Thumbnail Image

Community participation and women empowerment in the protected forests of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

XV World Forestry Congress, 2-6 May 2022

Year of publication 2022

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 1p.

Author Bari, F., Dowlatchahi, M., Iweins, M.

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Document

Synopsis (short abstract) Malakand civil division became a part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the merger of the princely states of Swat, Dir and Chitral in 1969. In the princely state regime, the forests were completely belonging to the state, and local people were given some rights. The merger created a vacuum, which was exploited by the timber mafia and heavy cutting of forests took place. The main reason was the confused land tenure system, where the forest land belonged to the forest department, while the local communities were given the rights for timber, fuelwood, and grazing. Under an agreement the department also allowed to receive 60 percent of the net revenue from the commercial timber harvesting. However, the royalty payment was given only to the male members of the family, women were excluded. During this period, a number of donor funded projects started work in this area, and tried to address this key issue of land tenure, community participation, and the equitable distribution of benefits. These projects after a struggle of 20 years convinced the forest department to encourage community participation in the forest management and institutionalize the rules to address the issue of the land tenure. In this regard, legal cover was provided for community participation through the Forest Policy in 1999, the Forest ordinance in 2002, and the community participation rules in 2004. This resulted in getting the cooperation of the local communities, including a royalty share to women, and other disadvantaged groups. The communities organized themselves into forest protection committees with membership of both gender. The two decades struggle decreased the deforestation in the area, and brought an equitable distribution of benefits. Keywords: Gender, Deforestation and forest degradation, Biodiversity conservation, Governance, Economic Development ID: 3485860

Statutory body / Meeting title World Forestry Congress (WFC)

Language English

Also available in:
No results found.

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Thumbnail Image
    Article
    Empowering local communities to protect forestry resources and reverse deforestation and forest degradation in high value Chilgoza forests in the Kalash valley of Pakistan
    XV World Forestry Congress, 2-6 May 2022
    2022
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    The Kalash valley of Chitral district of Pakistan possesses unique culture and forestry resources, including the Chilgoza forests, which are of high conservation value and a major source of livelihood. Chilgoza trees grow very slowly, thrive in high mountain areas of difficult access, and have a very low rate of survival in reforestation. The total forest area in the valley is 7 530 hectares with a population of 11 650. Forestry resources are limited and subject to deforestation and degradation, mainly due to fuelwood collection and animal grazing. 78 percent of these forests are understock and 74 percent of them have little to no regeneration. This has dire implications for the local communities who depend on the forests for products and services. Following the Kalash community’s request to reverse deforestation and forest degradation, FAO developed a project under The Restoration Initiative (TRI) in line with the national initiative “Clean and Green Pakistan”. It aims to empower local communities and engage them in the conservation and management of the Chilgoza forest by supporting the gender-inclusive Chilgoza Forest Protection and Conservation Committees (CFPCC). As the CFPCCs are endorsed by the provincial Forest Department, they are empowered to implement rules and regulations. The CFPCC set rules for forest protection (such as stopping the illicit cutting of trees, regulating livestock grazing, protecting wildlife, overseeing the harvesting of non-timber forest products) as well as for the harvesting of Chilgoza cones to prevent both overharvesting and the collection of immature cones. Improved Chilgoza cone harvesting tool sets have been provided and 12 assisted natural regeneration sites have been set up where local communities ensure grazing exclusion. Through local value addition for the Chilgoza nut, local communities increase their revenue. Local empowerment of communities allows for significant deforestation and degradation reduction. Key words: Deforestation and Forest Degradation, Innovation, Gender, Economic Development ID: 3485821
  • Thumbnail Image
    Document
    Empowering women and coastal communities for a healthy, resilient and productive mangrove forest ecosystem in the Rewa Delta, Fiji
    XV World Forestry Congress, 2-6 May 2022
    2022
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    Mangroves provide a number of ecosystem services that are vital to the sustainability of coastal communities and livelihoods in the Rewa Delta, and are a high priority in climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies throughout the world; having exceptionally high carbon stocks of any ecosystem on earth. The loss of mangroves to the local and global community would not only mean the loss of their many individual benefits, but also the exacerbated eroding of the collective value of these services. The effects of climate change and global warming have not spared the six communities of the Rewa Delta (Nasilai, Natila, Naivakacau, Waicoka, Narocake and Muanaira) as it has eroded their shorelines. This has incited the villagers to observe the value of protecting mangroves and has encouraged these communities to plant mangroves and restore mangrove areas that have been cut down and damaged by cyclones. Subsequently, most of the women residing in the Rewa Delta rely on these mangrove ecosystems as sources of income and food for their families through fishing, catching crabs and collecting shellfish. Thus, women play such a critical role in the conservation of ecosystems; however, their contribution is often overlooked and undervalued, as such women in the Rewa Delta struggle to be included in community decision-making. Nevertheless, the project allows women to lead and advocate on environmental issues that might impact their lives adversely, improving security, skills development and education of both women and girls in the community. Hence, protecting and restoring their mangrove ecosystem is the most effective method for these six communities to benefit from this ecosystem socially, environmentally and economically. Keywords: mangroves, women, ecosystem services, sustainability, climate change, coastal communities, livelihoods, rewa delta ID: 3486331
  • Thumbnail Image
    Article
    Sustainability performance model through local community participation towards the development of sustainable community-based tourism on nature-based sites in Bicol region, Philippines
    XV World Forestry Congress, 2-6 May 2022
    2022
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    Community-based tourism in the Philippines thrives on natural areas both protected and non-protected. In this regard, the participation of tourism stakeholders and their sustainability performance is essential to determine actions and programs to ensure environmental protection and the provision of long-term benefits. This study evaluated the extent of participation of the local tourism stakeholders in the identified community-based tourism (CBT) sites in Bicol Region, Philippines, and determine its influence on sustainability performance. The sustainability performance indicators were anchored from various international CBT indicators and employed the ASEAN Community-Based Tourism Standard as the baseline criteria. The participants of the study consist of the members of CBT organizations, the Local Government Unit, full-pledged municipal tourism officers, tourism officers-designate, barangay officials, private stakeholders, NGOs, and tourists. This study used a descriptive research method and utilized qualitative and quantitative analysis. Results showed that all factors of the extent of participation relate significantly to the overall sustainability performance but to a varying degree. The analysis of the extent of participation and sustainability performance showed significant differences among each community with moderate association to one another. The significant predictors for sustainability performance were political maturity, cultural richness, and environmental purity. Political maturity registered the highest effect on sustainability performance. It can be concluded that in the context of Bicol Region, government and political support determines success in tourism development alongside cultural and environmental dimensions of tourism sustainability. Therefore, it is recommended to adopt the Sustainability Performance Model for CBT sites in Bicol Region. Keywords: Community-Based Tourism; Sustainability Performance; Community Participation; Nature-Based ID: 3623835
Show more

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

No results found.