GRAMÍNEAS DOSIS 1 M.V 2 M.S 3 OBSERVACIONES

The social structurationist model provided a framework by which this study could analyse the policy environments in Ghana, Kenya and Uganda in a holistic manner. By requiring inclusion of factors from the institutional, social and ecological dimensions of the policy environments, the framework provided a depth of insight beyond that revealed simply in published state documents. As a result, it became clear that factors influencing implementation are at least as important, if not more so, than the policies themselves.

Ghana, Kenya and Uganda have all published robust state forestry policy documents in recent years, influenced to some degree by international bodies and wider

conservation trends. These documents codify and uphold values that align, by and large, with the community conservation goals of an NGO such as ARI. The countries are all former British colonies and have shared relatively similar policy trajectories

116 throughout their histories, as can be seen in Appendix One. This has shaped their current policy goals, as problems created or neglected by the previous governance methods are addressed along with issues such as the need to sustainably meet growing domestic timber demands, pressure for land for agricultural expansion, provision of primary energy from forest fuel and increasing community participation in forest governance. The countries are all influenced by international conservation agendas and agencies, and they seek to profit financially from global carbon offsetting schemes through forestry governance. Decentralisation has also occurred in recent years to varying degrees, in all three countries. It is within the varied and often conflicting realm of these state aspirations and structures that a conservation NGO must operate.

The three countries’ state forestry authorities, with responsibility for allocating and monitoring external management of degraded forest, share many similarities (Appendix Two). All three countries initiated the practice of leasing out portions of degraded, centrally-controlled state forest to individual, private contractors at around the same time (beginning in the early 2000s) and in all three it is primarily commercial interests that motivate actors to lease these concessions. There appears to be little precedent for conservation NGOs taking on the management of concessions of state forest, and indeed in Kenya it is not directly possible (instead, there are examples of conservation NGOs supporting and training community-based organisations, who are legally encouraged to manage such concessions).

Despite the fact that published state policy is generally supportive of community conservation initiatives, in all three countries, it is evident that the limited

implementation of these policies would have the greatest impact on any proposed project. Socially, pressures on forest governance stemming from corruption, demographic pressures, poverty and energy dependency are common to all three countries. It was noted in secondary research that overall Ghana is less corrupt than Kenya and Uganda; yet interviews and field observations suggest that in day-to-day operations within the forestry sector this may not be very noticeable.

117 Ecologically, on a broad scale, reasonably similar conditions exist across the three countries. All three case study countries have roughly comparable climatic conditions, with hotter, drier northern regions and more tropical climates in the central and southern regions. It is worth noting that there appears to be more potential for an ecologically-significant size of concession to be given by the state for reforestation in Kenya (10 000 ha) and Uganda (examples of 12 000 ha) compared to the smaller concessions available in Ghana (120 ha). Although in Kenya an NGO cannot undertake management of state concessions directly and must support a local CBO to manage their conservation project through training and capacity-building, this type of approach may actually be best practice when it comes to fostering long-term sustainability and contextuality of the project.

Although more extensive research is needed, based on the results of the present study it is possible to conclude that no “killer issues” exist in the policy environments of the case study countries; that is, no factors which would absolutely prevent the success of an NGO-led community conservation project with goals such as ARI’s. Instead, this research has identified a number of favourable conditions shared by the case study countries that increase the availability of degraded state forests for such projects. Institutionally, there is clear alignment between the goals of the Ghanaian, Kenyan and Ugandan governments as published current state forestry policies and the goals of ARI. Ecologically, each of the countries has appropriate areas of state degraded forest that the state is seeking management partners for, if a number of factors are taken into consideration (e.g. size of concessions etc). In terms of the social context, this study has found that in areas where the state’s forestry governance lacks practical support of community conservation goals, if strong relationships exist between the NGO, the state, and community partners, then more is possible than appears viable on paper. For example, in Ghana, local ARI staff were confident of the possibility of securing larger portions of land than were initially presented by the state Forestry Commission due to their good relationship with the FC Plantations Director.

118 being more independent of political pressures than governmental agencies and play a leading role in agenda setting, policy development and resolution of resource conflicts at the local level.”(Republic of Kenya, 2014, p. 16). The Uganda Forest Policy 2001 also affirms the role of NGOs, saying they “can provide a pivotal role in mobilising and sensitising local people…and in supporting their active participation in the

management of forests and trees” (Republic of Uganda, 2001, p. 10). Such favourable understanding of the role of NGOs by these state governments points towards the possibility of an NGO having the ability to influence the way degraded state forests may be used and governed. This is exemplified in the case of Eco Trust and the Ugandan NFA.

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