Can community-based forest management contribute to household income and mitigate land encroachment on Sabah forest reserve? a case study from Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve

Abstract

Decades of forest management has shown that Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) is the key viability. In such management, the local community is involved in the planning, site-preparation, monitoring, decision-making, and benefit-sharing. Although this seems to be a practical and respectful method for forest management, some problematic issues still arise. One of the much debated subjects include the contribution of CBFM to household income and land encroachment. Hence, this study aims to provide an in-depth discussion of this matter where part of the study’s goals is to determine whether CBFM contributes to household income. In addition, the current case study also seeks to evaluate the household perception on land encroachment in Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve. A mixed methodology based on the triangulation method was employed in this research, including household surveys, face-to-face interviews, and observations of the forest and farm land. The respondents were a random selection of 174 households. Overall, the findings demonstrated that households in Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve have benefited from CBFM through labour wage and the sale of non-wood forest products. It was also discovered that perceptions on land encroachment differ according to the household’s interest and need of the land. Based on the thorough analysis of the data, the local community generally has generally gained considerable benefits from CBFM. Nonetheless, other land issues on land should be acknowledged in future studies to optimise CBFM.