Pay Bay Anticipation: A Driving Force in Communities Participation in Forest Management

Abstract

"Participatory Forest Management (PFM) is recognized as a more feasible approach to sustainable management of forests as it has a focus on livelihood improvement and forest conservation through the participation of local communities. Decentralization of forest management in Kenya has been effected through Community Forest Associations (CFAs) which are used as entry points for management activities within prescribed forest area or jurisdiction. Data was collected in Mau and Kakamega forests using IFRI /SANREM (www.umich.edu/-ifri) methods (tools) to analyze economic and ecological factors influencing community participation in management. Results indicate that the following CFAs, Londiani Community Forest Association (LOCOFA) in Mau- Londiani, Muileshi in Kakamega, Mukogodo in Laikipia and Ramogi in Bondo, show high dependence on forests. Results also show that payback/remuneration gained from the forests has a significant correlation with community participation. The participation of communities in forest management is limited to protection activities but with little elements of other silvilcultural practices. The low level of participation by communities in forest activities has lowered their anticipation of returns from the resource. This in return makes members lose their sense of ownership and responsibility resulting into reduced participation. The research concludes that value addition to forest products; marketing and incentives by the government that are directly beneficial to communities could strengthen the CFA’s and contribute towards improving their participation in forest management."