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Participatory forest management in Burkina Faso: Members’ perception of performance

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Abstract

This study examines variations in the performance of participatory forest management programs among four forest management groups (FMGs) in southern Burkina Faso, and assesses the factors that influence their members’ perceptions of performance through a household survey of 216 members. Variations in performance scores among the FMGs were analyzed through multivariate analysis of variance while multinomial regression analysis was used to identify factors that influence their perception of the performance. The results reveal significant differences in performance scores among FMGs. Members of some FMGs perceived that the participatory forest management program enabled them to get benefits from the sale of fuelwood while performance scores in the forest conservation and decision-making processes is generally poor. The score for economic performance of FMGs in turn was related to better access to roads and markets. Group size tended to enhance economic performance via its strong influence on annual fuelwood harvest, while the resource base appeared to be inconsequential. Members of the forest management groups perceived that large group size and group heterogeneity, particularly in terms of ethnicity, as well as knowledge and awareness of problems related to the forest environment have no influence on the performance of their respective groups. For rural communities to have a favorable disposition toward sustainable forest management, differences in member understanding of collective actions and their impact before and during the implementation of participatory forest management programs should be considered.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut de l’Environnement, et de Recherches Agricoles, Département Productions Forestières, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique, 03 BP 7047, Ouagadougou, 03, Burkina Faso

    Pascaline Coulibaly-Lingani

  2. World Agroforestry Centre & International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRAF-ICRISAT), West and Central Africa Region-Sahel Node, BP 12404, Niamey, Niger

    Patrice Savadogo

  3. Faculty of Forest Sciences, Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-230 53, Alnarp, Sweden

    Mulualem Tigabu & Per-Christer Odén

Authors
  1. Pascaline Coulibaly-Lingani
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  2. Mulualem Tigabu
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  3. Patrice Savadogo
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  4. Per-Christer Odén
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Additional information

Project funding: Funding for this study was provided by Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

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Coulibaly-Lingani, P., Tigabu, M., Savadogo, P. et al. Participatory forest management in Burkina Faso: Members’ perception of performance. Journal of Forestry Research 25, 637–646 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-014-0502-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-014-0502-x

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