Doctoral Dissertation Research in Political Science: Renegotiating Livelihoods and Sustainability after Uganda's Forest Governance Reform

捐助者和具有保护意识的组织之间日益达成共识，认为森林保护和减缓贫穷是可以共同实现的目标。 这一“双赢”结果的支持者肯定会把改进森林治理作为注重养护和减贫的政策的核心要素，而森林治理通常被理解为权利和责任的移交或民主下放。 然而，人们对治理改革导致双赢结果的过程和条件知之甚少。 本研究探讨了乌干达政府在2003年进行的一项重大森林部门治理改革的案例，探讨了非正式机构如何在地方一级重新谈判，以应对国家改革，以及权利变化对农村生计和资源可持续性的影响。 具体而言，探讨了三个相互关联的问题：（1）自森林部门治理改革以来，如何在地方一级就森林资源和森林产品的权利进行（重新）谈判？ (2)森林对当地资源使用者生计的贡献是否受到治理改革的影响？(3)自林业部门改革以来，森林覆盖率和森林质量有何变化？ 乌干达是研究治理改革促进减贫和森林可持续性成果潜力的一个极好案例。为了应对森林的迅速丧失和退化，乌干达政府在2003年实施了广泛的森林部门改革。 根据减贫和森林资源可持续性的既定目标，改革将利用和管理森林资源的权利和责任下放到全国85%的林地。 该项目是在2003年林业部门改革前夕，野生动物保护协会进行的一项关于森林对生计的贡献的研究的基础上开展的。 将在紧邻三个森林地区的社区收集关于生计和森林状况的定量数据，这三个森林地区被选为代表乌干达不同的治理制度和森林类型，包括：鲁文佐里国家公园（NP）受保护的非洲山地森林;布戈马中央森林保护区（CFR）以南的私人拥有的热带高地森林;布东戈CFR受保护的热带高地森林。 WCS数据提供了社区、家庭和市场层面的量化数据基线，用于改革前后的比较。 将通过采访林业部门的主要行为者来收集定性和定量数据，以了解重新谈判与森林资源有关的权利的过程和结果。本项目采用实证方法来了解影响扶贫和保护成果的体制因素。 它利用了改革前后的高质量定量数据;并在不同背景下进行了大量抽样，从而可以研究体制变革及其影响的一些更精细的方面。 这项研究的广泛影响超出了乌干达森林部门治理改革的范围。 越来越多的证据表明，森林作为脱贫途径提供的机会通常有限。 可能更重要的是，确保权利的变化不会对人们利用森林作为安全网、应对特殊和协变量冲击或支持当前消费的能力产生不利影响。 此外，随着本区域其他国家开始在其自然资源部门进行治理改革，了解那些加强或削弱当地资源使用者所期望的政策成果的体制因素至关重要。

There is growing consensus among donors and conservation-minded organizations that forest conservation and poverty alleviation are mutually attainable goals. Proponents of this "win-win" outcome without fail cite improved governance of forests, generally understood as the devolution or democratic decentralization of rights and responsibilities, as a central element of policies focused on conservation and poverty reduction. However, the processes and conditions under which governance reforms lead to win-win outcomes are poorly understood. Examining the case of a major forest sector governance reform undertaken by the Ugandan government in 2003, this research explores how informal institutions have been renegotiated at the local level in response to the national reform, and the implications of changes in rights for rural livelihoods and resource sustainability. Specifically, three interlinked questions are explored: (1) Since the forest sector governance reform, how have rights to forest resources and forest products been (re)negotiated at the local level? (2) Has the contribution of forests to the livelihoods of local resources users been affected by the governance reform? (3) Since the forest sector reform, how have forest cover and forest quality changed? Uganda is an excellent case for studying the potential for governance reform to facilitate both poverty alleviation and forest sustainability outcomes. In response to rapid forest loss and degradation, the Ugandan government implemented an extensive forest sector reform in 2003. With the stated objectives of poverty alleviation and forest resource sustainability, the reform devolved rights and responsibilities for utilizing and managing forest resources on 85 percent of the nation's forested lands. This project builds upon a study of the contribution of forests to livelihoods conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) immediately prior to the forest sector reform in 2003. Quantitative data on livelihoods and forest conditions will be collected in the communities immediately adjacent to three forest areas selected to represent variable governance regimes and forest types in Uganda including: protected afromontane forest in Rwenzori National Park (NP); privately held tropical high forest south of Bugoma Central Forest Reserve (CFR); and protected tropical high forest in Budongo CFR. The WCS data provide a baseline of quantitative community, household, and market-level data for comparisons before and after the reform. Both qualitative and quantitative data will be collected by interviewing key actors in the forestry sector to gain an understanding of the processes and outcomes of renegotiating rights associated with forest resources. This project employs an empirical approach to understanding the institutional factors that influence poverty alleviation and conservation outcomes. It utilizes high quality pre- and post-reform quantitative data; and draws on a large sample in different settings, which allows for studying some of the finer aspects of institutional changes and their impacts. This research has broad impacts beyond the case of the forest sector governance reform in Uganda. A growing body of evidence suggests that forests generally offer limited opportunities to be utilized as a pathway out of poverty. What may be more important is ensuring that changes in rights do not adversely affect the ability of people to use forests as safety nets and for coping with idiosyncratic and covariate shocks, or to support current consumption. In addition, as other nations in the region embark upon governance reforms in their natural resource sectors, understanding the institutional factors that strengthen or mitigate desired policy outcomes for local resource users is of critical importance.