Saving Kenya’s Forests

Category: Conservation | Date: Apr 21 2008 | By: admin

A community member explains how CBFM is carried out

As part of a Natural Resources Management and Governance course I am attending in Tanzania, I have been fortunate to visit the Babati area to see how communities are managing forest resources. Unlike in Kenya where Participatory Forest Management (PFM) is just being formalized under the Forests Act 2005, Tanzania is way ahead in this area. In Babati we witnessed forest areas that are under full management of communities and those that are under joint management with the Government.

It’s the nature of people to resist change. Although PFM in Kenya has been met with a high degree of enthusiasm, there have been cynical quarters - those people who are convinced that communities are not good managers. I wish everyone had the opportunity to visit Babati. Although there are still challenges, the communities are a good example of what benefits can come out of entrusting a community with the responsibility of looking after its own resources.

Duru Haitemba Community Based Forest Management was the first initiative we visited. Duru Haitemba is one of the few remaining Miombo woodlands in the Babati District. They are located approximately 20km from Babati town. In the early nineties the forest was earmarked for gazettement. The local community representative explained that the forest had become degraded and the forest authorities decided to take action. However, the gazattement caused discontent among the locals. After much dialogue, the situation was resolved by allowing eight (currently nine) villages to take the responsibility of managing the forest.

What we gathered from the local representative was that the community took responsibility for the state of the forest then. However, they collectively decided to look after the forests once they were given authority. This positive attitude caused the government to suspend gazettement. It is also this positive attitude that has resulted in the good the progress made by the community. They came up with structures that have helped them to exploit and reap benefits from the forest while at the same time protecting it. The Tanzanian Government was also willing to devolve powers. The community was empowered and motivated to become the managers of their own resource. This is what PFM in Kenya is proposing and I hope it takes root as it has in Babati.

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