Rethinking joint forest management: the role of self-interest and altruism in shaping environmental and socio-economic outcomes in Kenya

Participatory approaches such as Joint forest management (JFM) have been used to anchor payment for ecosystems services frameworks such as REDD+. A qualitative research conducted in Arabuko Sokoke Forest (ASF), Kenya, hopes to contribute to that discussion, by drawing on 23 key informants and participant observation. The study investigates the extent at which JFM has shaped forest conservation, benefit sharing, community empowerment and intrinsic motivation. It adds a twist – role of self-interest and altruism in shaping JFM outcomes. The results reveal that ASF is perceived to be degraded, there is no formal benefit sharing mechanism, communities haven’t been fully empowered and JFM hasn’t crowded out the intrinsic motivation of local communities to conserve. These environmental and socio-economic outcomes have been shaped by the nature of the symbiotic relationship in JFM, which has been plagued by self-interest being pursued by all major stakeholders at the expense of trading altruistic acts.