The Impact of Participatory Forest Management on Local Community Livelihoods in the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, Kenya

This study examines the impact of participatory forest management (PFM) on forest‑adjacent household livelihoods in the Arabuko-Sokoke forest in Kenya. It compares the impacts on households near PFM forests (PFM zones) with those near forests with no participatory management (non-PFM zones). The stu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Conservation and society 2013-04, Vol.11 (2), p.112-129
Main Authors: Matiku, Paul, Caleb, Mireri, Callistus, Ogol
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Community
Community forestry
Decentralization
Ecosystems
Environmental management
Environmental protection
Forest conservation
Forest ecosystems
Forest management
Forest reserves
Forest resources
Forestry
Forestry development
Household ecology
Households
Kenya
Local communities
Mixed forests
Natural resource management
Natural resources
Natural resources conservation
Social aspects
Sustainable forest management
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Summary:This study examines the impact of participatory forest management (PFM) on forest‑adjacent household livelihoods in the Arabuko-Sokoke forest in Kenya. It compares the impacts on households near PFM forests (PFM zones) with those near forests with no participatory management (non-PFM zones). The study questions were: does conservation of the Arabuko-Sokoke forest result in net household incomes?; does PFM increase net household benefits?; and are household benefits uniformly distributed within the 5 km PFM intervention zone? The hypotheses tested were: forest conservation benefits exceed forest conservation costs; PFM zones have higher household benefits than non-PFM zones; and benefits and costs reduce with distance from forest edge. In the year 2009, we collected data on household benefits and costs in PFM and non-PFM zones. Data were collected along 10 km transects at 1 km intervals, sampling 600 households up to 5 km away from the forest. The results show varied household dependence on the Arabuko-Sokoke forest. The forest benefits exceed costs in PFM zones but the forest is a cost in non-PFM zones, and costs and benefits reduce with distance from forest edge. The study concludes that, though not cheap, PFM is a tool that can help the Arabuko-Sokoke forest win the support of the adjacent local communities.
ISSN:0972-4923
0975-3133
DOI:10.4103/0972-4923.115724