COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN FOREST RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN MT. ELGON FOREST AND ITS ENVIRONS

Abstract

Community participation is now globally recognised as an effective strategy in the management of forest resources (IUCN, 1992; WRI, 1996). However, in developing countries and particularly Africa, forest management policies have in the past, largely failed to recognise the important role that Forest Adjacent Communities (FAC) can play in the management of forest resources. In Kenya, efforts to incorporate local communities in forest resource management policies have not adequately recognised the variable nature of the forest adjacent communities. This has resulted in conflicts over the use and management of these forest resources (Odhiambo, 1998). This study focused on how the forest adjacent community of the Mt. Elgon Forest Reserve could be best involved in policy formulation for the management of the forest resources