Participatory forest management in Burkina Faso: Members’ perception of performance

Abstract

This study examines variations in the performance of participatory
forest management programs among four forest management
groups (FMGs) in southern Burkina Faso, and assesses the factors that
influence their members’ perceptions of performance through a household
survey of 216 members. Variations in performance scores among
the FMGs were analyzed through multivariate analysis of variance while
multinomial regression analysis was used to identify factors that influence
their perception of the performance. The results reveal significant
differences in performance scores among FMGs. Members of some
FMGs perceived that the participatory forest management program enabled
them to get benefits from the sale of fuelwood while performance
scores in the forest conservation and decision-making processes is generally
poor. The score for economic performance of FMGs in turn was
related to better access to roads and markets. Group size tended to enhance
economic performance via its strong influence on annual fuelwood
harvest, while the resource base appeared to be inconsequential. Mem-bers of the forest management groups perceived that large group size and
group heterogeneity, particularly in terms of ethnicity, as well as
knowledge and awareness of problems related to the forest environment
have no influence on the performance of their respective groups. For
rural communities to have a favorable disposition toward sustainable
forest management, differences in member understanding of collective
actions and their impact before and during the implementation of participatory
forest management programs should be considered