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Synopsis While India has a long tradition of natural resource management, over the last two centuries, user-community involvement in forest management has ranged from total absence to marginal involvement, with devastating effects on the status and growth of forests. Among the many independent and isolated attempts that were made by forest departments in different states for eliciting community participation during the 1980s and 1990s, the Jhabua experiment in the state of Madhya Pradesh was unique. The Jhabua district was reeling under frequent droughts, poor productivity of natural resources--forests and agricultural lands, mass out-migration in search of livelihoods, and illegal and illicit withdrawal of forest products, when the forest department undertook the joint forest management programme. This programme not only attempted to tackle problems of forest destruction, but was also aimed at generating options for poverty eradication and employment as a crucial step for reducing pressure on natural resources. Green beginnings: joint forest management in Jhabua is an attempt to discover and detail enigma of the Jhabua experiment in its entirety, with the historical perspective forming the background for present-day issues and challenges. It is a tribute to the success achieved by the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department and the tribals of Jhabua in building a lasting partnership manifest in a greener Jhabua and the well-being of its populace.