Empowering Community-Based Forest Management for the Sustainability of Community Forests in Tanzania

Abstract

Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) in Tanzania serves as an opportunity to ensure the sustainability of community forests. Therefore, the paper interrogates the empowerment of CBFM for the sustainability of community forests in rural Tanzania. A mixed research approach was applied to achieve this goal. Using this approach, both secondary and primary data were collected. The secondary data were collected through a review of the existing literature on the subject matter. In contrast, the primary data were collected through household surveys, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and field observations. The data were collected from 160 respondents residing in the study area. The findings revealed that CBFM played a critical role in the maintenance of community forests. It was further shown that 66% of villagers received information about CBFM through village meetings. This contributed to raising awareness, which led to about 75% of villagers participating in forest conservation activities. Therefore, the sustainability of the community forest was determined by the participation of villagers in CBFM activities. It is concluded that empowering CBFM is essential for the sustainability of community forests.
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