Governing Communal Forests in Rural Zimbabwe: The Incentive Mechanisms Embedded Within Governance Structures

Though several studies have proved a vast dependence on non-timber forest products (NTFPs) by rural households in developing countries and that NTFPs production and trade is a source of income, community participation in the governance of communal forests remains minimal. To understand the incentives for the governance of communal forests, this study assesses the incentive mechanisms embedded within governance instruments and the way in which the mechanisms purportedly work; and then identifies the governance challenges. Primary data was collected using a combination of semi-structured interviews, narrative interviews and focus group discussions in Chiredzi and Mwenezi districts in south-east lowveld of Zimbabwe. Secondary data included NGO reports and newspaper articles. The data was analyzed using thematic content analysis. The themes were generated deductively based on institutional mechanisms that incentivize participation in governance (moral, material, mutual reassurance and empowerment mechanisms) The results show that moral mechanisms seem to be covering natives through customs, norms, and traditional beliefs; and those involved in formal NTFPs trading through obligations and commitments of certification programs while leaving outsiders and hawkers with neither spiritual motivation for environmental conservation nor formal/informal sanctions for non-compliance with regulations. Material mechanisms through financial and technological transfers have promoted the creation of new institutions for rural households and parallel power structures at the local level as international standards, commitments, and obligations are incorporated into legislative policies. However, this creates tension between leaders whose authority is rooted in ancestral sanction versus those elected by the people as the mandate at the local level often remains ambiguous. Overall, the governance system has a highly complex dis/incentive framework making it unappealing for rural households to view the marketing of NTFPs as an incentive for forest governance.