Project Impact Document for Enhancing Iko-Esai Community Forest Management Strategy

COMMUNITY BASED FORESTS AND LAND MANAGEMENT INITIATIVES IN WEST AFRICA

Project impact Document

“Enhancing Iko-Esai Community Forest Management Strategy”

Development Concern (DEVCON), Calabar, Nigeria (Now PADIC-Africa)

Project Landscape

The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) collaborated on this sub-regional project: Global Forest Transformation for People and Climate: A Focus on West Africa. The project contributes to the implementation of the ECOWAS Convergence Plan for the Sustainable Management and Use of Forest Ecosystems in West Africa, which aims to mobilize political, institutional, financial and technical support to address transboundary forest issues in the 15 ECOWAS member states. The objective of this project was to strengthen decision-making on forest and land management in West Africa through improved knowledge of forest dynamics, support for forest legal reforms, and demonstration and sharing of best practices in community forestry in the sub-region and globally.

As part of the Sida, FAO and ECOWAS collaboration, DEVCON received funding to implement a project, “Enhancing Iko-Esai Community Forest Management Strategy” in Iko-Esai in Cross River State, Nigeria. The objective of the project was to contribute to FAO Program Priority Actions (PPA):

Better Environment (BE1) – Agri-food systems that mitigate and adapt to climate change, SDG 5.2: Halt deforestation and restore degraded forests.

Better Production (BP4) – Equitable access to resources for small-scale producers. SDG 13.b: Promote capacity-building mechanisms for effective climate change planning and managements in LDCs, with particular emphasis on women, youth, local and marginalized communities. DEVCON captures the impacts of the project in this document.

 

Project Outputs

The project achieved the following outputs.

• Organized an inception workshop for 40 women and 60 men including community members, Cross River National Park, Forestry commission and tourism bureau to consolidate effective community-based ownership of the project. Outcome in participation, total 102 participants (women 38 [37%]), men 64 [63%].
• Reviewed local bylaws for sustainable use of forest resources including a community based forest base line digital map with a participatory priorities identifications, to be endorsed and signed by local government authorities and respected by concerned parties. 30 participants (8 women [27%] 12 youths [40%] and 10 men [33%]).
• Put in place a functional Inter-villages Committee of the 6 villages for Esai conservation to ensure natural resources conflict prevention/management and the enforcement of the local bylaws for sustainable use of forest resources composed of 12 members including 50% of women.
• Undertake capacity building strengthening on community organization, conflicts prevention and resolution to the profit of 12 IKO-ESAI inter-villages committee members (50 % of women) and 26 Eco-guards composed of 7 women and 19 Men
• Conduct 8 extension and communication sessions on community-based ecosystems restoration to the benefit of 100 composed of 30% women and 70% men.
• Identify 26 selected volunteers composed of 10 women and 16 men organized around 2 rural entrepreneurship equipped for green jobs creation in the forest and fruit seedlings (improved bush mango seedlings) production. Actual Outcome 56 women and 31 men volunteered.
• Organized training on nursery establishment for 20 community members including at least 5 women
• Established a nursery plot for 2000 indigenous tree species for forest regeneration and 2000 improved bush mango seedlings. Actual outcome 2000 + indigenous seeds raised and planted in the regeneration site
• Procurement and distribution of 2000 improved bush mango seedlings to farmers to increase household income and enhance forest regeneration. Actual outcome 1000 improved bush mango seedlings distributed to community members
• Identify and train 26 selected volunteers including 6 women to form 2 rural entrepreneurship units, equipped for green jobs creation in the improved bee hives manufacturing leading to the construction of 40 bee hives. Actual outcome 4 women and 29 men participated
• Organized training for 26 community members including 6 Eco-guards (on behalf of all Eco-guards) for honey production and marketing, Equip with kits for bee farming. Actual outcome 17 women and 12 men participated
• Facilitated the formation and registration of two women cooperative groups of 20 members each and organize a 3-day training on cooperative management and registration. Actual outcome 40 women (20 members per group)
• Organized workshop and demonstration plot on Agroforestry farming system for 40 community farmers including at least 15 women. Actual outcome 65% women and 35% men
• Organized workshop on sustainable community-based forest management practices focusing on administration, legal rights, technical and economic considerations for 40 participants including at least 15 women
• Produce GPS Coordinates of the current boundaries/Geo-referenced map of the 20,000 ha adjacent to the National Park along with the land use patterns of the community based forest
• Restore 50 ha of forest landscape by planting 4 000 seedlings composed of 2 000 forest and 2 000 bush mango seedlings with creation of 50 temporary green jobs including 30 women and 20 men
• Increase household income through sale of beehives, honey, forest and fruit trees, and other non-timber products.
• Organize a 1-day lessons sharing workshop for 50 participants including neighboring communities, NGOs, funders and relevant government agencies with at least 15 women participating. Actual outcome 34 women and 16 men participated.
• Review of the project performance against objectives and indicators at midterm of the project. Actual outcome 57 women and 43 men. Total 100 participants.

Project Impact

DECVON implemented this project using the the “forest first” and “rights-based” approaches. Forests support human well-being, especially for forest dependent and agrarian communities like Iko Esai in Cross River State of Nigeria, where DEVCON implemented this project. The existential reality among the Iko Esai community strongly affirms the FAO assertion that sustainable forest ecosystem is vital in enhancing food security by “supporting the four dimensions of food security – food availability, access to food, food utilization and stability over time” (FAO, 2017 p.1). Forest provides the ecosystem services that enhance the continued production of fresh water for agricultural and domestic needs (MEA, 2005; Munang et al, 2011), and secures the cultural identify of communities like Iko Esai, thus emphasising the need for community participation in forest protection. Considering the importance of forest in Iko Esai and the roles that the community has to play to secure the forest landscape and the well-being of community members, DEVCON designed and implemented this project as a holistic and integrated response to improve forest conservation, secure community livelihoods, strengthen community institutions, and replicate lessons to influence policies and measures at scale. DEVCON has therefore carefully highlighted the following impact from this project.

Rights of community members recognized and respected

The key strength and positive lesson from this project was keeping the community forest and leaving no one behind. By putting the community first and promoting the value of inclusion in natural resources governance, DEVCON has tried to reverse the popular arrangement of natural resource/forest governance that undermines community participation and ownership, and the attendant unhealthy competition in forest exploitation that drives deforestation and forest degradation. Through this project, DEVCON exemplified the benefits of an inclusive and collaborative forest governance arrangement as incentive for local community participation. Feedback during the lessons learned workshop indicated that Iko Essai is already assuming greater responsibility and making stronger commitments to manage their over 20,000ha of pristine forests for conservation while investing in sustainable land use and regeneration of degraded sites. It was important that the project recognised the fact that natural resources governance arrangement and initiatives at the community are critical to enabling community participation in resource management and sustainable use of natural resources. By involving community members in forest management planning, this project built trust and confidence in Iko Esai to take responsibility for the governance of their forest, thus increasing community cohesion with the commitment to improve forest health and community well-being.

Local community institutions strengthened

The role of community governance and ownership of natural resource cannot be overemphasized. DEVCON was intentional in its community engagement approach, involving the local community institutions in decision-making processes and providing them with training to employ good governance in forest management. Strong and effective community institutions including the council of chiefs, town council, women and youth councils and different resource users and community-based groups participated the process to review their forest management plan and set a framework for law enforcement. This projects reflects a successful model of a community-based forest management initiative where the target community, in this instance Iko Esai, is empowered through its various institutions to manage their forests sustainably, with the potential of leading to improved livelihoods and social well-being.

Improved law enforcement

Promoting community rights and strengthening community institutions helped to enable efficient law enforcement. Community members empowered the community Eco-guards, including male and female members to conduct routine patrols in the community forest. While the forest management plan required that every community member took responsibility for holding each other accountable and responsible for complying to the different land use zones in the plan, implementing the plan is proving to be more effective as the community empowers the Eco-guards to oversee the implementation.

Nature-based approach adopted to promote agro-biodiversity and ecosystem restoration

Community forest management is at the core of applying nature-based solution to halting and/or reversing deforestation and forest degradation. By supporting communities to delineate core conservation zones and establishing community nurseries for regeneration, DEVCON promoted reliance on nature to address environmental challenges. Raising community nurseries of mixed indigenous timber and fruit tree species, and adopting the farmer-led reforestation approach incentivised community members to be actively involved in reforestation to restore degraded lands in Iko Esai. This is an example of a successful sustainable forestry initiative with the potential to reduce deforestation rates, maintain biodiversity, increase forest cover, and help mitigate emissions.

Traditional ecological knowledge and practices strengthened

The design and implementation of this project were hinged on the local customs of the people of Iko Esai. DEVCON understood that traditional ecological knowledge and practices represent a dynamic and fundamental relationship local perceptions and actions that are crucial for fostering ecological resilience and cultural preservation. The forest management planning process offered community members to reflect on and recreate their historical profile so they could compare past and recent trends, and have more in-depth conversation regarding the use and management of their forest. By considering diverse perspectives and addressing challenges, community members are able to work towards achieving sustainable outcomes for both ecosystems and communities.

Community forest management reinforced by integrated approach

This project adopted an integrated approach to address deforestation and its attendant challenges. It balanced economic, environmental, and social dimensions of forest management such that the Iko Esai community has developed a new perspective of forest governance and economic development. As one of the community leaders narrated, “from trees we receive air; from water we receive life”, community members are able to link their survival with the productivity of the forest landscape. By demonstrating sustainable livelihoods options like beekeeping, and sustainable forest utilisation like the sustainable harvesting of non timber forest products as well as promoting good agricultural practices, community members could relate with the wide and complex interrelationship in nature and the dynamic roles that their actions have on the health of ecosystems. While fostering forest management, the project addressed poverty and food insecurity. The combination of agroforestry and sustainable forestry practices ensured that the Iko Esai forest management strategy is contributing to improving the economic well-being of community members.

Gender inclusiveness and conflict mitigation

This project emphasised the inclusion and participation of women in forest governance. The project promoted a transparent and inclusive decision-making process. This helped to reduce tensions and promoted cooperation among different groups in the community, including men, women, youth and other groups. Women, who often play a key role in forest-dependent activities, such as gathering firewood, water, and non-timber forest products could not have been left out. By involving women in decision-making processes and providing them with training and improved livelihoods opportunities, this project has helped to address gender disparities and empower women in Iko Esai. In addition, the community is applying the forest management plan as a decision-making tool for preventing and managing conflicts over land and forest resources.

Summarily, this project has far-reaching impacts on Iko Esai community. It introduced initiatives that has set the foundation for ongoing and future sustainable forest management practices in the community, with the possibility of replication at scale. The project highlighted the interplay between environmental and socio-economic factors that creates a complex landscape in which various perspectives must be negotiated. As such, the Iko Esai community members are poised to sustain the multifaceted approach they have adopted not only to conserve forest resources but also nurture the livelihoods of all the community members whose lives intricately depend on the continuous productivity of the forest.