Securing the Customary Tenure Rights of Forest-Dependent Communities in Lamwo District, Northern Uganda: Insights from Participatory Prospective Analysis
Publisher: CIFOR
Author(s): Baruani Mshale, Concepta Mukasa, Alice Tibazalika, Esther Mwangi, Abwoli Y. Banana, Pius Wamala, and Grace Okiror
Date: 2017
Topics: Governance, Land, Renewable Resources
Countries: Uganda
Lamwo district provides an interesting case of a post-conflict customary forest tenure system under a situation of changing forest governance, as forest tenure reforms introduced since 2001 give local communities extensive rights to forests.
In 2015, forest stakeholders took part in a Participatory Prospective Analysis (PPA) exercise that identified the determinants of forest tenure security in the district as: forest governance; the role and capacity of key stakeholders (particularly NGOs and customary institutions); an increasing demand for forest products; and pressure to convert forest land to large-scale agriculture.
Based on exploring the implications of the above driving forces, the participant stakeholders developed one desirable and three undesirable future scenarios of forest tenure security. The desirable scenario sees a well-informed and active local community, which is aware of its forest tenure rights; an affordable forest land registration process which is not too bureaucratic; positive political influences; and well-funded and staffed district government that oversees and coordinates the work of NGOs, customary leaders, politicians and other stakeholders involved in forest tenure reform implementation. Undesirable scenarios are characterized by a lack of these features.