Resource information
The major role tropical forests play in
biodiversity and climate change has led the world to search
for effective ways to slow down deforestation. Community
forest management (CFM) is an example of the broader concept
of community-based natural resources management (CBNRM). As
part of the decentralization policy in many countries,
mainly in Africa and Asia, CFM was expected to promote: (i)
a more effective stewardship of the resources by involving
the local communities in the management of the resources,
and (ii) a more locally-driven development with them tapping
most of the derived benefits. The precursors of CBNRM and
CFM in Madagascar are the centrally-led compensation-based
mechanisms to conservation. Madagascar is one of the first
countries in the southern hemisphere to have put in place a
legal framework for CBNRM and CFM. The CBNRM implementation
process starts with the creation of a local natural
resources management group. The government has identified
the protection of natural capital and the harnessing of its
value as a key pillar in its national development plan for
2015-2019. The plan identifies poor governance as a major
constraint to achieving the country’s development
objectives. It puts strong emphasis on the roles of both
natural capital and the necessity for a more inclusive
economy to achieve sustainable development. This report will
help the Bank take stock of the nearly two-decades of
implementation of the national environmental action plan and
provide nation-wide facts that will inform future investment
in renewable natural resources management, biodiversity
conservation and poverty reduction, and local development in
the future. The present work is targeted to decision makers
and stakeholders involved in CFM policy with the objective
of taking stock of almost 20 years of implementation and
advise on future directions in policy formulation. The
report is organized as follows: section one presents
community forest management (CFM) in Madagascar. Section two
provides the result of an impact evaluation analysis
conducted on the application of CFM policy. Section three
provides an analysis of the legal and institutional aspects
of the application of CFM policy in Madagascar. Section four
presents recommendations for the short, medium, and longer
term. Section five concludes.
