Profound changes have taken place, worldwide, during the last decade. These political, economic, and institutional changes have contributed to redefine the role of the state in all sectors, including natural resources. This article discusses traditional shortcomings of forest departments and new challenges they face arising from the changes in national policies and global concerns. Worldwide trends, such as civil service reforms, decentralization of government, increased local community involvement in resource management, and divestiture of state-owned enterprises impact the forestry sector, already faced with shrinking forest areas, decreased revenues, and government downsizing. To survive, forest departments need to form strategic partnerships with other stakeholders, get out of forest activities where they do not have a comparative advantage, and focus on core functions that governments do best. Examples are given from countries in Asia and the Pacific. Two country case studies are presented discussing Nepal's experience with Forest User Groups and New Zealand's experience with privatization of forestry. |
