Burkina Faso has 14% of its territory covered by classified forests. The state ensures an increasingly participative management. However, the trend of degradation and deforestation continues and these classified forests play little part in the fight against poverty. A joint diagnosis made it possible to measure the ardent need of local populations to be more involved, which could lead to real ownership. The paper investigated the strengths and weaknesses of empowering forest management involving local people. After a literature review, the study conducted individual surveys and focus group interviews with local populations, technical agents, and forest management groups (FMGs), customary authorities and local elected officials. The empowerment of management for the benefit of local people can be based on various contracts between the state and the private sector and / or communities. FMGs do not report to local people and seem to be the only local beneficiaries of this centralized state management. In order to put an end to this trend of degradation and to make local people benefit from their forests, an involvement towards empowerment is essential, especially in this context of climate change.