What drives participation in community-based forest management? Insights from a global review.

Prabin Bhusal, Rajan Parajuli, Erin O Sills

Abstract readSystematic Review

In one paragraph

Synthesis in Ambio, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

1citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

The Benefits of Community-Level Efforts to Increase Tree Shade Availability for Cancer Prevention and Control.Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974)
Review

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Prabin BhusalDepartment of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2328-239X

Rajan ParajuliDepartment of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA. rparaju@ncsu.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7493-4485

Erin O SillsDepartment of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA.

Funding

National Science Foundation ICER-2108238

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Community-based forest management (CBFM) is widely promoted as a strategy that links forest management with local livelihoods through participatory governance. This global review used novel systematic review methods to evaluate predictors of people's participation in CBFM. Based on 66 cases from 47 studies across 18 countries, we identified 248 predictors that have been used to explain people's participation in CBFM and categorized them into seven broad categories. While demographics, household size, and landholding size are the most frequently tested, factors such as off-farm household income, leadership style, and forest condition are less commonly tested yet more often statistically significantly related to participation in CBFM. The meta-regression revealed that the specific type of CBFM (the institutional model) moderates the effects of certain predictors. These results highlight the multifaceted and context-specific drivers of participation in CBFM, underscoring the need for both household- and community-level strategies to foster effective forest governance.

Indexed as

Community ParticipationConservation of Natural ResourcesForestryForestsHumansEffect sizeForest governanceMeta-analysisParticipatory forest managementPublication bias

Identifiers

PMID41310143

DOI10.1007/s13280-025-02278-7

PMCPMC13125443

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

LicenceCC BY

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.