Participatory Forest Management (PFM) has been commonly understood to mean that local communities participate in forest management conducted by a government, targeting government-owned forests. Recently, however, with the emphasis on timber production on private forests and the customary rights of indigenous peoples, it has been predicted that a new type of PFM, in which governments participate in forest management conducted by local communities on customary and private lands, will become increasingly common worldwide. In the state of Meghalaya in India, the state government and the Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) are involved in forest management conducted by local communities on customary or private lands. Hence, examining such kinds of forest management in Meghalaya could provide useful suggestions about roles of governments in the new type of PFM. This study revealed that the state government and ADCs’ intervention is significant in showing that: (1) It secures community forest tenure based on modern laws; (2) it provides support for solving problems that are difficult for local communities alone to solve; (3) it induces strict compliance with forest regulations, due to the deference local communities feel toward the authorities; and (4) local communities receive material and financial support. This implies that local communities make “use” of government intervention, in contrast to previous studies, which regard it as a “restriction” on people. In PFM targeting customary or private lands, governments should show respect for forest management methods that have been developed and carried out by local communities and offer support for their implementation towards sustainable forest management.
