What is the focus of the Community Forest Program?

The Community Forest Program is specifically designed to support community forests and expand opportunities for sustainable forest management. This program emphasizes the importance of localized forest management by allowing communities to own and manage forest lands, which fosters stewardship and conservation efforts. The goal is to enhance the ecological, social, and economic benefits derived from forests while ensuring that these natural resources are available for current and future generations.

By focusing on sustainable practices, the program helps communities to engage in practices that protect biodiversity, improve wildlife habitats, and offer recreational opportunities without overexploitation. This collective management approach empowers communities to maintain their forests, which can lead to intricate relationships between local residents and their natural environment, ultimately promoting long-term sustainability.

The other options, while they touch on various aspects of land use, do not align with the primary mission of the Community Forest Program. Urban development, commercial logging, and enhancing tourist areas are not the central tenets of the program, which is far more focused on community engagement and sustainable practices within forest management.