The purpose of this 'how-to' guide is to provide simplified directions for practitioners who want to strengthen gender equity and inclusiveness of marginalized groups in community forestry and other community-based activities. This approach, known as Adaptive Collaborative Management (ACM), has been tested and tried in different cultural settings in Africa, Asia and Latin America. It was recently applied in several districts in Uganda to strengthen women's rights to forest and tree resources and to increase their participation and leadership in forest decision-making. This guide draws from these experiences. It also draws from an earlier guide that was developed jointly by practitioners in Nicaragua and Uganda.

The use of ACM methodology in six communities in Uganda has resulted in reforestation of over 50ha of degraded forests by local communities; and women were involved in the management of these forests, owned and benefitted from the trees planted in central forest reserves and on farmlands.