UDTR Global Rights of Nature Radar

Revitalizing community forestry in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia: A property right perspective

Identification

Public canonical key

doi:10.4314/jaes.v8i2.5

Authors

Tadesse Amsalu

Reported year

2023

Reported language

en

Source type

article

First detected

2026-11-09T19:15:42.310214+00:00

Last metadata observation

2026-11-09T19:15:42.310214+00:00

Last HTTP verification

Not checked

Institutions reported by the source

Bahir Dar University

Documentary abstract — original language

Severe deforestation, land degradation, and the lack of forest products in Ethiopia have necessitated the implementation of a community forestry program since the 1980s by mobilizing the local communities. However, there have been incidents indicating that many of the community forests are either degrading or remaining unproductive. While community forests are, in principle, the collective property of the local community, empirical evidence concerning how property rights impact their management and their role in enhancing rural livelihoods and environmental rehabilitation is lacking. This study aims to investigate the performance of community forestry through the lens of property rights and tenure security, in order to uncover the challenges impeding community forestry in Ethiopia, with a focus on community forests in the Amhara Region. The study gathered primary data on community forest management from two community forests located in East Gojam and North Wollo, using questionnaires, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and field observations. Additionally, secondary data on legal frameworks were collected from institutions involved in community forestry. The data analysis employed descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. The findings of the study revealed that a majority of respondents (91%) lacked clarity regarding the objectives of establishing community forests, and about 95% claimed that community forests belong to the state. These incidents have led to diminished interest in continuing the program. The study highlighted that the community forestry program suffers from inadequate policy and legal provisions, chronic institutional instability, overlapping mandates, and limited community engagement. These factors have weakened property rights, which are reflected in tenure insecurity and the absence of individual household benefit packages. Consequently, it can be concluded that community forest interventions have been promoted based on general belief in the importance of trees for rural livelihoods and ecosystem rehabilitation, rather than as part of a deliberate and directed policy and strategy. In summary, revitalizing community forestry in Ethiopia necessitates a thorough understanding of property rights and tenure security issues. In this regard, it is imperative for government agencies to enact a clear national strategy for community forestry development and adopt a supportive role to enable communities to establish robust community forestry institutions to safeguard their rights while fostering community forestry and environmental protection activities.

Identifiers

OPENALEX

W4390676256

DOI

10.4314/jaes.v8i2.5

Documentary context

Documentary family

Scholarship

Source-reported types

article

Jurisdictions studied — explicit sources

ET

Natural entities mentioned

Forest · Ecosystem

Entity mentions are not evidence of legal recognition. Jurisdiction studied is separate from author affiliation country.

Sources

OpenAlex · Record 1 · Record 2 · Record 3

• Document · http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jaes.v8i2.5
• DOI · https://doi.org/10.4314/jaes.v8i2.5
• OpenAlex · https://openalex.org/W4390676256

Documented bibliographic relations

Source-declared references and links; they do not establish legal support or UGLC qualification. Up to 20 outgoing references are displayed.

• openalex:w1516246251 · CITES
• openalex:w1547047255 · CITES
• openalex:w1915154712 · CITES
• openalex:w1987604705 · CITES
• openalex:w1987794676 · CITES
• openalex:w1993371157 · CITES
• openalex:w2017362755 · CITES
• openalex:w2027156478 · CITES
• openalex:w2032207887 · CITES
• openalex:w2038981225 · CITES
• openalex:w2048559988 · CITES
• openalex:w2053295183 · CITES
• openalex:w2058375733 · CITES
• openalex:w2061181019 · CITES
• openalex:w2076926005 · CITES
• openalex:w2078180802 · CITES
• openalex:w2089918875 · CITES
• openalex:w2092293817 · CITES
• openalex:w2096072348 · CITES
• New rights for forest-based communities? Understanding processes of forest tenure reform · CITES

0 incoming references within the detected corpus

Documentary status

Relevance pending

Library

This identity is not yet included in the Legal Library.