Bringing Back Social ForestryEconomic and Political Weekly

India's social forestry programme promised much in the late-1970s and mid-1980s. It became the programme to be emulated for many developing countries. But the programme was not backed up by adequate research and was jettisoned, in the early 1990s. With climate change becoming a global concern, social forestry could make a comeback provided the policymakers learn from past mistakes.