Key messages

• Allocating time and financial resources to develop the capacities of local communities and encourage their participation resulted in their positive perception of the equity and effectiveness of the Adaptive Collaborative Management Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF).
• The MSF was accompanied by strong and consistent advocacy for the government to recognize the rights of forest-dependent communities, making the effort more effective.
• The existence of previous, informal multi-stakeholder networks helped make the MSF more effective and equitable, allowing for meaningful knowledge exchange between the involved actors and for less powerful actors to build sufficient confidence to voice their thoughts in the MSF.