EXAMINING THE ROLES OF COMMUNITY FOREST ASSOCIATIONS (CFAs) IN THE DECENTRALIZATION PROCESS OF KENYAN FORESTS

The introduction of Participatory Forestry Management (PFM) in Kenya from 1997 has led to formation of community based organizations which have come to be referred to as Community Forest Associations (CFAs). Most of the CFAs are preparing to enter into forest management agreements with the Kenya Forest Service (KFS). This will confer management roles to the community with KFS retaining the forest resource ownership right and the right to withdraw the agreement in total or parts of it. In forests where PFM is active, the CFAs are forming confederates which are being referred to as CFAs. Results from data collected in 12 Kenyan forests over a period of about 10 years indicate that a majority of the associations are moving towards forming confederates of several user groups. Some of the Associations are involved in diverse activities ranging from forest protection, monitoring and management to water extraction and distribution etc. The roles of the CFAs have been changing over time from being directl