Forest-dependent communities' livelihood in decentralized forest governance policy epoch: case study from West Shoa zone, Ethiopia

Abstract

This study analyzed the livelihoods of households located in and around forests in Ethiopia, and investigated the impacts of two major forest policies of the country, delegation and devolution. The results showed that forest-related livelihoods are an important mechanism to cope with drought and concomitant food shortages. The forest is also an important source of income, especially for the relatively resource-poor community and for the poor and very poor households in the community. The delegation policy has frustrated this role of the forest in local people's livelihoods while devolution yielded mixed results, with some forest-related benefits declining while others showed increase.

Keywords:

• impact analysis
• delegation
• devolution
• vulnerability
• coping mechanisms
• Ethiopia

Acknowledgement

The fieldwork for this research was supported financially by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) from the Government of Japan (No. 19208014, project leader: Makoto Inoue). The results of the study, however, do not represent the views of the Japanese government.