Social Forestry versus Social Reality: Patronage and community-based forestry in Bangladesh

Social forestry has acquired great significance in Bangladesh as a strategy for both forest resource management and rural development. However, the local social relations and networks which dictate the performance of social forestry have largely been ignored by planners of social forestry projects. This paper examines one of the most dominant manifestations of such social relations, the patronage network, and its implications for the performance of social forestry in rural Bangladesh. Three case studies illustrate the varied and profound implications of the patronage network for the functioning of social forestry projects.