Niger & Mali: Public Policies, Fiscal and Economic Forest Governance Policies and Local Forest Management Sustainability

Abstract

"The forest policies adopted in Niger (1992) and Mali (1996) share the same denomination (Household Energy Strategy) and have enabled a transfer of forest management responsibilities to rural communities through the establishment of (i) fuelwood rural markets and (ii) the demarcation and the setting up of management plans of the village forests.

"The outcomes are significant. Each national policy has been shaped under different institutional conditions and political wills. Opposition by lobbies gave different results in Niger and Mali. In Niger local wood fuel traders were unable to influence new forest policy propositions prepared by Domestic Energy Project (respectively Netherlands and Danemark managed by World Bank). In Mali, the jointed two lobbies of forest administrative workers and wood fuel traders achieved in dislocating new forest law projects. The legal documents differ regarding forest taxation (commercial transport in Niger, forest harvesting in Mali) and control of the forest service.

"These policies lead to different results regarding the effects of the forest policy instruments and the sustainability of the management implemented locally.

"This study will show to what extent the design and implementation modalities of a public policy might influence the management practices of local actors and thus have an impact on resource use sustainability. "