The Journey Towards Collaborative Forest Management In Africa

Uganda has 4.9 million hectares of forest resources, which cover 24 percent of the land area. Most of these forests resources have been controlled under customary tenure without clear management schemes. However, in recent years Collaborative Forest Management (CFM) has come to see local communities cooperating with government or its agencies in the management of gazetted forest reserves. Organized in Communal Land Associations (CLA), community members enter into a Memoranda of Understanding/Agreement with the National Forestry Authority (NFA) to manage part or whole of a gazetted forest reserve. In Budongo Sub-county in Masindi District (Western Uganda), a Community Based Organization (CBO), the Budongo Community Development Organization (BUCODO) working with the NFA has piloted CLAs as institutions through which communities can manage their forest resources. Presently little empirical evidence exists that points to the effects transaction costs in Community Forestry (CF) play in retarding the success of such initiatives. This study sought to: Examine the level of transaction costs households faced in community forestry and to gauge their effects on community forestry initiatives; and determine the distribution of community forestry transaction costs across households with diverse socio-economic characteristics and gauge their effects on community forestry initiatives.

A combination of broad disciplinary coverage and scientific excellence, the Encyclopedia of Forest Sciences will be an indispensable addition to the library of anyone interested in forests, forestry and forest sciences. Packed with valuable insights from experts all over the world, this remarkable set not only summarizes recent advances in forest science techniques, but also thoroughly covers the basic information vital to comprehensive understanding of the important elements of forestry. The Encyclopedia of Forest Sciences also covers relevant biology and ecology, different types of forestry (e.g. tropical forestry and dryland forestry), scientific names of trees and shrubs, and the applied, economic, and social aspects of forest management. Valuable key features further enhance the utility of this Encyclopedia as an exceptional reference tool. Also available online via ScienceDirect – featuring extensive browsing, searching, and internal cross-referencing between articles in the work, plus dynamic linking to journal articles and abstract databases, making navigation flexible and easy. For more information, pricing options and availability visit www.info.sciencedirect.com. Edited and written by a distinguished group of editors and contributors Well-organized encyclopedic format provides concise, readable entries, easy searches, and thorough cross-references Illustrative tables, figures, and photographs in every entry, produced in full color Comprehensive glossary defines new and important terms Complete, up-to-date coverage of over 60 areas of forest sciences - sure to be of interest to scientists, students, and professionals alike! Editor-in-Chief is the past president of the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations, the oldest international collaborative forestry research organization with over 15,000 scientists from 100 countries

The Complex Forest systematically examines the theory, processes, and early outcomes of a research and management approach called adaptive collaborative management (ACM). An alternative to positivist approaches to development and conservation that assume predictability in forest management, ACM acknowledges the complexity and unpredictability inherent in any forest community and the importance of developing solutions together with the forest peoples whose lives will be most affected by the outcomes. Building on earlier work that established the importance of flexible, collaborative approaches to sustainable forest management, The Complex Forest describes the work of ACM practitioners facing a broad range of challenges in diverse settings and attempts to identify the conditions under which ACM is most effective. Case studies of ACM in 33 forest sites in 11 countries together with Colfer's systematic comparison of results at each site indicate that human and institutional capabilities have been strengthened. In Zimbabwe, for example, the number of women involved in decisionmaking soared. In Nepal, community members detected and sanctioned dishonest community elites. In Cameroon and Bolivia, learning programs resulted in better conflict management. These are early results, but a wide range of recent research supports Colfer's belief that these new capabilities will eventually contribute to higher incomes and to sustainable improvements in the health of forests and forest peoples. The Complex Forest reinforces calls for change in the way we plan conservation and development programs, away from command-and-control approaches, toward ones that require bureaucratic flexibility and responsiveness, as well as greater local participation in setting priorities and problem solving.

This regional report examines the emerging trends and considers the opportunities and challenges involved in promoting the contribution of the forest sector to Africa's sustainable development over the next two decades, including policy and institutional, demographic, economic, technological and environmental factors.

The report is organised into nine chapters. The first chapter gives an account of the forestry situation in West and Central Africa, with emphasis on vegetation distribution and factors affecting forest management. Chapters 2 and 3 highlight past and present silvicultural and forest management practices and also consider management control systems. The relevance of biodiversity and the role of non-timber forest products are explored in Chapter 4. Inter-generational issues, socio-economic factors influencing sustainable forest management, and the relevance of policies and legislation are addressed in Chapters 5, 6 and 7. Chapter 8 outlines strategies and incentives which might be adopted to promote sustainable forest management. The report concludes with suggestions for research which could be undertaken to fill gaps in knowledge which became apparent in the course of this project.

This book presents a cohesive collection of contributions representing an African scholarly voice on some of the most burning and emerging topics and experiences regarding the implementation of REDD+ in Africa from a human rights perspective. It addresses the international human rights obligations of states and non-state actors in the context of REDD+ implementation in Africa; how current practices in various African states reinforce or affect human rights standards; and critical issues concerning the rights of vulnerable groups such as women, Indigenous populations, and forest dwellers in the implementation of REDD+ in Africa. Further, it investigates potential gaps in the existing laws, and how they can be addressed from a comparative point of view. The book also sheds light on the roles that different actors can play in fostering change and identifies best practices in the implementation of REDD+ in Africa. The book offers a rich intellectual resource for various actors in the environmental science, climate and environmental law fields who are often confronted with the challenge of how to manage the delicate balance of forests as a development resource; forests as a climate-change mitigation resource; and forests as a catalyst for the rights of vulnerable populations. The book responds to the imbalance and gaps in REDD+ scholarship. Addressing such lacuna in an edited volume of this nature is essential to the present and future work of practitioners, academics and other actors with a sustained interest in REDD+ in Africa.

People like forests- they have many emotional and cultural attachments to them. They also like forest products - and need increasing quantities of them. But they often don't like, don't understand, and don't trust what comes in between: forest management, which lies at the interface of public services (biodiversity, watersheds, etc) and private goods (timber, food, etc). Certification was developed to independently verify the quality of forest management, to communicate this to market players, and so to improve market benefits for the products of good management. The growing influence of the Forest Stewardship Council is one of the most striking recent developments in forestry. Certification is increasingly common in all continents. But has it actually improved forest management? Has it created sufficient market incentives? Above all, has it enabled trust to develop between stakeholders, so that they can work together better, to build the institutions required for sustainable forest management? This book is the result of two years' study by IIED and collaborators in several countries: it provides evidence for considerable policy and institutional change as a result of certification, and the beginnings of change in forest and market practice.