Abstract
Forest resource management has undergone profound changes in the last decades, including a tendency to apply participatory approach that seeks to involve local communities. However, the success of the participatory approach tends to remain dependent on the historical and societal context in question. To understand how the participation of forest communities has been changing as a result of the enforcement or non-enforcement of forest management practices, we carried out a study in Cameroon's Korup National Park, with villages within and outside the park that continue to utilise the resources in the park. The empirical research included focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews in three communities and key informant interviews with selected community members, government officials, and non-governmental organisations involved in the park's management. Research findings show that although the forest management system has changed in various policy documents, over the past years from a top-down to participatory approach, a centralised state system is still operational in the national park, with participatory approaches used merely as a legitimizing tool. We show how the existing horizontal power relations (such as gender roles within the communities) and vertical power relations (such as government-community dimensions) simultaneously impact the outcomes of participatory approaches on the ground. Finally, our case shows how the existing governance structures continue to reproduce inequalities and exclusions that originated from the colonial times and through path dependency still influence livelihoods and day-to-day survival of people in the communities.
Highlights
IntroductionAttempts to promote local people’s participation in the management of forest resources have increased over the years (Islam et al, 2013; Wilfred, 2017), with governmental organisations in many African and Asian countries promoting the participation of local populations in forest management through different forms of ‘social’ approach to forestry (Lund et al, 2018; Ribot et al, 2010; Ribot et al, 2010; Schreckenberg et al, 2006)
We explore the barriers of participation in forest resource management in the Korup National Park (KNP), in a historical context and in relation to the different vertical and horizontal power relations
The early history of the management of forest resources in Cameroon illustrates how historical events have contributed to path-dependent practices that add to the challenges of establishing a participatory for est management approach in the KNP
Summary
Attempts to promote local people’s participation in the management of forest resources have increased over the years (Islam et al, 2013; Wilfred, 2017), with governmental organisations in many African and Asian countries promoting the participation of local populations in forest management through different forms of ‘social’ approach to forestry (Lund et al, 2018; Ribot et al, 2010; Ribot et al, 2010; Schreckenberg et al, 2006). Studies from around the world have recognised that successful management of biodiversity would require the participation, at all levels of admin istration, of local people living in the forest communities (Borrini- Feyerabend et al, 2004; Coulibaly-Lingani et al, 2011; Mbeche, 2018). In addition to fostering conservation, participatory approaches in governing and managing protected forest areas have been found to improve people’s livelihood (Islam et al, 2013; Oladeji and Fatukasi, 2017; Wilfred, 2017).
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