Key Advocacy Result

“Increased capacity of second level CBOs and national NGOs to analyse forest and land tenure policy, and PEAP programmes, to design, implement and monitor advocacy initiatives for PFM and decision-making, and main streaming PFM within the PEAP e.g. NAADS and NSCG”

PFM Advocacy Goal

“All natural forest and woodlands dependent communities are involved in PFM and forest based enterprises for livelihood improvement”

Envisaged Advocacy Approach

Facilitate the poor and marginalised natural forests and woodlands dependent communities to negotiate fair CFM deals without undermining sustainable forest management objectives

Steps taken in developing the Advocacy Strategy framework

• Issues drawn from the field (CFRs and Forest Communities)- Consultancy
• Issues prioritized (first advocacy Workshop of stakeholders)
• People-centred approaches entrenched in issues processing (first advocacy workshop of stakeholders)
• Research to clarify problem and formulate corresponding strategy (Baseline survey and consultations with lead agencies)
• Strategy developed jointly with partners ( advocacy strategy working Group)
• Strategy to be jointly implemented

Problem Statement

Forest management in Uganda is gradually changing from government “command and control” forest management approach to participatory forest management approaches. While government control forest management approach dates back to 1898, Participatory forest management approaches were only introduced about in 1998 (i.e. about 100years later) to promote community participation and sustainable management of forests.

Participatory Forest Management (PFM) is the forest management approach that involves cooperation between the State and local people to attain sustainable forest management. It involves working together as members of a community, neighboring a forest, in partnership with government and respecting each other as equal partners doing forest activities for the same purpose.

Opponents (people who will oppose us);

1. Some NFA officials
2. Some FID officials
3. some officials of MWLE
4. Some officials of NAADS secretariat
5. Some LGs Councilors and District Officials
6. Forest products Business community
7. Illegal pit sawyers

Envisaged Advocacy Challenges

• Resources (especially financial)
• Timeliness of interventions
• Availability of information and willingness of those with it to pass it on
• How far BUCODO/EMPAFORM is willing to take the campaign
• No credit given after desired outcome
• Difficulty in measuring impacts (evaluation)