A Hidden Pitfall for REDD: Analysis of Power Relation in Participatory Forest Management on Whether It Is an Obstacle or a Reliever on REDD Pathway

Box 4

Unstructured interview with one of key persons from Masawi village providing a view about PFM and REDD+ pilot project situation.

“In average PFM approach is going well, except for the issue of benefits to community. It is very

annoying because we as the partners to the government we forego our productive activities and

attend meetings to discuss issues of forests, we do patrolling activities and all about the wellbeing of

the forest but we are always restricted of many things. We agreed to not graze in the forest because

cows may destroy small trees. We are happy to have good forest around us and wishing to maintain

them unspoiled for our grannies. However we maintain living trees and not dead ones! Why

government restricts us to take dead trees for our use? They say we are allowed to gather fire wood

but we should go into the forest empty handed without cutting tools. How is it possible to take whole

dead trees without tools? There are lots of big timber trees which have died under natural causes.

Here we have our primary school that is under shortage of desks and even firewood for preparing

lunch for pupils. The dead trees could be used to solve some of school demands. The village

government asked the district forest officer to come to verify and oversee the process of removing

those dead logs from the forest but for months they didn’t even turn up”.