美國「權利與資源團體」（RRG）主席懷特表示：「全球林業正經歷一場自殖民時代以來最劇烈的轉型階段；我們希望鼓動並開拓這種變革，因為這種種關係到土地所有權的變革將能幫助森林所在社區前進，從只求溫飽的景況邁向繁榮。」他正在進行的一項計畫，希望讓全球社區所擁有及經營管理的森林所面積，在2015年前增加到現今的2倍。
懷特3日宣布新的「權利和資源行動」時表示：「現在，在提升窮人的生活水準這方面，森林顯然扮演著重要的角色。但是我們必須幫助窮人克服許多來自現今正擁有、利用及銷售森林產品和資源的各方勢力。」「權利和資源行動」的計畫目的是為了解決大規模貧窮問題。運用此計畫推動森林社區培力，以確保森林所在社區有權利擁有及利用森林資源。
總部設於印尼的「國際森林研究中心」（CIFOR），其執行長凱莫維茲說：「世界上多數的熱帶森林是為政府所有及管理；這是無視在地居民的需求，也忽視政府保護這些龐大資源的能力有限的問題。」「商業性的森林利用通常侷限於少數特權份子──其中多數是超限利用森林的伐木公司，他們很少回饋在地社區，諸如可刺激經濟成長的教育、道路設施等服務。」
根據「權利和資源行動」的統計資料，當今世界各地的森林所在社區，包括原住民社區，管理了至少3億7,000萬公頃的森林；也就是說，當地居民比公園管理處及其他私人或政府機構保護著更多的生物多樣性。但世界自然保育聯盟（IUCN）執行長史坦指出：「特定法律及其他的障礙仍然存在…因此，該行動的目的便是要在全球層次凸顯這類的障礙，對社區與政府提供支持以蓄積這波變革的能量。」
身兼「人民和社區發展基金會」領導人與RPG董事的伯恩表示：「我們需要幫助國家政府了解這對於國家經濟及環境的重要性。」但改變現狀是一個複雜的過程，需要新的政策來清楚定義當地產權，讓依靠森林生活的窮人可以自由參與林業市場及森林保育活動。
「中美洲農林社區與原住民聯合會」的領導人欽奇拉表示，相信許多國家已經準備好接受RRI的協助。欽奇拉說，「我們在中南美洲的例子可見到，若能提供正向的幫助，這些當地團體可以走出困境，邁向新的紀元：一方面利用森林資源來達到經濟獨立，另一方面可為後代子孫保護森林。」
"The world's forest sector is in the midst of the biggest transformation since the colonial era," says Andy White. "We're seeking to encourage and expand the kind of reforms, such as those affecting property rights, that will allow forest communities to progress from barely surviving to thriving." As president of the Rights and Resources Group, White is coordinating a new initiative that aims to double the global forest area under community ownership and management by 2015.
"It is now apparent that forests can play a big part in boosting living standards of the poor, but only if we can overcome the many forces that prevent the rural poor from owning, using and selling their forest products and services," White said on Wednesday, announcing the new Rights and Resources Initiative. The Rights and Resources Initiative is based on the idea that the solution to the widespread poverty is to empower forest communities with clear rights to own and use forest resources.
"Most of the world's tropical forests are government owned and managed, despite legitimate local claims to the forest and the limited ability of governments to protect these vast resources," said David Kaimowitz, director-general of the Center for International Forestry Research, CIFOR, based in Indonesia. "Commercial use is often restricted to a few privileged players - too often logging companies that harvest the forests unsustainably - with little payback to rural communities for schools, roads, and services that might spur economic growth," Kaimowitz said.
Today, local communities, including indigenous residents, manage at least 370 million hectares of forest, according to the Rights and Resources Initiative, which says that local communities are now protecting more biodiversity in forest areas than is currently conserved in parks and other private or government-protected areas. "But significant legal and other barriers persist," said Achim Steiner, director-general of IUCN.
"But significant legal and other barriers persist," said Achim Steiner, director-general of IUCN. "This initiative aims to support communities and governments in addressing these barriers on a global scale, building on the momentum that is already underway."
"We need to help national governments understand how it is in the national interest, economically and environmentally,” said RRG Board Member Yati Bun, who heads the Foundation for People and Community Development. But changing the status quo will be a complex process, requiring new policies that define clear local property rights so the forest-dependent poor can participate openly in forest markets and forest conservation.
Board member Alberto Chinchilla, head of the Coordinating Association of Indigenous and Community Agroforestry in Central America, believes the situation in many countries is ripe for the kind of assistance RRI can provide. "What we have seen in Central America is that once local groups get their foot in the door, with the right kind of assistance, they can push it wide open and enter into a new era of using forests to achieve economic independence while preserving the forests for generations to come," Chinchilla said.
