Community Empowerment, Sustainability of Forest Conservation Projects and the Moderating Influence of Monitoring and Evaluation Practices in Kenya

Abstract

This research sought to investigate the moderating influence of monitoring and evaluation practices on the relationship between community empowerment and the sustainability of forest conservation projects. This study was conducted in Taita-Taveta County, located in the southern part of Kenya. Community empowerment is viewed as a process and an end where community members gain control of their lives. The empowerment practices considered were knowledge and skills empowerment, decision-making empowerment, conflict resolution empowerment and income-generating empowerment activities. The study relied on a cross-sectional survey study design. A sample of 365 respondents for quantitative data was determined using Yamane formulae. Mixed methods were used to collect and analyse data. Cluster sampling and systematic sampling were used progressively to select respondents for quantitative questions, while those for qualitative questions were selected purposively. Additional data collection methods were observation and document analysis. The study noted that projects implemented in the study area were barely sustainable, with at least 44.1% of respondents agreeing while 52.1% neither agreed nor disagreed. Regression analysis results indicated the R-square change (model 2) of 0.015, which implied that model 2 with monitoring and evaluation practices positively enhanced the influence of community empowerment activities on the sustainability of forest conservation practices by at least 1.5%. Based on the results, the study concluded that monitoring and evaluation practices enhance the sustainability of forest conservation projects with a recommendation that project designers should always include monitoring and evaluation practices in their projects.