Forest tenure reform implementation in Uganda
Forest tenure reform implementation in Uganda

Author: Nsita, S.A.

Publisher: CIFOR

Published: 2017-11-14

Total Pages: 8

ISBN-13:

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Key messages A recent study, focusing on national and district-level government officials involved in forest tenure reform implementation processes in Uganda, has highlighted key challenges and opportunities for future improvements. Analysis of responses shows that:As reforms responded to a need for sustainable forest management and livelihood improvements, activities leant towards forest protection, rather than strengthening and securing community forest tenure rights.Progress in tenure reform implementation has been below implementers’ expectations, largely due to inadequate funding, onerous processes of registration, declaration and management of Private Natural Forests and Community Forests, or in the case of Collaborative Forest Management, negotiation of rights with Responsible Bodies.The main economic, social and political challenges faced by government officials implementing reforms were budgetary limitations, poverty levels in forest-adjacent communities, migration and socio-cultural norms. Research respondents noted also that often, politicians impeded rather than supported reform implementation processes. Some of them derived political capital out of exerting pressure on technical staff to engage in, as well as protect, illegal activities.The study revealed a number of technical problems that constrained the implementation of forest tenure reforms. These included the tedious processes involved in getting the rights formalized, community inability to protect and safeguard forest tenure rights, and inadequate benefits accruing to communities involved in forest management activities.There was no agreement among the respondents as to who is responsible for safeguarding community forest tenure rights. Development partners and civil society organizations (CSOs) also undertook activities to support the securing of local tenure rights, such as capacity building, resource mobilization, awareness raising and conflict resolution. However, such support was often shortlived and localized. Although government and CSOs are both involved in reform implementation, there is limited formal coordination between them.

Practitioners Handbook on Good Practice in Implementing Forest Tenure Reform
Practitioners Handbook on Good Practice in Implementing Forest Tenure Reform

Author: Coleman, E.A.

Publisher: CIFOR

Published: 2019-12-31

Total Pages: 12

ISBN-13:

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This short handbook outlines the nature of the problems faced by government agency personnel in the implementation of tenure reforms and is aimed at supporting their understanding of the issues and helping overcome challenges. It provides an introduction to key concepts and problems||discusses the results of a survey presenting the perceptions of government practitioners on the prevalence and importance of these issues||and proposes some mitigation strategies.

Forest tenure reform implementation in Lampung province
Forest tenure reform implementation in Lampung province

Author: Herawati, T.

Publisher: CIFOR

Published: 2017-03-10

Total Pages: 8

ISBN-13:

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Key messages The future of forest tenure security for local forest dependent communities in Lampung province is linked to the effective implementation of social forestry (SF) programs, which granted communities management rights to state forests. If SF schemes are implementated effectively, the tenure rights of forest dependent communities will be assured.Participatory prospective analysis (PPA) by an expert group consisting of governmental and nongovernmental organization representatives, identified six key driving forces that will influence SF implementation in the next 10 years. These include:- the dynamics of SF regulations including regulation of forest product businesses- economic options created by communities to improve livelihoods- community tenure rights to forest resources- budgetary support from regional government- human resources capacities of implementating agents such as the Province Forestry Office, Forest Management Unit (FMU) and NGOs- the clarity of stakeholder roles including community awareness.The different scenarios, which describe plausible conditions of forest tenure reform implementation in Lampung, range from persistence of the status quo, where communities continue to have partial rights to state forests, to variations that include full ownership rights, complete withdrawal of community rights to forests, and the privileging of economic interests over environmental sustainability.The desired scenarios are associated with adequate budget allocations including dedicated budgets for implementation. Lack of coordination is a disadvantage and is characteristic of undesired scenarios. The capacity of implementing agents is also a key factor, especially their capacity to work with communities and to support them. Functional forest-based enterprises to support community livelihoods, which in turn provide strong incentives for sustainable forest management, are important. Taken together, the scenarios suggest that devolving SF implementation to the lowest unit, the FMU, is the best option. However, this should be accompanied by community empowerment, the allocation of adequate budgets and support and cooperation among all involved actors.The expert group developed an action plan for enhancing SF scheme implementation over the next 10 years. Strategies include enhancing budgetary support to the regional government, strengthening the role of the FMU, strengthening community tenure rights and enhancing local livelihoods. Key actions include supporting cross-sectoral coordination, developing PES systems to boost regional government revenues, increasing legal literacy at community level and community/participatory mapping of resources.The action plan will be integrated into Lampung Provincial Government's forestry development program and will guide Lampung's Social Forestry Working Group.Overall, the PPA method reveals that the implementation of SF programs is multi-faceted, capturing the diverse concerns and roles of different stakeholders. It also enhances the capacity of stakeholders to jointly analyse problems, to anticipate the future and to design current actions to mitigate future problems or enhance the likelihood of meeting desired objectives.

Securing tenure rights to communal forests in Masindi district, Uganda
Securing tenure rights to communal forests in Masindi district, Uganda

Author: Mshale, B.

Publisher: CIFOR

Published: 2017-11-14

Total Pages: 8

ISBN-13:

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Key messages The Participatory Prospective Analysis process in Masindi district, Uganda, brought together government, private sector, NGO and local communities stakeholders to collectively reflect on factors affecting local tenure rights, forecast future scenarios and propose actionable plans for securing forest tenure rights.Participants identified several factors threatening local forest tenure rights: lack of land ownership documentation; inadequate implementation and enforcement of forest policies, laws and programs; land use changes; gender bias against women; political interference; lack of community awareness of forest tenure rights; and inadequate financial and human resources to effectively protect local people's rights to forests and land.To identify potential barriers and drivers, three workshops were organized. With both forestry and agricultural sectors being male-dominated, a women-only workshop was organized to capture women's perspectives and compare findings with those of the mixed gender group.Four 'key driving forces' impacting forest tenure security were identified by both groups: (1) community participation in forest tenure reform implementation, particularly that of women; (2) access to financial resources to implement forest tenure reform activities; (3) the importance of outside organizations having an awareness of community, cultural and institutional norms and beliefs regarding forest tenure rights; (4) the role played by local and national government agencies and politicians in coordinating and promoting progress towards forest tenure reforms.Women stakeholders emphasized the importance of access to land for forestry activities as critical to securing their rights; they also identified that supportive men and domestic relationships can impact on women's rights to forest land. Mixed group stakeholders identified the role of oil, gas and other industrial activities as a key threat to local forest tenure security.Participants developed four scenarios to anticipate potential future situations impacting on local forest tenure rights. Desirable scenarios depicted a well-governed, well-financed forestry sector characterized by gender equality and participative forest management. Undesirable scenarios were characterized by a dominant oil and gas sector undermining forest sustainability and forest rights; a weak, underfunded and poorly-managed forest sector; forest conversion to other uses; government failure to recognize community rights and integrate communities in forest management; and disappointed, disempowered communities collectively destroying forests for survival instead of managing them sustainably.Several actions were identified to secure local forest tenure rights: (a) making district-level government more responsive to local needs and aspirations around community forest tenure reforms; (b) increasing the number of well-trained district government officers and providing adequate financial resources; (c) facilitating a faster, affordable process for community forest registration, including community incentives; (d) equipping communities with knowledge, skills and resources to enhance their participation in forest tenure reform implementation; (e) promoting environmentally and socially responsible investments to mobilize resources for protecting local people’s forest tenure rights.

Forest Tenure Reform in Asia and Africa
Forest Tenure Reform in Asia and Africa

Author: Randall Bluffstone

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-11-13

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 1317591607

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Forest tenure reforms are occurring in many developing countries around the world. These reforms typically include devolution of forest lands to local people and communities, which has attracted a great deal of attention and interest. While the nature and level of devolution vary by country, all have potentially important implications for resource allocation, local ecosystem services, livelihoods and climate change. This book helps students, researchers and professionals to understand the importance and implications of these reforms for local environmental quality, climate change, and the livelihoods of villagers, who are often poor. It is shown that local forest management can often be more successful than top-down management of common pool forest resources. The relationship of local forest tenure reform to the important climate change initiative REDD+ is also considered. The work includes a number of generic chapters and also detailed case studies from China, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nepal, Tanzania and Uganda. Using specific examples and a wide variety of disciplinary perspectives, including quantitative and qualitative analytical methods, the book provides an authoritative and critical picture of local forest reforms in light of the key challenges humanity faces today.

Forest Resources Management in Indonesia (1968-2004)
Forest Resources Management in Indonesia (1968-2004)

Author: Herman Hidayat

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-02-18

Total Pages: 359

ISBN-13: 9812877452

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This book explores the forestry sector and its context, investigating the management of forest resources in Indonesia. It covers topics including forest fires, deforestation, water pollution, depletion of biodiversity, climate change and environmental damages. The book adopts a political economy approach, elaborating on the role of direct actors such as the central government, private companies and local governments, and the role of indirect actors. In addition, readers will discover anthropological and sociological perspectives through engagement with local communities such as the Kutai, Banjar and Rejang ethnic groups, Chinese trading communities, NGOs and Academics. Featuring interviews with 91 informants and participatory observations, the text draws on secondary literature to provide a comprehensive overview of the subject. This work is illustrated with figures, tables and maps and will be of particular interest to students and researchers of forest policies. It makes a valuable contribution to forest sciences and will also be useful to those in non-government organizations, politicians and business men with an interest in forest resources management, or a deeper interest in Indonesia.

Reforming Forest Tenure
Reforming Forest Tenure

Author:

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 116

ISBN-13:

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In recent years, FAO has carried out extensive assessments of the forest tenure situation in the four regions of Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America and Central Asia, including its impact on sustainable forest management and poverty reduction. The experiences and lessons learned from these assessments, complemented by numerous studies carried out by other organizations, provide a rich information base on different tenure systems and on the successes and challenges of tenure reform processes.

Strengthening tenure security and community participation in forest management in Kibaale district, Uganda
Strengthening tenure security and community participation in forest management in Kibaale district, Uganda

Author: Mshale, B.

Publisher: CIFOR

Published: 2017-11-14

Total Pages: 8

ISBN-13:

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Key messages Participatory Prospective Analysis (PPA) proved to be effective for encouraging collective reflection to identifythreats to forest tenure security as well as to develop ways to improve local people's tenure security over forests in Kibaale district, Uganda. A PPA exercise carried out in 2015/16 brought together stakeholders from district government, civil society, local communities and the Bunyoro kingdom, as well as politicians, to discuss the past, present and future of forest tenure security in the district. As the forest and land sectors are male dominated, a separate women-only PPA workshop was organized to gather women’s perspectives.While the mixed group and women-only PPA stakeholders identified four common key influences on forest tenure security, they also each identified four unique influences. Commonly identified influences were: the role played by politicians; the implementation capacity of key stakeholders (particularly at district level); the implementation and enforcement of forest laws and policies; and population dynamics, including the influx of migrants. Influences identified only by the women’s workshop were: access to adequate funding for reform implementation; the level of security in the district; and the role of NGOs, particularly those working to advance and defend women's forest tenure rights. Influencing factors identified only by the mixed group included: the knowledge, attitudes and participation of local people in implementing forest tenure reforms; and the extent of forest tenure rights actually granted to communities.Stakeholders identified two desirable and three undesirable scenarios to envision the potential forest tenure security situation in Kibaale in 2025. Desirable scenarios involved participatory formulation and implementation of forest policies and plans; clear tenure rights; adequate funding for implementing forest tenure reforms; well-informed local communities; and corruption-free political leadership. Undesirable scenarios were characterized by insecure forest tenure rights due to immigration; and unfair enforcement of forest laws in favor of powerful, well-connected immigrants over indigenous peoples.The PPA then identified potential actions to be undertaken by different stakeholders to improve access to local forest tenure rights over the next decade. These included: the dissemination of laws, policies and technologies to communities and their political leaders; increased community involvement in resource planning and implementation (including the enforcement of rules); and the development of policies and laws to address problems caused by immigration.The women-only PPA workshop viewed major threats as being the prospect of men taking over trees that women have planted (due to discriminatory cultural practices that prevent women from owning land and trees). They also viewed the lack of funding to invest in tree planting and for acquiring their own land, lack of access to markets, political instability and limited NGO influence as factors that could undermine forest tenure security over the next decade.

Securing the customary tenure rights of forest-dependent communities in Lamwo district, northern Uganda
Securing the customary tenure rights of forest-dependent communities in Lamwo district, northern Uganda

Author: Mshale, B.

Publisher: CIFOR

Published: 2017-11-14

Total Pages: 8

ISBN-13:

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Key messages Lamwo district provides an interesting case of a post-conflict customary forest tenure system under a situation of changing forest governance, as forest tenure reforms introduced since 2001 give local communities extensive rights to forests.In 2015, forest stakeholders took part in a Participatory Prospective Analysis (PPA) exercise that identified the determinants of forest tenure security in the district as: forest governance; the role and capacity of key stakeholders (particularly NGOs and customary institutions); an increasing demand for forest products; and pressure to convert forest land to large-scale agriculture.Based on exploring the implications of the above driving forces, the participant stakeholders developed one desirable and three undesirable future scenarios of forest tenure security. The desirable scenario sees a well-informed and active local community, which is aware of its forest tenure rights; an affordable forest land registration process which is not too bureaucratic; positive political influences; and well-funded and staffed district government that oversees and coordinates the work of NGOs, customary leaders, politicians and other stakeholders involved in forest tenure reform implementation. Undesirable scenarios are characterized by a lack of these features.Participants recommended the following initiatives to promote forest and land tenure security under customary systems in Lamwo district: 1) formulating and implementing bylaws; 2) creating forest conservation committees for each clan, to ensure proper management of their forest areas; 3) proactive community participation in decision-making, particularly in regards to women's rights and involvement; 4) popularizing, simplifying and translating documents into local languages, including guidelines on registration and declaration of customary forests; 5) regulating harvesting rates for forest products (especially timber), 6) improving the system for registering forest and land areas; and 7) undertaking capacity-building initiatives.The PPA exercise revealed state and non-stakeholders share common interests in protecting the forest and land tenure rights of forestdependent communities under customary tenure systems in the district. Stakeholders pledged support for improved implementation, collaboration and coordination, to achieve the shared goals of forest tenure security for rights holders in Lamwo district by 2025.

Safeguarding the forest tenure rights of forest-dependent communities in Uganda
Safeguarding the forest tenure rights of forest-dependent communities in Uganda

Author: Mukasa, C.

Publisher: CIFOR

Published: 2017-11-14

Total Pages: 8

ISBN-13:

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Key messages Using a foresighting approach known as the Participatory Prospective Analysis (PPA) methodology, stakeholders at a national-level workshop in Uganda identified several factors with strong influence on forest-dependent communities' forest tenure rights.Influencing factors identified were: forest resource governance; community capacity to sustainably manage forests and demand/defend tenure rights; the priority level of forestry and tenure security for development partners; local norms and beliefs which impact upon vulnerable groups' tenure rights; forestry sector financing in national budgetary allocations; and local communities' legal literacy regarding land/forest tenure.When analyzing the potential evolution of forest tenure security over the next 25 years, stakeholders identified certain desirable potential outcomes: forestry being prioritized in national development plans; availability of adequate financial resources; existence of capable, well-coordinated district and national-level government structures to promote community forest tenure; availability of technical staff with capacity to equip communities with knowledge and skills to enable them to exercise their tenure rights; presence of enterprising communities with skills to innovate and adopt alternatives to forestry products; and effective enforcement of gender-sensitive forestry-related laws and policies, to promote benefit-sharing equity.After analyzing potential future outcomes, both negative and positive, PPA stakeholders recommended prioritizing certain actions to safeguard forest-dependent communities' future forest tenure security. These actions were: improving coordination of key government agencies; adopting inclusive and participatory decision-making processes during tenure-related activity implementation; improving stakeholders' technical and financial capacity through traditional and emerging innovative financing mechanisms; and implementing policies and strategies designed to provide alternative livelihood sources, thus reducing local dependence on forests and forest products.