Communities in countries like Nepal are working together with governments to manage forests in a more inclusive way. This approach, called participatory forest management, recognizes the importance of local people in sustainable forest management. A new generation of this management style is emerging, focusing on collaboration between different groups to achieve common goals. In Australia, participatory forest management is a recent development, but it has the potential to meet community needs and protect forests. To be successful, this approach requires supportive policies, diverse expertise, cooperation between different interests, and long-term commitment.