Combating Corruption and Illegal Logging in Bénin, West Africa

Siebert, U.; Elwert, Georg

doi:10.1300/j091v19n01_11

Cited by 28 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 1 publication

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Illegal logging was organised by small-scale entrepreneurs and loggers at local and regional levels. They used other loggers and unskilled labour recruited in the villages closer to the forests, and they were often in complicity with local authorities and/or local forest administration representatives (Siebert & Elwert 2004). The PAMF was initiated in 2002 to start the restoration of the Agoua Forest.…”

Section: Research Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, this management system did little to stop or slow down the degradation of these forests. It rather encouraged corruption and illegal logging, creating confl icts between the forest rangers and the local communities whose livelihood depended, at least partly, on the forests (Siebert & Elwert 2004). The objective of sustainable management of natural resources was not reached as there were too few rangers to control its implementation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, despite many efforts, the results of these interventions are still questionable (El-Hadj Issa 2001;Tchiwanou 2001;Zoundoh 2001). Several studies have revealed that the forestry reforms of the early 1990s have not been successful due to the failure of participatory management (MDR & PGFTR 1999;Siebert & Elwert 2004). In many cases, confl icts have arisen between the stakeholders involved in these projects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In many cases, confl icts have arisen between the stakeholders involved in these projects. These confl icts stemmed from the opposition between forest department representatives and villagers, due to corruption in collecting and sharing forest management revenues, and illegal logging (Siebert & Elwert 2004), and among the forest department, farmers, and herders, because of the restriction on access to forest lands for farming and grazing (Arouna 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The discursive construction of conflict in participatory forest management: The case of the Agoua forest restoration in Benin

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The discursive construction of conflict in participatory forest management: the case of the Agoua forest restoration in Benin Idrissou, L.; Aarts, M.N.C.; van Paassen, A.; Leeuwis, C. General rightsIt is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulationsIf you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: http://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. AbstractThe Agoua Forest in Benin was declared a protected area in 1953 and subsequently managed by means of a coercion system, which, however, did not prevent its deforestation. In 2002, a participatory management process was designed to restore this forest. Although the project managers and local communities agreed to a plan at the beginning of the process, the plan was not implemented because confl ict arose in the course of the process. In this paper, an interactional framing approach was used to analyse the emergence of this confl ict, which ended in an impasse. This study showed that the confl ict was constructed and evolved mainly in stakeholders' discourses, even without changes in actual forest management and use. Moreover, it became clear that stakeholders constructed different frames in different conversation contexts: stakeholders, who share a set of perceptions, norms, and expectations as constructed and expressed in their talks (we-groups), constructed stereotypes and stigmas, blaming the other party and presenting themselves as innocent victims. In conversations involving all stakeholders, people did not reveal their real thoughts, either about each other or about the proposals for confl ict resolution. This study shows the relevance and agency of discourse in confl ict, and the importance of the interactional framing approach in understanding participatory management, and confl ict dynamics. It reveals how by means of discourses, farmers in the Agoua Forest succeeded in handling the confl ict, with the effect that little has been done in the project's decision to implement the plan.

show abstract

Section: Research Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The discursive construction of conflict in participatory forest management: The case of the Agoua forest restoration in Benin

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…CBNRM was first tested on a small scale between 1993 and 1998 through the implementation of the Project of Natural Resources Management (PGRN: Projet de Gestion des Ressources Naturelles). The FD found the results satisfactory and decided later to scale up CBNRM to all Benin's protected areas (MDR and PGFTR, 1999;Siebert and Elwert, 2004). Forest Policy and Economics 13 (2011) 525-534 However, instead of leading to collaborative and cohesive management, the scaling up of CBNRM in Benin finally gave way to conflicts between the FD and local communities that hinder the sustainable management of the forests (Alohou, 2007;Arouna, 2006;MDR and PGFTR, 1999;Siebert and Elwert, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%