Implications of co-management for benefits from natural resources for rural households in north-western Zimbabwe

Addressing issues of resource management in sub-Saharan Africa has prompted the consideration of joint management policies that incorporate the needs of several stakeholder groups. This study examines the short and long-term use of natural resources in north-western Zimbabwe in a complex ecological- economic setting using a simulation model. Land and resource ownership in t he model is divided between communal lands, which are managed by local inha bitants, and State Forest, which is managed by the Forestry Commission. Thr ee different resource users rely on the stock of resources that the woodlan ds and grasslands (dambos) produce: the Zimbabwe Forestry Commission, commu nal land residents and illegal occupants of the State Forest. Net benefits to each of the three user groups are estimated under four different managem ent scenarios, two of which advocate for the expulsion of illegal forest dw ellers from the State Forest, and two of which involve a degree of joint ma nagement of the State Forest by the Forestry Commission and inhabitants nei ghbouring the forest. If the status quo is maintained, or if access by loca l people to the forest is severely limited, forest quality will decline due to the impacts of increased fires (which are limited when livestock are in abundance). Eviction of the forest dwellers results in a serious loss of b enefits for that stakeholder group, but does not result in a significant in crease of benefits for other stakeholder groups. The economic impacts of th e different management scenarios are not very different because of the low values of the forest resources. Compared to the status quo, co-management p rovides for slightly greater net benefits, but the transaction costs associ ated with the establishment of co-management may be too high to justify thi s option. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.