USAID/Guinea: Forest Co-management General Assembly Announces Financial Returns

FEBRUARY 3, 2003

Forest Co-management General Assembly Announces Financial Returns

Democratic organization and good management are allowing forest co-management groups to enjoy economic returns, and better organize sustainable forest co-management activities.

Every year, the representatives from 30 villagers involved in co-management of the Nialama classified forest gather for the General Assembly, in the sub-prefecture of Linsan Saran, Prefecture of Lelouma. The Forest Committee, which consists of 21 members, developed a program for the 2-day GA session and their annual reports were presented with an air of conviction and expertise. Mr. Ibrahima Laho Bah, president of the Forest Committee, facilitated the presentations and discussions with ease and in a democratic fashion. This was an opportunity for the 80 village representatives participating in the GA to express openly their interests and concerns about co-management activities.

Tata Soumah talks to a Village Forest Committee member during a meeting

Men and women, old and young discuss important issues regarding at meetings regarding the community management of their forests.

The biggest surprise for the members of the General Assembly came with the presentation of the financial report. The forest committee reported receipts totaling $665. Mouths literally dropped open and expressions of disbelieve were audible. Clearly, the population at large thought that the forest committee had been ''eating'' the receipts and never expected to hear about money sitting in the bank.

With success in the air, this year seemed to be the opportune moment to face some tough issues, especially those related to cattle herding within the forest's limits. Employing herders to control animal movements was agreed upon as a general principal. In addition, the participants discussed ways to financially subsidize certain protection activities such as clearing of fire breaks around the entire forest, which will mobilize people from all villages involved in forest co-management.

Some recommendations to change and improve the organization structures were approved. This includes the addition of a woman to the Executive Committee to improve representation of women at the highest level. Furthermore, each member village will be represented on the Forest Committee and there will be a supervisor based in each village. Finally, all participants widely acknowledged the need to more actively involve the General Assembly members in day-to-day functioning of the Nialama Classified Forest Co-management Activity.

Since 1996, USAID has been involved in community-based management of the 10,000-hectare Nialama Forest Reserve, which has suffered damage over the years by uncontrolled exploitation of its forest resources. Through USAID-sponsored interventions, the population in 30 villages surrounding the reserve has been empowered to manage its own resources through sustainable forest management practices, with technical assistance from the Guinean National Forest Service. Management plans have been developed, activities have been implemented, and regular forest committee meetings like the one in Linsan Saran are now held to discuss management issues, allowing communities to solve many problems on their own.

View of a Guinean forest

Grass roots participation in forest co-management has been outstanding. In 2002, a two-day long general assembly was held in which all 21 members of the forest committee participated, in addition to 80 village representatives from the 30 villages. The meetings allowed all involved to openly express their interests and concerns about co-management activities. The financial report totaled receipts of $665 in the communal bank account, revealing transparency in their financial management system as well as showing income successfully generated through sustainable forest management activities. The financial rewards of good management allowed the assembly to decide to employ cattle herders to control animal movements, and to subsidize the clearing of fire breaks around the entire forest, an activity that will mobilize people from all of the villages involved in forest co-management. The Nialama forest reserve is one of the 5 forests or over 85,000 hectares in Guinea managed through sustainable, community-based co-management.

Story by Susan van Keulen Cantella