Participatory forest management and poverty reduction a case of Matipwili village land forest reserve, Bagamoyo Tanzania.

This study was undertaken in Matipwili Village Land Forest Reserve which is managed under PFM approach to demonstrate understanding of Participatory Forest Management on Poverty reduction. Several research methods were applied in collecting of data; these included household interviews using a structured questionnaires, literature review, institutional and key informants interviews, observations and focus group discussions. Three sub- villages adjacent to the forest were studied and a total of 60 households were interviewed. Results from this study revealed that most of the villagers depended on agriculture followed by those who depended on forest products. Also the findings revealed that most of the villagers were aware of the PFM though partially involved. About poverty reduction, the study found that, the available forest resources in the study area had little impacts towards poverty reduction to the majority of the households due to the fact that most of households depend on agriculture, livestock keeping, and small businesses as their main source of income rather than forest products. The study further revealed that PFM in the study area faced different challenges which includes reluctant to patrol the forest, illegal harvest and corruption. The study concluded that, available forest resources in the study had a very slight impact towards poverty reduction. The study came up with recommendations that; the government should show the commitment in supporting local institutions and communities to responsibly manage forest resources by creating enabling environments and providing them with technical and legal support for their efforts to become strong and accountable to communities.