Abstract
Sri Lanka's community forestry (CF) program emerged in the early 1980s following a global trend to conserve forest resources and provide benefits to the local community. However, very little is known about the effect of CF on forest resources. We assess the impacts of CF on forest conditions of semi-mixed evergreen forest in the intermediate zone of Sri Lanka using the before-after control-impact method. The study examines tree density, regeneration, woody species diversity, and evidence of disturbance as parameters to analyze the impact of the CF program. Data are analyzed using the difference in differences approach. The results show that the CF program has increased seedling and sapling density to a significant degree and reduced human disturbances. A major contribution of the CF program is that it was found to reduce invasive species and forest fires. The program reduced the amount of invasive species up to six times less than previous. The findings revealed that the impact of CF on forests may vary depending on pre-existing forest conditions, length of period to implement, perception, and decisions by local people. Community understanding and decision-making, in tandem with government policy, will weigh heavily on its future effectiveness.
Highlights
In the late 1970s, the concept of social forestry rose as a new paradigm for forest management [1, 2]
Our results indicated that the seedling density per plot in the community- managed blocks (CMBs) gradually increased over time, while the difference in differences (DID) coefficient estimate showed a significantly positive relationship (i.e., p < 0.001) between the seedling density and the community forestry (CF) program
This research broadens the discussion by incorporating an analysis of the impacts of the CF program on semi-mixed evergreen forests, distributed in tropics and subtropics throughout the world
Summary
In the late 1970s, the concept of social forestry rose as a new paradigm for forest management [1, 2]. The term was used to reflect concerns that forestry should pay closer attention to the socioeconomic welfare of rural communities [2]. Social forestry became less common and other terms more fashionable, such as community forestry (CF) and participatory forestry management (PFM). The current concept of CF has improving ecological sustainability and increasing local people’s benefits as central goals, which are achieved by granting communities some degree of formal responsibility and authority for forest management [3].
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