The winding road from exclusion to ownership : Governance and social outcomes in contemporary forest conservation in northeastern Tanzania

Tropical forests are subject to global conservation efforts, while at the same time they are of direct value for local livelihoods in the developing world. Failure to reconcile conflicting global and local interests has led to situations where the costs of both forest loss and conservation are borne most heavily by those least able to afford them. Subsequently, conservation approaches have evolved from fully exclusionary ones (i.e. protected areas) to approaches involving local participation in forest management and efforts to mitigate livelihood losses or create social benefits from conservation. This study contributes to understanding how positive and negative social impacts of different forest conservation policies are distributed within forest adjacent communities in Tanzania, and what kind of governance practices may be associated with the observed outcomes. Through a mix of qualitative and quantitative social research methods, Studies I and II assessed the impacts and processes of compensated displacement from a forest protected area, the Derema corridor. Studies III and IV compared the outcomes and practices of Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) to expectations of increased equity and effectiveness of forest management in the context of democratic decentralization in the same landscape. The results suggest that the negative impacts of displacement from the Derema corridor were most felt by women and the poorest segments of the affected communities, due to restricted access to production resources and a failure to access monetary compensation for the lost assets. A minority of better-off farmers emerged as relative winners by accessing considerable compensation and investing in improved livelihoods. The outcomes were conditioned by the procedures followed, marked by unpreparedness and disruptions in the presence of the implementing agencies, as well as the limited agency of local actors, especially women, in negotiations over the conditions of conservation and compensation. The limitations of monetary compensation for conservation-induced human displacement are discussed. As a result of CBFM, forest tenure security of local village communities has increased, but strict village forest rules preclude livelihood benefits, while some villagers have incurred costs from land appropriation for village forest reserves. The outcomes of forest rights devolution in the East Usambaras may be seen as path-dependent institutional reproduction that follows the previous exclusionary models of forest conservation. Enhanced deliberative processes, access to accountability measures, and increased awareness of procedural rights are central issues for improving CBFM equity and sustainability.Tropical forests are subject to global conservation efforts, while at the same time they are of direct value for local livelihoods in the developing world. Failure to reconcile conflicting global and local interests has led to situations where the costs of both forest loss and conservation are borne most heavily by those least able to afford them. Subsequently, conservation approaches have evolved from fully exclusionary ones (i.e. protected areas) to approaches involving local participation in forest management and efforts to mitigate livelihood losses or create social benefits from conservation. This study contributes to understanding how positive and negative social impacts of different forest conservation policies are distributed within forest adjacent communities in Tanzania, and what kind of governance practices may be associated with the observed outcomes. Through a mix of qualitative and quantitative social research methods, Studies I and II assessed the impacts and processes of compensated displacement from a forest protected area, the Derema corridor. Studies III and IV compared the outcomes and practices of Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) to expectations of increased equity and effectiveness of forest management in the context of democratic decentralization in the same landscape. The results suggest that the negative impacts of displacement from the Derema corridor were most felt by women and the poorest segments of the affected communities, due to restricted access to production resources and a failure to access monetary compensation for the lost assets. A minority of better-off farmers emerged as relative winners by accessing considerable compensation and investing in improved livelihoods. The outcomes were conditioned by the procedures followed, marked by unpreparedness and disruptions in the presence of the implementing agencies, as well as the limited agency of local actors, especially women, in negotiations over the conditions of conservation and compensation. The limitations of monetary compensation for conservation-induced human displacement are discussed. As a result of CBFM, forest tenure security of local village communities has increased, but strict village forest rules preclude livelihood benefits, while some villagers have incurred costs from land appropriation for village forest reserves. The outcomes of forest rights devolution in the East Usambaras may be seen as path-dependent institutional reproduction that follows the previous exclusionary models of forest conservation. Enhanced deliberative processes, access to accountability measures, and increased awareness of procedural rights are central issues for improving CBFM equity and sustainability