A historical political ecology of forest access and use in Sudan: Implications for sustainable rural livelihoods

Abstract

This paper analyzes and explains the development of forest governance over time and its impact on forest-dependent livelihoods in Sudan. Therefore, a qualitative historical analysis method was used to capture and interpret the analytical dimensions of the Political Ecology Approach (PEA). The historical review of the forestry development provides an insight into Sudan’s transforming governance framework for forest access and use, especially the related legislation, policies and resource administrations. This study concludes that unequally distributed forest resource access and institutional arrangements over time are detrimental factors for forest-dependent poverty and environmental degradation. Our study suggests that a more supportive governance framework, which integrates rural livelihood vulnerability with sustainability parameters, is needed thus to resolve the currently most contradictory forest management paradigms.