Publication

This paper uses the Western Ghats Forestry Project in Karnataka, India to illustrate the processes and problems of changing institutional environments in which rural livelihoods are constructed. The authors develop a framework to encompass the relationships between agencies and actors in the forest sector, analyze agency functions and explore results of institutional changes. They examine the effect of inter-relationships on the development of livelihood assets, review levels of change and provide principles to guide the change process. It concludes that changing relationships between forest resource users and delivery agents is insufficient for empowerment and cannot determine sustainable livelihood outcomes.