Although they accommodate a wide variety of endemic flora and fauna, the indigenous
mountain rain forests of East Africa are being depleted. Some patches
remain in Taita Hills of Kenya and benefit from their management as forest reserves,
with limited access to local communities, by the Kenyan government.
Recently, through the Forest Act 2005, the government began to grant user rights
to forest adjacent dwellers through participatory forest management initiatives.
We conducted this study in February 2007 among groups engaged in forest-related
activities and living near the Ngangao, Mbololo, Mwambirwa and Chawia
forest reserves in order to offer insights into local people’s perceptions about
benefits and constraints of participation in forest management during the transformation
of the forest policy. Our respondents considered efforts to conserve
forests for ecological services, namely water catchment and biodiversity maintenance
important. Sustainable future use of forest products, especially firewood
and medicinal plants were emphasized. However, shortcomings, such as inadequate
access to updated information about management practices and legal
rights, hampered participation. The respondents viewed this as working without
proper tools, which, they stated, may gradually lead to unsuccessful conservation
efforts, and felt that the government still prohibits full community participation.