Forests throughout India, and the local communities whose livelihoods depend on them, are under great threat from large commerical enterprises. This casebooks follows the development of a community-based forest-protection movement in the State of Orissa, as it grew from spontaneous local protests in the mid-1970s into a network of forest-management organisations with respected enterprise and widespread influence. Community forest management analyses the achievements of the movement - known as 'Friends of Trees and Living Beings' - and considers its significance within the context of national legal and policy frameworks.