Management of non-timber forestry products extraction: Local institutions, ecological knowledge and market structure in South-Eastern Zimbabwe

BACKGROUND

Sengwe communal lands, in South East Zimbabwe were used to examine how they manage non timber forest products (NTFPs) as a common pool resource in that area. The area consists of five wards, of which four are communally owned. The government has a protected area engulfed by the local communal property system; both communal and state property regimes are involved in the management of certain resources.

RESEARCH GOALS AND METHODS

To measure the impact of local institutions and market structure of the NTFPs, survey data was collected from four communities in South Eastern part of Zimbabwe. To select villages to be used in the study, stratified random sampling was done, based on population, number of households, distance to the Park, and village area. To gather village level variables, interviews were conducted. To obtain quantitative measures for local management effectiveness, Principal Component Analysis (PCA).

CONCLUSIONS AND TAKEAWAYS

According to the authors, the effectiveness of local institutions in governing forest commons can be explained using certain variables. There is a need for adaptive local management systems that enhance ecological knowledge of users and regulate market structures in favour of long-term livelihood securities of these forest-fringe communities. The government has a huge role to play in assisting communities in achieving that.