Effectiveness of Community-based Forest Management Projects

The effectiveness of community based forest management (CBFM) projects in Zambia is affected mostly by the uncertainty surrounding the policy, legislation and institutional arrangements regarding the community participation in forest management. Although, the government of the republic of Zambia responded to Agenda 21, raised at the 1992 Rio Summit on Environment and Development in Brazil to decentralize the management of forests through joint forest management project, very little has been achieved. In Zambia, Joint forest management (JFM) was seen as the best alternative tool for promoting improved rural livelihoods, especially for resource poor rural communities who have a traditional dependency upon forests. This study was therefore undertaken to evaluate the contribution of pilot joint forest management projects in the livelihoods of the participating local communities and factors critical to the success of project in northern Zambia. The data was collected in communities adjacent to Lukangaba forest reserve No. 147 and Forestry department in Mansa. Data was analysed using SPSS and Microsoft Excel 2007 by generating graphs and descriptive statistics.