Re-scaling conservation: The political ecology of community based forest management in southern Malawi

A century of centralized forest governance has failed to solve the problem of deforestation in Malawi. As elsewhere in Africa, conservation re-scaling from the national to the village scale through community-based forest management (CBFM) is seen as the panacea. Yet initial evidence in Malawi and elsewhere suggests that intended social and conservation benefits often fail to materialize. Using the overarching concept of political ecology, this dissertation examines introduction of CBFM in the Blantyre City Fuelwood Project area in southern Malawi---what works, what does not and why. It uses multiple social, ecological and geospatial methods to (1) determine the extent, nature, and spatial pattern of forest cover change (1989--2002) and its causes, and (2) examine institutional and conservation impacts of sociospatial dynamics surrounding forest use and under CBFM.; Results indicate widespread failure and a backlash to the CBFM model. The model created scalar mismatches among forest ecology, deforestation processes, social organization, and institutional conservation arrangements, whose net effect was to undermine social and conservation goals. Land cover and spatial pattern analysis with satellite imagery showed that 44% of the area had undergone significant forest degradation, and revealed two distinct deforestation processes in the east and west side. For the eastern peri-urban villages, juxtaposition of poverty and exogenous market forces for wood overwhelmed CBFM institutions, and fueled unsustainable forest "mining." Instead of romanticizing the local and village conservation institutions, findings of this study show the need for scholars and policy makers to focus on constructing "spaces of engagement" and build cross-scale institutional arrangements that allow forest management at multiple scales simultaneously.; Introduction of CBFM reconfigured relations of power surrounding forest access, use and management in ways whose net effect was to undermine forest conservation. Reliance on village forest committees created elitist, unaccountable, and corrupt village bureaucracies. Alienated, many communities withdrew their labor and support for CBFM. Therefore, how power is exercised was a major factor in CBFM success. Scholars and policy makers should look beyond institutions, seek broad-based community empowerment, and build leadership skills of local leaders so that they can balance the wielding of power among various CBFM actors.