Part 2. Diverse forms of participation.

This chapter has an introduction and three papers. In the first the authors examine "organizational structure, performance and participation" in Nepal. They describe a study of forest user groups. The second paper raises questions concerning the meaning of "community", "local" and "indigenous" by reviewing the history of local forest management in a region of the Himalayas. It is the presence of a local guard to monitor harvest behaviour that is the most important institutional variable affecting performance. The thrid paper, "Diversity in Forms of Participation" makes a similar point based on irrigation system experience from India, the Philippines and Indonesia. The author urges researchers and policy makers to pay more attention to the norms and customs of farmers.