Participation of local communities in community based forest management in Tanzania: a case of Tunduru District, Ruvuma region
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Date
2020
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
The Participatory Forest management (PFM) in Tanzania entails Community Based Forest
Management (CBFM) and Joint Forest Management (JFM). The centrepiece of the PFM is
participation of the local communities. The study focused on the CBFM with the aim of
providing a better understanding of local communities, participation in the CBFM process
of establishing Village Land Forest Reserves (VLFRs) and the implementation of the Forest
Management Plan (FMP). The study was conducted in five villages of Tunduru District,
Ruvuma Region in Southern Tanzania and had four specific objectives. These were: 1)
assessing the level of participation of the local community during the CBFM process of
establishing the VLFRs; 2) examining political underpinnings in the participation of the
local communities during the CBFM process of establishing the VLFR; 3) evaluating
trainings provided by professional foresters to members of Village Natural Resources
Committee (VNRCs) during the establishment of the VLFRs; and 4) assessing how local
community participate in the implementation of FMP and whether their management
practices comply with de jure FMP prescriptions and why. Data collection involved
household surveys, participant observations for six months, participatory rural appraisal, in-
depth interviews to local and external actors involved in the CBFM process, and a review of
grey and published literatures. The result indicated that ten different stakeholders
participated in the CBFM processes to establish VLFRs in Machemba and Sautimqja
villages. The identified stakeholders include government departments/institutions, Non-
Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and local communities - people who live in the
registered villages. The agenda behind the VLFRs establishment emanated from external
stakeholders who are interested in conservation and had never reached the point where the
local communities had control over the process. The study revealed further the presence of
multiple external stakeholders who compete over authority to claim and set aside village
land as a wildlife management area or as a forest reserve in the village land. This was
observed in Machemba Village where since 2007 there were different donor funded projects
to reserve the village land, which created conflicts among villagers themselves, and
sometimes with those from outside the village. This is because of the fact that there was no
broad-based dialogue about and acceptance of the idea of conserving village forest
(Chiumbe Forest). Furthermore, the study found that the preparation of forest management
plans is a technical activity, which is beyond general knowledge of local communities.
Therefore, VNRC members were trained to acquire necessary skills and knowledge on how
to carry out forest inventory and to prepare the FMP. However, the training was carried for
half a day, which is considered too short to make a meaningful contribution and aimed to
impart trainees skills to do manual work. The provided training was limited to how to
measure tree circumference (manual work), which aimed at making planning process cheap.
None of the committee member was capable to plan forest inventory, use Global Positioning
System (GPS), analyze inventory data and estimate sustained yield. The study also shows
that professional foresters with little emphasis on local knowledge, practices, and
livelihoods prepared FMPs. Forest management prescriptions were rooted in forest science,
conservation laws, administrative circulars, decrees, and guidelines; therefore, they (plans)
had little relevance to the local community, and such plans were followed partially as they
were in conflict with the local context. The study recommend for the revision of the forest
regulations and CBFM guidelines in order to provide local communities with more voice,
independence, and freedom and allow the inclusion of local knowledge and practices, as
well as exploring different sources of revenues to finance forest management activities.
Description
Dissertation
Keywords
Socio-economic activities, Forest, Community Based Forest Management (CBFM), Joint Forest Management (JFM)