Assessment of the effectiveness of community participation in forest management and conservation: the case of South Ruvu Forest reserve

The present study sought to investigate the effectiveness of local people involvement in the management and conservation of the South Ruvu Forest Reserve. The forest is located in Kisarawe and Kibaha districts. A total 68 respondents were involved in the study: 73 villagers, eight village leaders, three government officials tasked with the management of the forest and two respondents from a local Non-Governmental Organization called the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group (TFCG). Data was through questionnaires, structured and unstructured interviews and focus-group discussions, and was analyzed using of qualitative and quantitative approaches. The study findings showed that there were ineffective involvements of local people in management of the forest. Among the reasons included the failure or delay of the government to sign the participatory forest management agreement, lack of knowledge/education on forest management and conservation among the local people. Also, the study clearly demonstrated that effective participation by the people could be achieved only if enough education on forest management and conservation was offered, the government should signs the PFM agreement so that people knew their rights and responsibilities in management and conservation of the forest is concerned and if local people are involved in planning and decision-making processes.