Forest incomes after Uganda's forest sector reform: Are the rural poor gaining?

Forest sector governance reform is frequently promoted as a policy tool for achieving favorable livelihood outcomes in the low income tropics. However, there is a dearth of empirical evidence to support this claim, particularly at the household level. Drawing on the case of a major forest sector gov...

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Autor principal: Jagger, Pamela
Formato: Artículo preliminar
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: International Food Policy Research Institute 2008
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161571
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author Jagger, Pamela
author_browse Jagger, Pamela
author_facet Jagger, Pamela
author_sort Jagger, Pamela
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Forest sector governance reform is frequently promoted as a policy tool for achieving favorable livelihood outcomes in the low income tropics. However, there is a dearth of empirical evidence to support this claim, particularly at the household level. Drawing on the case of a major forest sector governance reform implemented in Uganda in 2003, this study seeks to fill that gap. The research employs a quasi-experimental research design utilizing pre and post reform income portfolio data for a large sample of households surrounding three major forests in western Uganda; a control group is included in the design. On private forest land overseen by the decentralized District Forestry Service there has been no significant change in average annual household income from forests, and the share of total income from forests has only slightly increased. For households living adjacent to Budongo Central Forest Reserve, overseen by the parastatal National Forestry Authority, there have been significant gains in average annual household income from forests, as well as the share of total income from forests. However, increases are limited to households in the highest income quartile and are primarily attributed to the sale of illegally harvested timber. The findings from this study challenge the view that governance reforms result in favorable livelihood outcomes for the poorest. Policy makers should carefully consider the incentives facing both forestry officials and local resource users with particular attention to increasing awareness of the value of trees and forests, and facilitating legal opportunities for rural smallholders across all income categories to sustainably engage in forest product harvesting and value addition.
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spelling CGSpace1615712025-02-19T14:02:53Z Forest incomes after Uganda's forest sector reform: Are the rural poor gaining? Jagger, Pamela forest sector decentralization livelihoods Forest sector governance reform is frequently promoted as a policy tool for achieving favorable livelihood outcomes in the low income tropics. However, there is a dearth of empirical evidence to support this claim, particularly at the household level. Drawing on the case of a major forest sector governance reform implemented in Uganda in 2003, this study seeks to fill that gap. The research employs a quasi-experimental research design utilizing pre and post reform income portfolio data for a large sample of households surrounding three major forests in western Uganda; a control group is included in the design. On private forest land overseen by the decentralized District Forestry Service there has been no significant change in average annual household income from forests, and the share of total income from forests has only slightly increased. For households living adjacent to Budongo Central Forest Reserve, overseen by the parastatal National Forestry Authority, there have been significant gains in average annual household income from forests, as well as the share of total income from forests. However, increases are limited to households in the highest income quartile and are primarily attributed to the sale of illegally harvested timber. The findings from this study challenge the view that governance reforms result in favorable livelihood outcomes for the poorest. Policy makers should carefully consider the incentives facing both forestry officials and local resource users with particular attention to increasing awareness of the value of trees and forests, and facilitating legal opportunities for rural smallholders across all income categories to sustainably engage in forest product harvesting and value addition. 2008 2024-11-21T09:56:34Z 2024-11-21T09:56:34Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161571 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Jagger, Pamela. 2008. Forest incomes after Uganda's forest sector reform. CAPRi working paper 0092 https://doi.org/10.2499/capriwp92.
spellingShingle forest sector
decentralization
livelihoods
Jagger, Pamela
Forest incomes after Uganda's forest sector reform: Are the rural poor gaining?
title Forest incomes after Uganda's forest sector reform: Are the rural poor gaining?
title_full Forest incomes after Uganda's forest sector reform: Are the rural poor gaining?
title_fullStr Forest incomes after Uganda's forest sector reform: Are the rural poor gaining?
title_full_unstemmed Forest incomes after Uganda's forest sector reform: Are the rural poor gaining?
title_short Forest incomes after Uganda's forest sector reform: Are the rural poor gaining?
title_sort forest incomes after uganda s forest sector reform are the rural poor gaining
topic forest sector
decentralization
livelihoods
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161571
work_keys_str_mv AT jaggerpamela forestincomesafterugandasforestsectorreformaretheruralpoorgaining