Participatory forest management: Analysis of local forest governance and implications for REDD+ implementation in the Adaba-Dodola Forest in Ethiopia

Currently, sustainable forest management (SFM) issue has received global attention because of the importance of forests for achieving socioeconomic and environmental goals. Participatory Forest Management (PFM) has been implemented in Ethiopia as a national programme to improve the Forest governance (FG) system. This paper analyses the current FG settings and identifies major gaps in forest conservation by assessing the local FG situation. The primary data were collected through key informant interviews (54) and four focus group discussions with the community and experts. Semi-structured questionnaires were used as a tool for data collection. Secondary data were collected from reports, forest management plans, and the forest agencies' plans. Comprehensive FG analytical frameworks developed by the FAO/PROFOR and World Resources Institute (WRI) were utilised to develop and analyse pillars, principles and indicators of FG for the study. The results of the study showed FG in the Adaba-Dodola PFM was moderate, but in terms of different features of FG, there were large variations in how well different aspects played out for forest users and bureaucrats. Whereas the legal and policy framework was rated as working well, the planning and decision-making process was scored as medium, while the implementation and enforcement were rated as having a poor level of function. This implies that there is a supportive legal and policy framework to achieve the intended goal of the REDD+ but on-ground implementations need further effort. Therefore, concerned stakeholders should focus on strengthening the implementation and enforcement of forest policies and regulations at the local level.