Community based forest management enhances forest condition of village forests within the eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot
Abstract Despite the advent of Community Based Forest Management (CBFM) more than three decades ago our understanding of its impacts on forest condition is limited. Here we test whether CBFM enhances forest condition of two (Litwang’ata and Intake) Village Land Forest Reserves (VLFRs) within the eas...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Discover Environment |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s44274-025-00277-9 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849237541371248640 |
|---|---|
| author | Samora M. Andrew |
| author_facet | Samora M. Andrew |
| author_sort | Samora M. Andrew |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Despite the advent of Community Based Forest Management (CBFM) more than three decades ago our understanding of its impacts on forest condition is limited. Here we test whether CBFM enhances forest condition of two (Litwang’ata and Intake) Village Land Forest Reserves (VLFRs) within the eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot. Remote Sensing and GIS methods triangulated with Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and ground truthing were employed to assess the spatial–temporal land cover changes before (i.e. 2019) and after (i.e. 2024) the introduction of CBFM. Results show that agricultural land decreased in Intake from 26 hectares (ha) to 1 ha corresponding to the decrease of 95.2% whereas it decreased from 3 to 2 ha equivalent to the decrease of − 55.5% in Litwang’ata forest post CBFM introduction. Open woodland decreased for the two VLFRs at the expense of closed woodland for Intake and at the cost of grass/shrub land for Litwang’ata. Closed woodland increased by 1318 ha equivalent to the cover change of 39.8% for Intake forest whereas it slightly decreased by 38 ha corresponding to the cover change of − 3.7% five years post CBFM inception. Overall, agricultural land, grass/shrub land and open woodland decreased with absolute land covers of 26 ha, 199 ha, 1054 ha, respectively. On the other hand, closed woodland overall increased with absolute land cover of 1280 ha. Change in forest governance by devolving ownership and management to local communities has the potential to enhance the recovery and protection of village forests within the eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-73de19d3deea4b869491aa3ddf2209f4 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2731-9431 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Discover Environment |
| spelling | doaj-art-73de19d3deea4b869491aa3ddf2209f42025-08-20T04:01:56ZengSpringerDiscover Environment2731-94312025-07-013111210.1007/s44274-025-00277-9Community based forest management enhances forest condition of village forests within the eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspotSamora M. Andrew0Department of Botany, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Dar es SalaamAbstract Despite the advent of Community Based Forest Management (CBFM) more than three decades ago our understanding of its impacts on forest condition is limited. Here we test whether CBFM enhances forest condition of two (Litwang’ata and Intake) Village Land Forest Reserves (VLFRs) within the eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot. Remote Sensing and GIS methods triangulated with Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and ground truthing were employed to assess the spatial–temporal land cover changes before (i.e. 2019) and after (i.e. 2024) the introduction of CBFM. Results show that agricultural land decreased in Intake from 26 hectares (ha) to 1 ha corresponding to the decrease of 95.2% whereas it decreased from 3 to 2 ha equivalent to the decrease of − 55.5% in Litwang’ata forest post CBFM introduction. Open woodland decreased for the two VLFRs at the expense of closed woodland for Intake and at the cost of grass/shrub land for Litwang’ata. Closed woodland increased by 1318 ha equivalent to the cover change of 39.8% for Intake forest whereas it slightly decreased by 38 ha corresponding to the cover change of − 3.7% five years post CBFM inception. Overall, agricultural land, grass/shrub land and open woodland decreased with absolute land covers of 26 ha, 199 ha, 1054 ha, respectively. On the other hand, closed woodland overall increased with absolute land cover of 1280 ha. Change in forest governance by devolving ownership and management to local communities has the potential to enhance the recovery and protection of village forests within the eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot.https://doi.org/10.1007/s44274-025-00277-9Participatory Forest ManagementCover changeMiomboRecoveryGovernanceSustainable forest management |
| spellingShingle | Samora M. Andrew Community based forest management enhances forest condition of village forests within the eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot Discover Environment Participatory Forest Management Cover change Miombo Recovery Governance Sustainable forest management |
| title | Community based forest management enhances forest condition of village forests within the eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot |
| title_full | Community based forest management enhances forest condition of village forests within the eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot |
| title_fullStr | Community based forest management enhances forest condition of village forests within the eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot |
| title_full_unstemmed | Community based forest management enhances forest condition of village forests within the eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot |
| title_short | Community based forest management enhances forest condition of village forests within the eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot |
| title_sort | community based forest management enhances forest condition of village forests within the eastern afromontane biodiversity hotspot |
| topic | Participatory Forest Management Cover change Miombo Recovery Governance Sustainable forest management |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/s44274-025-00277-9 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT samoramandrew communitybasedforestmanagementenhancesforestconditionofvillageforestswithintheeasternafromontanebiodiversityhotspot |