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Do Community Perceptions of Forest Management and Conservation Vary Across Wealth Groups? The Case of the Kilosa REDD + Initiative in Tanzania

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Abstract

Various community groups tend to interact with their environments differently. Understanding how forest dwelling communities interact with their environment provides important insights for promoting sustainable forest governance. We studied the perceptions of four communities across wealth groups (poor, medium, better-off) on forest management and conservation under the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation plus (REDD +) initiative in Tanzania. Results showed that whereas general community awareness of forest management and conservation across wealth groups varied significantly, their perceptions on the extent of occurrences of several aspects/attributes of forest management and conservation were relatively symmetrical across all wealth groups. Community willingness to participate in forest management and conservation was also not significantly different across all wealth groups, apart from participation in trainings/workshops. Overall, community perceptions showed mixed results. The observed similarities and variations across wealth groups within the community are crucial to informing future REDD + actions. Thus, policies, plans and strategies related to REDD + should consider these dynamics.

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Acknowledgements

This research was based on a big global initiative under the postgraduate programme supported by the EU IntraACP through Transdisciplinary Training for Resource Efficiency and Climate Change Adaptation in Africa (TRECCAfrica). Many thanks to the community in the Kilosa REDD+ project area and Kilosa district council for their assistance during fieldwork.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tanzania Forestry Research Institute, P.O. Box 1854, Morogoro, Tanzania

    Amani J. Uisso & Siima S. Bakengesa

  2. Department of Forest and Wood Science, Faculty of AgriSciences, Stellenbosch University, P/Bag X1, Matieland, 7602, South Africa

    Amani J. Uisso, Paxie W. Chirwa & Pierre A. Ackerman

  3. Postgraduate Forest Programme, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Pretoria, 5-15 Plant Sciences Complex, Corner of Lynwood Rd & Roper St, Hatfield, 0028, South Africa

    Paxie W. Chirwa

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  1. Amani J. Uisso
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Contributions

Amani J. Uisso, Tanzania Forestry Research Institute, Morogoro Tanzania - conceptualised the original research idea, participated in collection and analysis of data, and wrote the draft manuscript; Paxie W. Chirwa, University of Pretoria, Pretoria South Africa - supervised data collection, analysis and writing the draft manuscript; Pierre A. Ackerman, Stellenbosch University, Capetown, South Africa - supervised data collection, analysis and writing the draft manuscript; Siima S. Bakengesa, Tanzania Forestry Research Institute, Morogoro Tanzania - participated in writing the draft manuscript.

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Correspondence to Amani J. Uisso.

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The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee: Social Behavioural and Education Research (REC: SBE) at the Stellenbosch University (SU) in South Africa. It is hereby confirmed that the research was performed in accordance with relevant guidelines/regulations. Necessary informed consent was obtained from all research participants.

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Uisso, A.J., Chirwa, P.W., Ackerman, P.A. et al. Do Community Perceptions of Forest Management and Conservation Vary Across Wealth Groups? The Case of the Kilosa REDD + Initiative in Tanzania. Hum Ecol 51, 251–263 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-022-00385-7

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