Safeguarding the forest tenure rights of forest-dependent communities in Uganda

Download or read book Safeguarding the forest tenure rights of forest-dependent communities in Uganda written by Mukasa, C. and published by CIFOR. This book was released on 2017-11-14 with total page 8 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Key messages Using a foresighting approach known as the Participatory Prospective Analysis (PPA) methodology, stakeholders at a national-level workshop in Uganda identified several factors with strong influence on forest-dependent communities' forest tenure rights.Influencing factors identified were: forest resource governance; community capacity to sustainably manage forests and demand/defend tenure rights; the priority level of forestry and tenure security for development partners; local norms and beliefs which impact upon vulnerable groups' tenure rights; forestry sector financing in national budgetary allocations; and local communities' legal literacy regarding land/forest tenure.When analyzing the potential evolution of forest tenure security over the next 25 years, stakeholders identified certain desirable potential outcomes: forestry being prioritized in national development plans; availability of adequate financial resources; existence of capable, well-coordinated district and national-level government structures to promote community forest tenure; availability of technical staff with capacity to equip communities with knowledge and skills to enable them to exercise their tenure rights; presence of enterprising communities with skills to innovate and adopt alternatives to forestry products; and effective enforcement of gender-sensitive forestry-related laws and policies, to promote benefit-sharing equity.After analyzing potential future outcomes, both negative and positive, PPA stakeholders recommended prioritizing certain actions to safeguard forest-dependent communities' future forest tenure security. These actions were: improving coordination of key government agencies; adopting inclusive and participatory decision-making processes during tenure-related activity implementation; improving stakeholders' technical and financial capacity through traditional and emerging innovative financing mechanisms; and implementing policies and strategies designed to provide alternative livelihood sources, thus reducing local dependence on forests and forest products.