The role of community forests and community lands in achieving the global development goals by David Bray

Presented as part of the Seminar on Securing Forest and Community Land Rights – Challenges, Trends and Ways Forward. The seminar focused on forests and other off-farm areas that constitute vital resources for the food security and livelihoods of the rural poor in many developing countries. These lands are often used in integrated ways by local communities under communal customary arrangements while often formally owned by the state. Unclear land rights make these resources and associated livelihoods particularly vulnerable in the current context of increased demand for land; this needs to be better recognized and articulated in discussions on land rights and responsible land investments.