There is value to supporting research exchange on the practices and results of community forestry as there are still more questions than answers regarding the overall environmental, social and political benefits to local management.
Proposals to create a centralized network of networks is of questionable value as it would only serve to establish yet another organization dependent on scarce funds. Rather than fund a new entity, a more participatory and financially realistic approach would be to provide funding support on a rotating basis to regional community forestry networks, to take the annual responsibility for information dissemination and hosting an annual conference. Matching funds would be required from regional funding sources to encourage a broader base of support for community forestry and ensure that the network's research and findings are exposed to a wider audience. These provisions would ensure not only a widening of responsibility for producing and disseminating information, but it would also assure that the content of the meetings would not become overly centralized and harmonized by any one particular regional entity.
Information exchanges should be established between international and domestic forest agencies regarding their experiences in collaborative management practices. In developing countries, forest agencies currently have numerous methodological practices to stimulate effective community involvement in forest management whereas in developed countries, forest agencies are learning to accommodate communities who have used democratic and legal mechanisms to insure their interests are reflected in management practices.