Co-management options for reserved forests in Zimbabwe and beyond: Policy implications of forest management strategies

BACKGROUND

After the year 2000 land reform program in Zimbabwe, some peasants began to take advantage of the land reform impetus to squat on forests even though the State had attempted to preserve all conservation areas from land resettlement. Ever since, there have been conflicts between the state and the people living around forests. Co management or joint management initiatives were introduced to try to solve these People- State Relations.

RESEARCH GOALS AND METHODS

Two forest reserves were selected for the study, Gwayi and Mafungautsi. Detailed informant interviews were conducted on the actors around each forest reserve to get insight on their views on the ongoing forest programs. Forest authorities were interviewed, and policy makers hosted workshops in each study site. Also, official documents of each forest reserve were analyzed, and management practices observed during field visits at each site.

CONCLUSIONS AND TAKEAWAYS

Resources that are outside the agreement between the state and the people remain as the main source of conflict, between the people and the state as they are accessed illegally. As co management has proved to have loopholes, future initiatives need to be robust, adaptive and enduring, taking into account the multiple contexts, values and situated practices of the diversity of people who live in and around forest reserves.