Does participatory forest management promote sustainable forest utilisation in Tanzania?

Abstract

Over the past 20 years, Participatory Forest Management (PFM) has become a dominant forest management strategy in Tanzania, covering more than 4.1 million hectares. Sustainable forest use and supply of wood products to local people are major aims of PFM. This paper assesses the sustainability of forest utilisation under PFM, using estimates of forest condition and extraction rates based on forest inventories and 480 household surveys from 12 forests; seven under Community Based Forest Management (CBFM), three under Joint Forest Management (JFM) and two under government management (non-PFM). Extraction of products is intense in forests close to Dar es Salaam, regardless of management regime. Further from Dar es Salaam, harvesting levels in forests under PFM are, with one prominent exception, broadly sustainable. Using GIS data from 116 wards, it is shown that half of the PFM forests in Tanzania are likely to be too small to satisfy current local wood demand.

Management, Growth, and Carbon Storage in Miombo Woodlands of Tanzania

“…This triggers the need to look for sustainable forest management systems [30,43,44]. Participatory forest management (PFM) where communities take the leading role in management and conservation of forests in many Asian and African countries is among the option [11,[45][46][47].…”

“…Despite its expansion, is unclear as to what extent the growth of forests and livelihoods objectives have been realized under participatory forest management [48]. Although the key feature of Tanzanian PFM is that the central government through specified legal procedures can recentralize management of forests if the village fails to manage the given forest resources [44], yet, still at local levels, forest management especially sustainable forest management remains the challenge [14]. Many forests, particularly miombo woodlands, are severely under threat [23].…”

Feasibility of Community Management of Miombo Woodlands for Carbon Project in Southern Highlands of Tanzania

“…Furthermore, there are increasing doubts over the viability and effectiveness of CBFM for carbon project development [30][31][32]. The main concern is that benefits from carbon project development may not be sufficient to cover various costs imposed on local communities [30,33].…”

“…The main concern is that benefits from carbon project development may not be sufficient to cover various costs imposed on local communities [30,33]. Rigorous literature review has shown that there is a need for feasibility analysis on carbon project development possibilities in miombo woodlands of Tanzania [2].…”

“…This will ensure better-informed policy direction, strategy, and practice which guarantee climate change mitigation and livelihood options [2,26]. The need for feasibility analysis of CBFM for carbon project development in order to support informed judgment and decision making about its merit is important (e.g., [30][31][32]). …”