FACTORS THAT DETERMINES PARTICIPATORY FOREST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE: IN CASE OF MAREKA WOREDA, DAWURO ZONE, SOUTHWEST ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Forests provide multiple ranges of ecosystem services, moderate extreme weather events, and enhance the adaptive capacity of communities to support sustainable agriculture and human wellbeing. However, the heavy dependence of local communities on forest resources has caused deforestation and degradation in Ethiopia. Participatory forest management (PFM) is a solution to the current challenges of forest degradation and deforestation. The objective of this study was to investigate the factors that determine community participation in participatory forest management, as well as the effects of climate change in Gozo Bamushe and Bala Yoyo kebeles Mareka District, Dawuro Zone, and Southwest Ethiopia. Following, a multi-stage sampling technique were used. 272 sample households were systematically selected and used to collect the primary data. Secondary data were collected from different documents. The results of the descriptive statistical analysis of basic data showed that 69 (25.6%) respondents were from female and the remaining 201 (74.4%) were male. In general, there were 173 participants and 97 non-participating respondents. Among the 270 respondents, 56 (20.7%) were female participant and 117 (43.3%) were male participant. The community's acceptance of existing forest management practices varied, with the highest participation rate of 51.5% observed in the participatory forest management practices, compared to 25.2% for traditionally governed practices and 23.3% for state-governed practices. The binary logistic regression model analysis showed that total land holdings negatively affected participation in forest management, gender, educational level, family size, TLU, access to credit, training, and the enforcement of the law all had a positive and significant (P<0.05) effect on PFM practices. The results of this study suggest that the trend of climate variability in the study area is generally variable. The results indicate that 96.6% of participants and 90% of non-participants observed an increasing trend in temperature, while 95% of participants and 94% of non-participants perceived a decrease in rainfall and considered it unpredictable. Secondary data were obtained from the Ethiopian National Metrology Agency (ENMA) (1998–2022), showing that annual and Kermit rainfall are decreasing, Belg rainfall is increasing, and the average maximum and minimum temperatures are increasing. The results of this study lead to the conclusion that active participation in participatory forest management (PFM) is a crucial solution for improving effective forest management practices, reducing deforestation, mitigating the adverse effects of climate change, and enhancing rural livelihoods. Based on the current findings, it is recommended to improve the level of perception of the community and expand the practice by enhancing collaboration and coordination among stakeholders, including governmental and non-governmental organizations, in order to provide strong technical, financial, and legal support.