Abstract:
The economy of Ethiopia and the livelihoods of its people largely depend on the utilization of
forest resources. Despite the significant role of forest resources in Ethiopia, its management
has been challenged because of poor legal and institutional framework, which resulted in
considerable loss of the country's forest cover and bio-diversity resources. Ethiopia has
introduced Participatory Forest Management (PFM) around mid-1990s to establish effective
alternative to address the prevailing forest management problems in the country. The new
scheme created a framework for collaborative forest management between local communities
and government forestry agencies by defining their respective roles, responsibilities and
benefits in the management of forest resources. It attempted to create a local solution to the
forest management problems by building community based institutional arrangement and
accountability to foster collective action for better management and use of forest resources.
However, there is limited empirical evidence whether participatory forest management has
ensured sustainable forest management and contributed to the livelihoods of forest dependent
communities. Therefore, this study aims at assessing the performances of participatory forest
management institutions in Tiro- Botor becho National forest priority area. The study was
designed specifically to assess the similarities and differences among different local
institutions at different scales in sustainable forest management and the diverse benefits that
communities derive from forest resources as an incentive for engaging in sustainable forest
management. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods.
About 120 respondents from three forest cooperatives were randomly selected for interview.
Besides the structured interview, key informant interview and focus group discussion were
conducted to triangulate data. Descriptive statistics is used for data analysis. This study
revealed that the establishment of PFM in the study area facilitated easy access for local
community to extract various forest resources. The PFM members perceive that they can
easily access different forest products such as fuel wood, poles for building houses and
fences, grass for livestock and grazing land, medicinal plants for human and livestock, edible
wild fruits and fibers for hand crafts preparation. The study also revealed that drivers of
deforestation and forest degradation such as agricultural expansion, illegal harvesting of
forest products, overgrazing in the forest, and forest fire were reduced after the establishment
of PFM institutional arrangement in the study area. About 83% of the respondents believe
that forest conditions such as regeneration have improved since the establishment of PFM in
the study area. The improvement in forest condition is mainly because of active involvement
of PFM members in exercising their use right and shoulder management obligations.
Therefore, this study concludes that the establishment of PFM institution in the study area has
a potential to achieve the twin goals of sustainable forest management and improving the
livelihoods of forest dependent communities. However, emphasis should be given to improve
the awareness of community members about different rules and regulations, enforce
monitoring system and accountability of different parties involved in the forest management.
