Impacts of participatory land use planning policy on forest management: the case of Kichangani village, Ulanga district

There have been increased global concerns about the need for forest management with increased awareness on the roles of forest in different aspect of life. Village land use plans are among primary tools for sustaining people’s livelihood and their resource and are considered to improve forest management when properly undertaken. This study aimed at revealing the consequence of implementing Village LAND Use Planning policy on forest management through a case study of Kichangani village in Ulanga district. 212 households were sampled from 452 households in the village. In-depth interviews, field observation, questionnaire survey and remote sensing methods were used for data collection. Data analyses used include image classification of remotely sensed images and statistical methods for questionnaire surveys. Results show continuous decrease in the extent of forest cover both in the village general land forests and in village forest reserves despite the presence of the village land use plan. From 2008 to 2010, forest cover decreased from 13009 to 9566 hectares, with the conversion of forests to farmland being the major cause of deforestation. Further findings show that whereas forest cover decreased by 2.2% annually, farmland increased by 3.5% annually. From the study, it was found that before establishing the land use plan, forests in the village were communally governed and local people had open access and use of forest resources. However, despite its introduction, results show dissatisfaction among interviewees on the role of land use plan in improving forest management. This was due to the absence of zonal management plans and wrong assumptions during the land use planning process. It was concluded that village land use planning alone was not enough in improving either forest cover or forest management in the village. It is thus recommended that for land use plans to improve forest management, they should be initiated and implemented by the locals to instill the sense of ownership and increase local adherence to the plans.