Certified community forests positively impact human wellbeing and conservation effectiveness and improve the performance of nearby national protected areas

Andrew R Marshall,Susannah M Sallu,Johan A Oldekop,Marion Pfeifer,Philip J Platts,Julia Latham,Mercy Mgaya,Daniel A da Silva,Robin Loveridge

doi:10.1111/conl.12831

Abstract

AbstractCommunity forests (CFs) aim to improve human wellbeing and conservation effectiveness, though their performance remains contested. A recent innovation in protected area (PA) governance is to combine CFs with forest certification. We assess (1) the impact of certified CFs on wellbeing and conservation effectiveness; (2) gender inequality and elite capture; (3) interaction effects with neighboring national PAs. We used a novel approach that integrates field data consisting of locally identified indicators representative of multidimensional wellbeing, with remotely sensed data on conservation effectiveness and statistical matching to improve causal inference. We found that CFs positively impacted wellbeing, conservation effectiveness, and reduced gender inequality, though they did not reduce elite capture. We also detected positive interaction effects between certified CFs and neighboring national PAs. Our findings suggest that locating contrasting local and national PA governance approaches next to each other may help to maximize wellbeing and conservation benefits within complex multiuse landscapes.

Highlights

Protected areas (PAs) are a cornerstone of efforts to conserve forests and attention is increasingly being paid to how protected area (PA) can improve the wellbeing of adjacent communities (Naidoo et al, 2019)
Our findings suggest that certified Community forests (CFs) (1) positively impact both human wellbeing and conservation effectiveness, (2) reduce gender inequality, though not elite capture, and (3) improve conservation and social interaction effects with neighboring National Forest Reserves (NFRs)
We found evidence of heterogenous social impacts with health, security, and freedom domains of wellbeing positively impacted, but no observed impacts on the material and social relations domains

Summary

Introduction

Protected areas (PAs) are a cornerstone of efforts to conserve forests and attention is increasingly being paid to how PAs can improve the wellbeing of adjacent communities (Naidoo et al, 2019) In response to these twin challenges, diverse and increasingly complex PA governance arrangements have been trialed, though their effectiveness remains contested (Gavin et al, 2018). Recognition of the negative impacts of this approach on neighboring communities led towards decentralization and the establishment of Community forests (CFs; Agrawal et al, 2008) The premise underlying this trend is that community participation will synergistically improve both the living standards of local communities and biodiversity conservation (Persha et al, 2011). Power was vested in local elites, resulting in increased inequality and exclusion of women from governance institutions (Agarwal, 2009; Magessa et al, 2020), while failing to halt forest degradation (Rasolofoson et al, 2015)

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