Decentralization Reforms and Property Rights: Potentials and Puzzles for Forest Sustainability and L

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Decentralization Reforms and Property Rights
Potentials and Puzzles for Forest
Sustainability and Livelihoods

• SANREM LTR 1
• Cochabamba, Bolivia
• June 2007

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Overview

• Three parts
• Project objectives, questions, strategy, activity
  snapshots (Krister)
• Preliminary findings, Impacts, Obstacles, Lessons
  learned (Esther)
• Spotlight on Bolivia (Rosario)
• Discussion

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Project concept

• National level decentralization and property
  rights reform policies often fall short of goals
  of sustainable NRM and improved livelihoods.
• Why?
• Frequently do not account for the complexities
  involved in land use and institutions at the
  local level
• Goal To improve natural resource policy by
  developing disseminating knowledge about
  institutional arrangements that will deliver
  benefits equitably to local people while
  sustaining natural resources

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Research Questions

• What motivates the implementation of
  decentralization policies in the forestry sector?
  
• What are the implications of forest
  decentralization policies for different groups?
• What are the implications of forest
  decentralization policies for resource
  sustainability?
• How may public policies be modified to improve
  both resource and livelihoods sustainability?

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Partners

• Indiana University (lead)
• CIFOR
• IFPRI
• U. of Colorado
• CERES (Bolivia)
• KEFRI (Kenya)
• UNAM (Mexico)
• UFRIC (Uganda)

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Project Strategy Knowledge extensions

• Integrative framework for characterizing forest
  decentralization
• Common language Facilitate cross-comparisons,
  learning, and debate
• Holistic understanding Link decentralization to
  property rights and their impacts on household
  livelihoods and forest sustainability
• Multi-level analysis Tracing flows of resources,
  information, authority and accountability
• Forest decentralization impacts over time
• Panel data from IFRI sites started before
  decentralization
• Before and after comparisons possible

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Knowledge extensions (contd)

• Extending community (IFRI) data collection and
  analyses to household level
• Use community- and household-level studies to
  characterize de jure and de facto
  decentralization in each study site
• Linking household level data to the IFRI
  (community level) data
• PEN studies to assess livelihood impacts
• Conduct national level surveys in Bolivia and
  Mexico
• situate selected case study sites in national
  policy context
• assess the representativeness of case study
  sites

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Conceptual framework
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Action Strategies

• Links to policy through involvement of a national
  advisory committee in guiding research,
  identification of sites, and reporting
• National advisory committees comprised of
  government officials, NGOs, CBOs, research
  organizations operating at multiple levels
• Participatory research with key actors
• Policy roundtablesincluding community
  representatives
• Training and capacity building at multiple levels

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Partner country activities Bolivia

• First ever national survey of forest communities
  initiated
• Extra support from NSF, FAO-AID
• IFRI data collection completed in 3 communities
• Sites 4,5,6 selected with survey results
• PEN (Poverty Environment Network) data collection
  completed in 2 regions

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Partner country activities Mexico

• Mexicos first ever national survey of temperate
  forest communities
• Extra support fr CONACYT
• National survey completed 146 communities
  surveyed
• One case study completed, another underway
• Prel. survey results presented at a full-day
  seminar with forest service in May.
• National survey results will be used to select
  remaining four study sites

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Partner country activities Kenya

• Eight sites selected with NAC (14)
• Household/community data collection completed in
  2 communities 1 site report completed
• Household/community data collection in progress
  in community 3
• Joint grant proposal submitted with Uganda for
  money to support national forest community survey

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Partner country activities Uganda

• Eight sites selected with NAC (30)
• Household/community data collection completed in
  2 communities
• Joint grant proposal submitted with Kenya for
  money to support national forest community survey
• Joint grant proposal submitted on property rights
  and value chain analysis

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Crosscutting activities Gender

• Assessing user group performance in forest
  management with regard to variation in
  proportions of men and women in user groups (all
  four countries)
• Comparative analysis of effects of
  decentralization reforms on gendered access to
  resources (Kenya and Uganda)

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Crosscutting activities Partnerships with other
organizations

• Joint research, data sharing and dissemination
• Knowledge for policy debate, change
• Examples
• Bolivia (FAO/USAID alternative development
  project)
• Mexico (WWF and TNC protected areas)
• Uganda (Household livelihood and Health, CIHR)

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Crosscutting activities Learning nodes at
multiple levels

• Within, Between and Across Levels
• Communities
• Regions
• Countries
• Information dialogue and discovery
• Cooperative influence
• Scaling up and out
• National advisory committees
• Policy Round Tables

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Preliminary findings

• Integrative Framework
• Difficulties in matching theoretical concepts of
  property rights with empirical observations
• Variability of decentralization within individual
  countries
• Community perspective is very different from
  policy
• Importance of institutional fit and
  congruence at multiple levels of governance in
  determining the decentralization outcomes

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Preliminary Findings (cntd)

• Decentralization impacts over time
• Quantitative Changes TBA
• Qualitative Impressions
• High variability of local institutional response
• Human and financial resources alone dont explain
  outcomes
• Reforms have both empowered and marginalized
  different local/indigenous groups
• Implementation split between agencies creates
  variation in effects (Uganda)
• Success of forest monitoring and sanctioning
  activities dependent on the involvement of local
  governments and the cooperation of local
  communities (Mexico)
• Lack of information at local level about rights,
  benefit structures, responsibilities and
  processes under current reforms

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Preliminary Findings (cntd)

• National-level surveys (Mexico)
• Policies are mismatched with local level problem
  definitions (illegal logging and FMPs)
• Huge variability in the role of forests in
  communities
• Findings on decentralization impacts are not
  easily transferred across forest communities
• Blanket policy prescriptions should be avoided

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Obstacles and constraints encountered

• Saying no to high demand
• Political change and high turnover of
  collaborators
• Land conflict (Mt. Elgon, Kenya)
• Threat of forest conversion (Mabira, Uganda)
• Rising field costs
• Extreme weather

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Examples of Impacts

• Multi-stakeholder dialoguesinformation, dialogue
  (Kakindo County, Uganda Mexico)
• Informationstrengthening community capacity to
  negotiate (Yuracare territory, Bolivia)
• Agreementsstrengthening community rights and
  making authorities more accountable (Kakamega,
  Kenya)
• Training-capacity to monitor own resources
• Community training 368 individuals trained (41
  women)
• Degree training 6 PhD students (4 women), with
  complementary funds from numerous organizations

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Future activities

• Data collection in remaining sites
• Analyzing forest biodiversity outcomes
• Comparative research on gender
• Regional comparisons
• Continued involvement of resource users
• Continued involvement of policy makers
• NAC Link to policy inform practice
• Continued interaction with politicians

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What we hope to learn

• Whether and how PR and resource access varies by
  gender, wealth under decentralization reforms
• Whether and how forest resource status changes
  under decentralization reforms
• How authority, information, resources, are
  partitioned among relevant actors, with what
  consequences
• What can be done to improve policy and practice
  e.g. increase participation and support local
  level efforts at forest governance

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Spotlight on Bolivia