Can community forestry save biodiversity? 

All over the world， governments are handing over control of state forests to local communities， in the hope that local communities will make a better job of managing them than state agencies. But can villagers satisfy their basic needs from community forests without depleting biodiversity? This was the main issue addressed at a seminar entitled “Community Development and Conservation of Biodiversity through Community Forestry" organized by the Regional Community Forestry Training Centre (RECOFTC) in Bangkok on October 26-28th 1994. The meeting was attended by 140 foresters， social scientists and aid agency officials. However， a lack of biological scientists， especially taxonomists， in the audience， severely limited its capability to deal with biodiversity issues. Twenty countries were represented and the organizers should be commended for supporting attendance of delegates from countries rarely seen at international seminars， such as Bhutan， Cambodia， Laos and Myanmar.