Forest ecosystems provide forest edge communities with significant livelihoods. The use of forest resources depends on resource availability and extraction requirements, and utilization patterns may be affected by land use changes. At the global level, various governmental and non-governmental organizations have developed and implemented policies and projects to benefit forest fringe communities. In Africa, for example, forest degradation and deforestation have contributed to negative impacts for people living in forests. John Stanturf has developed a collaborative research program for forest restoration in Africa based on community participation. In Africa, the populations of people living in forested landcover range in number from 0.25 to 16 million, and several environmental and forest conservation movements were initiated by people from such locations. In India, about 68% of the total population of 1.4 billion (about 950 million) depends on forest resources, accelerated forest conversion for agricultural and other land use negatively affected forest fringe livelihood activities. Therefore, policymakers must support local people’s participation in forest conservation for more sustainable local livelihoods. Forest fringe villages or communities can be incentivized to maintain forest vegetation through payment schemes such as REDD+ (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation). The principal components of the UN program “The International Arrangement on Forests” are suitable examples. Governmental and non-governmental organizations can support local forest rights, which are essential for poverty reduction, the limitation of extremism, and the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDG), particularly SDG-1 (No poverty), SDG 2 (No hunger), SDG13 (Climate action), and SDG-15 (Life on land). This chapter examines these issues with case studies from India and Africa.