Participatory Forest Management decentralizes forest governance by granting local communities rights and responsibilities to manage forest resources, aiming to reduce degradation and enhance livelihoods. This study explores PFM as an adaptive governance strategy in Gargeda State Forest, western Ethiopia, where Farm Africa initiated 30 Forest User Groups in 2013, of which only 10 remain active. Using a mixed method approach 324 Forest User Groups surveys, Key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and document reviews the research assessed governance performance, socio-economic outcomes, enabling conditions, and barriers. Results reveal high community awareness (85%) and moderate transparency in enforcement (62%), contrasted by low women’s participation (15.6%) and limited satisfaction with benefit sharing (48%). Willingness to engage in conservation training (83%) and patrols (53%) indicates growing collective commitment. Governance evaluations show moderate policy and legal frameworks (60%), but weaknesses in planning (40%) and implementation (40%). Major challenges include reduced NGO support, weak technical capacity, poor coordination, political instability, and tensions between statutory and customary rules. Nonetheless, strong NGO facilitation, community bylaws and youth engagement were key enabling factors identified as enhancing the sustainability of forest resources. However, sustained institutional backing, technical and financial capacity building, and inclusive participation particularly of women and youth are essential for long term success and wider replication across Ethiopia.
Telila et al. (2026) studied this question.