Introduction
Clamour for forest sector reforms started in early 1980s necessitating development of 25-year Forest master Plan in 1992. The plan prescribed major changes in forest conservation and management approaches. The recommendations provided the impetus for the review of the Forest Policy and legislative arrangements leading to enactment of the Forests Act, 2005 and a draft Forest Policy.
The Forests Act 2005 provides for community and wider stakeholder participation in forest management. Prior to this there have been several attempts to involve communities in forest management with mixed success with the shamba (‘Taungya’) system and its hybrid form of Non-Resident Cultivation having been practiced the longest.
The first formal PFM was piloted in 1997 and since then several other pilot sites have been initiated and currently there are over 40 sites.
Justification
Initial PFM implementation initiatives have engaged communities and field based officers without supportive legislation. With the new Forests Act there is need to engage policy makers and planners so as to ensure that PFM is institutionalized by the Government and owned by all stakeholders.
This is an opportune time to have the first national PFM conference for Kenya because initial PFM field implementation experiences are starting to filter in and take root.
Purpose
The purpose of the First National Participatory Forest Management Conference is to pool experiences from PFM facilitators, practitioners, researchers, managers, policy makers and development partners drawn locally, regionally and globally to ensure that PFM implementation in the country avoids process failures and builds on successes. The conference will also serve as an avenue to access resources support for national PFM implementation.
Overall objective
The overall objective of this conference is to enhance forest management through stakeholder involvement and contribute to improved livelihoods
Expected outputs
- Documented case studies and best practices
- Enhanced networking, collaboration and partnerships
- Recommendations from the conference for harmonization of PFM implementation, resource mobilization, capacity building and strengthened institutions.
- Edited publication of presentations
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