Conserve

TFCG’s participatory forest management programme

Well managed forests are good for people and good for biodiversity. To improve forest management, local people need to be empowered to play their part. TFCG helps communities to know their rights and responsibilities in relation to forest management and to turn that knowledge into action.

Training, negotiating, partnership building…

There is growing recognition in many countries in Africa (and elsewhere) that forest management succeeds best where communities living close to the forest are involved in the management process. The degree of involvement of communities varies widely. Participatory Forest Management (PFM) ranges from a consultative approach where communities have little decision making power but are given opportunities to comment on management to the other extreme where communities are made the owners and managers of the forest resource. TFCG has promoted different forms of PFM depending on the individual context of each forest.TFCG’s PFM programme provides direct support to site based activities in 12 Districts. The programme is promoting participatory forest management (PFM) by building the capacity of village natural resource committees; linking forest adjacent communities involved in PFM with the government and with each other; and providing technical support in preparing management plans, by-laws and where applicable joint management agreements. As a result of our work, 111 villages living close to 63 forests covering 120,000 ha of globally important forest are involved in the management of the forests. In these forests illegal logging, fires and clearance for agriculture is less than in forests managed by government alone or where no management scheme is in place. The forests and their unique biodiversity are better protected.Find out more about some of the areas where we are supporting participatory forest management:

Eastern Arc Mountain Forests:
West Usambara Mountains
East Usambara Mountains
South Udzungwa Mountains
Mufindi Forests
South Nguru Mountains
Rubeho Mountains 

Nguu Mountains and Tanga Coastal Forests

Coastal Forests:
Ruvu South Forest
Kilwa and Rufiji