This medium-length report offers an excellent example of the wide range of issues that need to be addressed in any in-depth evaluation of a social forestry project. The evaluation was conducted after three years of field operations in nine of Orissa’s thirteen districts. Amongst other things, it includes an analysis of: project objectives and strategies; the policy environment; project implementation and achievement of stated physical and social objectives; the Orissa Forest Department’s (OFD’s) capacity for implementing social forestry; and the adequacy of village-level institutions for ultimately managing community forests and ensuring the equitable distribution of benefits arising from these. The evaluators note that the project achieved good physical results in terms of plantation development. There were also indications of positive changes in the relationship between local communities and members of the OFD. In particular, they commend the OFD for responding to local preferences in the choice of plantation species, which resulted in greater emphasis on indigenous species in mixed plantations in marked contrast to social forestry operations in other parts of India. However, the evaluators express concern about some of the project’s underlying assumptions, particularly about patterns of supply and demand of forest products at the village level and the notion that village economies are self-contained. They also note a lack of clarity concerning the project’s target beneficiaries. Notably, they question whether the project’s major objective of increasing local fuelwood supplies, especially for the poor, can be achieved through current project activities and strategies. However, they recognise the potential of community forestry and farm forestry to generate local income and wealth through sale of forest products. The report concludes with various recommendations for addressing major weaknesses in project design and implementation.