The paper is mainly based on the experience with the Joint Forest Management (JFM) approach in India over the past decade, which is perhaps the most significant (and most well documented) CBC initiative in the country in terms of scale and experience. The paper is based on a literature survey and draws extensively n the JFM case studies. The remaining paper is divided into six main sections. The first section provides a brief overview of the main CBC initiatives undertaken in India during the past few decades. The second section explores the appropriateness of looking at the economic impacts of the programme from the perspective of the local community. The third section deals with the major benefits and costs of such a programme mainly from the perspectives of the local community. The fourth section describes some of the broader policies that impinge on the programme. The fifth section explores some equity questions while the last section lists some economic methods and tools that could be used for assessing the programme.