Third Parties

In some areas, outside parties - particularly non-governmental organizations - have an important role to play in helping communities negotiate agreements with governments. Third-party intermediaries familiar with and trusted by members of local communities, and knowledgeable of external interests and processes, can be profoundly helpful in negotiating viable and equitable community-based tenurial arrangements. Indeed, since forest-dependent communities often lack the experience necessary to navigate diverse cultural, bureaucratic, and organizational demands and expectations, many community forestry and conservation projects probably owe their very existence to the invaluable assistance of third-party intermediaries.¹⁴⁴

A troublesome question, however, is whether a third-party intermediary must be involved in negotiating the terms of community-based forest management agreements. Clearly, no blanket requirement for a third-party intermediary is appropriate since their existence and availability cannot be presumed, nor can their loyalty to local communities be assured. Requiring the involvement of intermediaries should depend on a number of factors including the particular community's degree of organization and internal cohesion, community and government preferences. When a community wants the involvement of a third-party intermediary, however, that decision should be respected.