Moving beyond forestry laws in Sahelian countries

Sahelian rural populations’ needs are sourced from on-farm indigenous tree species. Access, use and management of indigenous tree species within their territories are restricted however, by forestry laws hence limiting livelihoods. This has built suspicion and discontent between foresters and natural resource users. Natural resource users argue that they own trees on their farms. By contrast, the state owns protected indigenous trees on-farms as stipulated in the forestry laws. These mismatches have increased deforestation. To deal with these mismatches, we recommend that Sahelian governments work with rural communities and other stakeholders to amend their forestry laws to: i) facilitate negotiation support among stakeholders, ii) operationalize decentralization and power transfer initiatives for management of agroforests, iii) recognize and facilitate formulation and use of local bylaws to control access, use and tree management, iv) use permits and licenses to regulate access and use of indigenous trees only in state controlled “classified” forests, v) provide extension services to natural resources users, vi) promote agroforestry as a business, vii) review land and tree tenure laws, and vii) enhance collaborative work among Sahelian governments, development partners and research institutions.

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